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1^1 (0^7 

COTTON MILL CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT 




You Can Increase Your Factory Light 

19 to 36 per cent, by not wasting 
the light you already have 

If your ceilings and walls absorb instead of reflect light, you are 
wasting light — the artificial light for which you pay good money 
as well as the daylight which comes in through your windows' 
Paint your ceilings and walls with 

RICE'S MILL WHITE 



It is an Oil paint, containing No Var- 
nish, yet giving a glossy, tile-like fin- 
ish. It will not crack like an enamel, 
nor flake like a cold water paint. It 
stays white longer than any other 
gloss paint. 




Rice's is the original "Mill White" 
paint, made by a special process 
which cannot be used by any other 
paint manufacturer. 

Rice's Mill White is sold direct in 
barrels containing sufficient paint to 
cover 20,000 square feet, one coat. If 
you have that area of ceiling and 
wall space to cover. 



Write for^Booklet and Sample Board 

U. S. Gutta Percha Paint Co. 



No. 28 Dudley St. 



Providence, R. I. 



COTTON MILL CX)NSTRUCTION AND MANAGMENT 



A. Klipstein & Co. 

644 Greenwich St., New York 

BRANCHES 

Chicago Philadelphia Boston Providence Charlotte, N. C. 

Canadian Representatives, A. KLIPSTEIN & CO., Ltd., Montreal 

Dyestuffs and Chemicals 

CAUSTIC POTASH FORMIC ACID 

Sizing, Bleaching and Finishing Materials. 
Formulas furnished for all kinds of finishing. 






Ciba and Cibanon FAST VAT DYES 

Ciba Blue, Red, Scarlet and Yellows for Cotton, Wool 

and Silk. 
Cibanon Black, Brown, Orange and Yellows for Cotton. 

INDIGO 

Sulphur Blacks, Chlorine, Fast Sulphur Blues. 

Manufactured by the 

SOCIETY OF CHEMICAL INDUSTRY 

Basle, Switzerland 



COTTON MILL CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGMENT 



Specialties 

D and M Gum Tragasol. The newest raw ma- 
terial used in the finish of mercerized goods, in 
padding colors to hold color in suspension and 
assures an even shade with perfect penetration. 
An ideal product tor warp sizing, imparting flu- 
idity to starch mixing, penetration and aglutination 
of fibres. 

D and M Bleaching Assistant for use in con- 
nection with Ash or Caustic in boiling off. Re- 
duces shrinkage, produces a better white with 
minimum percentage of chlorine. 

D and M Bleachers Blue produces the permanent 
white that does not turn yellow when goods are 
brought in contact with hot dry cans or when 
boxed up for long periods. 

DANKER & MARSTON 
Boston 



COTTON MILL CONSTRtTCTION AN0 MANAGEME3NT 

Berlin Aniline Works 

Maine Office 

213-215 Water Street 
NEW YORK 



Offices and Warehouses: 
BOSTON, MASS. - - - 124 Pearl Street 
PHILADELPHIA, PA. - - 122 Walnut Street 
CHICAGO, ILL. - - - 12 West Kinzie Street 
CHARLOTTE, N. C. - - - Trust BuUding 
MONTREAL, P. Q. - - - 324 St. Paul Street 

Sole Importers of the Products 

MANUFACTURED BY 

AGTIEN-GESELLSGHAFT Fuer ANILIN-FABRIKATION 

BERLIN, GERMANY 



A full line of Direct, Developed and Sulphur Colors for 
Cotton Dyeing. 

Capable Salesmen and Practical Demonstrators connected 
with each office. 



COTTON MILL CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT 



The Whitin Machine 
Works 

Whitinsville, Mass. 

Builders of 

CARDING, COMBING, SPINNING 

AND WEAVING MACHINERY 

FOR COTTON MILLS 



Southern Agent 

STUART W. CRAMER 

Charlotte, N. C. 



COTTON MILL CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGMBNT 

NOTICE 

This book tells you partially how to do 
the things, we as specialists have been doing 
for the mills of this country for thirty years. 

When you wish to make additions, or re- 
arrange your present plant or erect a new mill, 
send for us and let us show you the best way. 



C. R. MAKEPEACE & CO. 

Mill Engineers & Architects 
PROVIDENCE, R. I. 



PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS 

Furnished for the construction and equipment of 

COTTON, WOOLEN AND WORSTED MILLS 
BLEACHING AND DYE WORKS 

Old Mills Reorganized and Extended 



COTTON MILL CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT 



G. V. Electric Trucks 

For Mill Yard Transportation 

Economic law favors the Electric commercial vehicle for work in its 
field. Unit for unit G. V. Electric trucks will save you money o^er other 
types in short haul trans'ers and general haulage. The Electric can dupli- 
cate horse and wagon service at less cost, even where the mileage per day 
is perhaps 50% of the possible mileage of the truck. This is not true of 
trucks which produce best results in long hauls at high speed. 

The modern Electric truck is supreme in its field. It costs less to 
operate and maintain, has a longer life and averages 297 days' service out 
of the 300. At least this last is true of G. V. Trucks. 




(The simple power plant of a G. V. Truck.) 

Five new mills have been added to our list of G. V. users in the last 
6 months Practically all conditions of road load and mileage are met by the 
large number of G. V. Electrics in this field, and we are confident that if 
you will let uj place our 12 years' experience at your disposal, you will 
soon be convinced that our machines are just what you need for more 
efficient and more economical haulage. 

Please note illustrations on pages 648, 649, 650 and 65 1. 

Catalogue 89A on request. 

GENERAL VEHICLE COMPANY, INC. 

General Office & Factory - LONG ISLAND CITY, N. Y. 



84 State St., 
BOSTON, MASS. 



DAY BAKER 
District Manager 



COTTON MILL CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT 

Treasurers, Bankers and Investors 

Have most heartily approved, purchased and endorsed 

THE HAND-BOOK OF TEXTILE CORPORATIONS 

SI 

A concise volume of textile information in which the organ- 
ization, production, equipment, selling agents, location and 
financial statement of the mills of this country are set forth. 

The Hand-Book not only serves as a volume of infor- 
mation for mill men, but also affords a basis for greater knowl- 
edge and interest in mill shares. 

q 

The purchaser has a right to make any inquiries, to any 
extent that he may desire, as to the latest details of the 
financial condition of any and all mills. If a new statement 
has been made since the one published in this edition we can 
secure it promptly for any of our patrons. 




About four hundred pages. ^HW||i||jB|j|i|i||ji||BH Neatly bound in black and 

Size six by eight by one inches. ^H^^^^^^^^^H white with a silk finish. 



THE PRICE IS THREE DOLLARS DELIVERED 
FRANK P. BENNETT & CO., Inc.. 530 Atlantic Ave., Boston, Mass. 



COTTON MILL CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT 

AMERICAN FELT COMPANY 

114 Ea>l ISdi Street 103 BEDFORD STREET, BOSTON 325 So. tUtuktl street 

Manofacturers ol 

Roller, Slasher and Clearer Cloths 

AND OTHER FELTS FOR ALL PURPOSES 

The best manufacturers utilize American Felt Company's Mllyl* 
ClyOTHS because they are convinced their use 

PRODUCES BEST YARNS 

SANFORD & KELLEY 

NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 

BANKERS AND STOCK BROKERS 

Established 1 884- Members Boston Stock Exchange 

Private Wire connecting with Boston and New York 



New Bedford, Fall River and other Cotton Manufactur- 
ing Corporation shares dealt in at close figures. 



LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE, NEW BEDFORD 271 



COTTON MILL CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT 



DUNN FLYERS 



Place 

to 

40% 

More Roving 
on the Bobbin 



COST NO MORE 




Which Means 

Less Doffing 

Less Piecings 

Less Waste 

Less Labor 

with 

Better 
Quality 

YOU CANT LOSE 



Send your Order Direct or through your Frame Builder. 

Dunn Flyer Company, Boston, Mass. 



How to Build, Equip and 

Operate a Cotton Mill 

in the United 

States 



FRANK P. BENNETT & COMPANY, Inc. 

Publishers 

Boston New York Philadelphia Washington 






Copyrighted by 

FRANK P. BENNETT & CO., Inc. 

1913 



^yl& 



CI 



©CI.A350265 



PREFACE 



'T^HIS book is a collection of articles which have 
appeared in the American Wool and Cotton Re- 
porter. The volume is divided into four sections, as 
follows: The articles in Part I consider the mill 
buildings and mill power plants. This section also 
contains much information relative to the power re- 
quired by various cotton mill machinery and valu- 
able suggestions regarding the building and equip- 
ment problems as met in both new and old cotton 
mills. 

In Part II, the articles deal with mill adminis- 
tration, following the various processes of manufacture 
from the opening of raw cotton to the shipping of 
finished products. Part III contains general infor- 
mation regarding bleaching, dyeing, mercerizing and 
all kinds of finishing processes. Part IV deals 
with modern cotton mill cost systems, and Part V 
is an alphabetical index of the whole book. 

The articles in this book have been prepared by 
mechanical engineers exceptionally familiar with the 
textile industry, by mill agents and superintend- 
ents, by expert designers, dyers and finishers, and 
by accountants and systematizers who have done 
much toward increasing the efficiency of the textile 
industry. 



General Division 



OF 



CONTENTS 



PART I 

Mill Construction and Power 

PART II 

Cotton Mill Management 

PART III 

Bleaching, Dyeing and Finishing 

PART IV 

Cotton Mill Cost Finding 

PART V 

Alphabetical Index 



Mill Construction 

AND POWER 



Many times in the past mills have 
been built with very little regard for 
economical production and low costs. 
Some mills have been 
Choosing Mill built in places where 
Sites practically no natural 

or artificial advan- 
tages were present, and were mere 
financial ventures, but happily this 
condition is not true in regard to the 
large plants being planned and built 
at the present time. A mill site is or 
should be chosen for its natural or 
artificial advantages, or possibly a 
combination of these two conditions in 
producing economically the fabrics of 
different grades. These advantages 
may be stated as follows: 

First, on a river where water is 
available for power and other pur- 
poses by the building of dams and 
the use of water wheels. 

Second, on the coast, so that advan- 
tage can be obtained by cheap trans- 
portation of materials and fuel. 

Third, near a railroad centre where 
carrying charges are reduced by com- 
petition. 

Fourth, in a section where other 
mills operate, so that the supplies of 
experienced help may not be too 
small. 

Fifth, near the produicing centres of 
material and fuel, so as to !have a low 
first cost. 



At present, a 'mill tO' be run eco- 
nomically and successfully, and to com- 
pete with other mills, which operate 
on very small mar- 
p gins of profit must 

have a number of 
these conditions to 
make it successful, but if only one of 
these advantages be present, it must 
be under very good conditions to make 
a successful location. Power is a 
large and continuous part of a mill's 
expense, and to it the largest share 



of attention has been paid in the 
past, and to the selection of suitable 
sites many of the existing mills owe 
much of their present success. 

The two large sources of power in 
mills are water and coal, and most 
of the large manufacturing cities are 
situated on rivers where power is ob- 
tained for operation, and where wa- 
ter can be used for the different proc- 
esses of making cloth salable when 
woven. What the value of a site on a 
river depends upon may be given as 
follows: First and foremost appears 
the amount of water and evenness of 
flow throughout the year. If there is 
only a slight variation, this is a large 
advantage, but if the variation is 
large, then machinery may be stopped 
for a long period, and at a large loss 
in most cases. Where there is a va- 
riation, it is necessary to install a 
steam unit to make up the shortage 
of power when the water is low, and 
this, of course, necessitates an extra 
expenditure. 

The conditions which go into the 
total cost of power plant construction 
and mill construction on a selected 

site Tvill depend to a 

Water certain degree upon 

Privileges the cheapness at 

which building mate- 
rial can be obtained. The value of a 
site on a river may also depend upon 
the shipiving facilities, either present 
or planned, upon the condition of san- 
itation, such as a good supply of water 
for domestic purposes, upon the nat- 
ural healthfulness of the location and 
conditions for a good sewerage sys- 
tem. Of course, the abundance or 
evenness of the river's flow depends 
upon the size of the river area drain- 
ed, the total amount of rainfall, the 
character of the soil, and the pres- 
ence of large wooded areas, which re- 
tard evaporation. The evenness of flow 



8 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



also depends to a certain extent upon 
the size of storage basins, either in 
the natural form in the shape of lakes, 
or artificial in the form of dams or 
reservoirs. These regulate the flow by 
storing water in the wet season of the 
year for use during the dry season, 
and they also prevent sudden large 
rises in volume which waste a large 
amount of water. The St. Lawrence, 
because of the large area drained and 
the size of the lake storage, has so 
constant a level that any variation in 
flow is scarcely noticeable. 



Information should be gathered in 
as large a way as possible, so that 
an approximate idea can be obtained 

of the cost of con- 
Details struction, or in other 
Considered words, enough details 

should be obtained to 
show that the site selected has advan- 
tages which more than offset its dis- 
advantages, and which will allow it to 
compete in the costs of production 
with mills making similar lines of 
fabrics. 

If a site is to be selected where 
steam is to be the power used, then 
it is necessary to choose a place 
where cheap transportation charges 
will be apparent, both for fuel and 
material, and it is also necessary to 
consider the proximity to markets. Of 
course, with steam as a motive pow- 
er, it is still necessary to have a good 
supply of water for domestic pur- 
poses for dyeing and also for boiler 
use. With a steam unit of some size, 
it is a fact that in many mills, unless 
extremely favorable conditions exist, 
steam power can be produced as 
cheap or even cheaper than water, be- 
cause exhaust steam can be used for 
heating purposes. Steam power costs 
more in small units, but as econom- 
ical results can be obtained in units 
of over 500-horse power as with the 
use of water. It is possible that steam 
has been used more in the past than 
it would have been through the lack 
of water powers with scope of the 
market and near the base of supplies. 



remain identical, excepting that por- 
.. . . tion which has to do 

Machmery ^^^^^ power, although. 
Equipment ^f course, details may 
Considered ^^^^ according to dif- 
ferent qualities of building material 
to be obtained and different circum- 
stances of location, and to a certain 
extent by the kind of fabric to be 
manufactured. Mills are designed for 
the manufacture of a certain kind of 
fabric, and are built to receive the 
machinery necessary for the various 
operations of manufacture. The two 
main facts to bear in mind are the 
economical production of goods and 
structural firmness. Bconoimy of pro- 
duction is obtained by having the va- 
rious processes follow in succession 
as much as possible, so that a contin- 
uous journey is made from raw mate- 
rial to completed products. Enough 
space should be allowed for handling, 
but there should be as little waste 
space as possible. 



Regardless of the location estab- 
lished, the principles of construction 



It is also a good plan to give some 
consideration to future enlargements, 
so that if any additions should be 
planned, the system 
Future En- alread.y working 
largements would join with the 
enlargements in the 
economical production of goods. In 
many mills the largeness of economy 
is measured by the simpleness of the 
working arrangement. Many mills 
have had their whole plant rearranged 
so that a more economical working 
arrangement could be obtained. Mills 
are built in a general way in these 
proportions for widths 46, 69 and 92 
feet insiidfe dimensions, or outside 
widths of 50, 73 and 96 feet, although 
some men make the widths 50, 75 and 
100 feet, and this gives somewhat 
more room in the alleys. The dis- 
tance between bays or the lengthwise 
distance is about ten feet. To give a 
good light, the height of the stories 
would be about 12, 13 and 14 feet, to 
correspond with the widths above giv- 
en. Heights of 12 feet are rather 
low, but it is also possible to have 
them too high, because then the 
shafting" and belts are out of con- 
venient reach. 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



d 



The width in a woolen mill is de- 
termined by the amount of space 
needed for a set of cards, or about 50 

feet. When several 

General mills are to be built. 

Design a uniform grade of 

stories should be 
made, so that bridges can be made 
which connect the different sections. 
High and narrow mills have rather 
gone out of use, and it is generally 
admitted that a mill of four or five 
stories is more economical, all things 
considered, than any other kind. A 
one-story mill has less vibration and 
more light, and is usually built for 
the weaving portion, while the other 
machinery is placed in another build- 
ing. Of course, this makes better 
work to a certain extent, but the cost 
of construction is higher, and it is a 
large question whether it is enough 
of a saving to justify the extra ex- 
penditure. 

The placing and arrangement of the 
motor power should be given careful 
consideration, when steam is the mo- 
tive power, because 
Power fuel at high cost 

Distribution leaves a large loop- 
hole for waste, unless 
power is distributed in the most eco- 
nomical manner possible, and it is cer- 
tain that this distribution is to a large 
extent dependent on the construction 
used in the building. This construc- 
tion should be stable in any reasona- 
ble loading of the floors, deterioration 
caused by vibration, atmosphere and 
wind, and should be built with due re- 
gard to the prevention of fires. As the 
risks grow large, the larger should be 
the margins- of safety used, and the 
more pains taken in building. 

Beauty of construction in mill build- 
ing is of the least consideration, but 
the adaptation of means to the end, 
with each part symmetrically forming 
the whole structure, should result in 
beauty in architecture. When the re- 
sult impresses one with a sense of fit- 
ness, then it is that a fundamental 
principle has been observed, for in a 
mill building, there should be a sense 
of strength and stability, and there 
should be nothing in the decorations 
which is not useful. No expense is 



added when material is put together, 
so as to make the best of everything, 
and utility and strength can be com- 
bined with taste and judgment, so 
that a pleasing and beautiful result 
will be obtained. 



Before deciding upon the location 
for a new cotton mill, many conditions 
should be carefully taken into account 

and their relative im- 
The Best portance given due 
Location consideration. It is 

well to compare the 
success of mills already in operation, 
but frequently two mills which are in 
the same city and engaged in similar 
lines of work show extremely differ- 
ent profits. Again, in some places 
where it seems desirable to locate 
there may not be any established con- 
cerns with which to make compari- 
sons. 

The ability to obtain sufficient and 
proper labor is of major importance. 
Systematic investigation along this 
line generally furnishes information 
fairly authentic, and prominent men 
of a city can always give valuable 
data concerning previous labor trou- 
bles in that locality. 



'Shippinig facilities affect the oper- 
ating cost of a mill, year in and year 
out, and must be given great atten- 
tion. All proposed 
Shipping railroad lines should 
Facilities be noted and future 
additions and changes 
in various transportation companies 
investigated. If supplies are to arrive 
by water the ownership of a private 
wharf will probably be a good invest- 
ment, and if this is true, the possibili- 
ties of sending away the finished 
product by water must be likewise 
studied. At one time the ability to 
obtain water power was the chief 
consideration in choosing the new 
cotton mill site. To-day water pow- 
er is being developed more than ever, 
but the introduction of the hydro- 
electric plant with its flexible system 
of power transmission has made nat- 
ural water power a smaller considera- 
tion when deciding upon a location 
for the mill. 



ro 



Mill CONSTRUCTION and power 



We will consider first the influence' 
that the power department has upon 
the location of the entire mill. Al- 
though obtaining power is but one 
small part of cotton naill management 
it is a most important item. The cost 
of power continues every year and in 
building a new mill careful attention 
should be given to this detail that 
operating expenses may be reduced 
as much as possible. We do not mean 
that everything should be sacrificed 
in order to obtain power cheaply. In 
some instances labor questions and 
the cost of obtaining raw materials 
may make it wise to place a mill 
Where power costs are higher than at 
places previously considered. How- 
ever, the kind of power to be used 
and its probable cost should be thor- 
oughly investigated. 



Two methods of obtaining power 
present themselves. At the outset 
the management must decide whether 
it will be best to 
Two maintain , an inde- 

Methods pendent isolated pow- 
er plant, or purchase 
power from a large central station. If 
the latter course is to be adopted, the 
mill will, of course, be electrically 
driven, but if an isolated plant is - to 
be built, the power problem is still 
further divided, and the question of 
mechanical versus electrical transmis- 
sion is introduced. With independent 
water-power plants comes also the 
necessity of placing, the mill some- 
where near an available water power. 
To summarize, the choice of power 
is divided first into two propositions, 
namely, independent power plants 
and large central stations. With in- 
dependent plants power may be gen- 
erated by water and transmitted me- 
chanically or electrically; it may be 
generated by steam and transmitted 
mechanically or electrically, or some 
combination of all four methods may 
be used. We cannot overlook the gas 
and oil engine units, but these "will 
be considered by themselves later. 



desirable. By near 
Power we do not necessar- 

Supply ily mean within the 

same city but sim- 
ply within convenient reach of the 
plant's distributing system. With an 
independent power house there are 
many points to be considered which 
affect the location of the main mill. 
In the first place, if water power is 
to be utilized, the plant must be 
placed near some stream of water. In 
former times this meant that the en- 
tire mill must be placed directly upon 
the stream but now, by using electric- 
ity, the mill buildings may be placed 
•some distance from the power house. 
The use of water power in isolated 
plants does not therefore limit a 
mill's location in the way it did be- 
fore the introduction of the hydro- 
electric plant, but it does very consid- 
erably restrict the selection of a mill 
site. The danger from fioods which 
was an important consideration when 
all the buildings which used water 
power had to be placed upon the 
river's edge is now eliminated, but it 
is not economical to remove the iso- 
lated power house too far away from 
the main mill. 



If power is to be purchased from 
large central stations, a mill location 
near some prosperous power, plant is 



If steam power is to be used there 
are two conditions to be considered, 
both of which play an important part 
in the arrangement 
Steam and location. Slow 
Power speed reciprocating 
engines may be in- 
stalled and all power transmitted by 
belting and rope drives, or steam tur- 
bines may be directly connected to 
electric generators and power deliv- 
ered to the various departments elec- 
trically. Either of these two methods 
demands a large boiler plant and the 
ability to receive and store large 
quantities of coal economically is a 
point which must not be slighted. In 
cases where the power is to be trans- 
mitted mechanically the power house 
should be as centrally located as pos- 
sible, and allowances should be made 
for future extension in a way which 
will keep all additions near the power 
plant. ; . J , . : . . : 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



11 



Mills which are operated by steam 
require much larger quantities of 
water than is ordinarily realized. Ev- 
eryone knows that 
Water water is needed for 

Supply the boilers, but the 
resultmg expense if 
this water is all purchased from a 
municipal water company is some- 
times overlooked. Water for use in 
steam boilers should be free from 
certain scale forming substances and 
it is most important to have the wa- 
ter analyzed carefully by an expert 
chemist. The American Wool and 
Cotton Reporter has already publish- 
ed some interesting facts concerning 
substances which cause serious boiler 
scale, and, although apparatus is 
upon the market for purifying feed 
water, it is much better to obtain 
the kind of water best suited for 
steam generation. 

The advantages of locating near a 
supply of good, fresh water are of 
less importance with plants receiving 
their power electrically from hydro- 
electric stations maintained by other 
corporations. All textile mills re- 
quire certain amounts of steam for 
manufacturing and heating purposes. 
The amount of steam and hot water 
required by mills doing their own 
dyeing, bleaching and finishing is 
large and .they should be built near 
a water supply, even if power is pur- 
chased from a central station. 



The subject of central station pow- 
er versus the isolated plant for tex- 
tile mills is on© upon which much 
valuable information 
No Fixed has been published. 
Rule It is not possible as 

yet to state any fixed 
rule regarding this matter and with- 
out the slightest douDt many cotton 
mills can to-day operate with great- 
er economy by generating their own 
power, while others obtain better re- 
sults from purchasing it. Power can 
be generated much more cheaply in 
large quantities than in small 
amounts, and there is every reason 
to expect large corporations, whose 
one aim is cheap development of 
power, to produce and transmit elec- 



tricity for less money than it can be 
generated by the cotton mill, of which 
the power department is but one de- 
tail of a great and complex business. 
We will consider some of the ad- 
vantages derived from each system 
with the idea of simplifying some- 
what the task of making the best 
choice. Careful consideration must 
always be given to existing condi- 
tions, for special cases change con- 
siderably the importance of the ben- 
efits to be gained. 



With independent isolated plants 
for cotton mills it is possible to util- 
ize the waste heat from all parts of 
the mill. Steam 

Waste which has been used 

Heat in slashers, heating 

kettles, circulation 
pipes, etc., may all be returned to 
the boiler room and whatever heat 
has not been used may in various 
ways be saved. Mills doing color 
work use larger quantities of steam 
than those on white, and, therefore, 
with the former this factor is of 
greater importance. 

There must be some system for 
heating the mill, and this as a rule 
makes a certain number of steam 
boilers a necessary equipment. As 
noted, steam is used for manufactur- 
ing purposes, therefore at least a 
part of the boiler plant is required 
during the summer as well as winter 
regardless of the power question. 



Cotton mills usually run ten hours 
each day, and the load during this 
time is fairly steady. It costs less 

for steam power 

Load where the load is 

Constant constant than it does 

for fluctuating loads. 
This means that power costs less per 
unit for the cotton mill than it does 
for street railway work for example; 
and the price charged by a central 
station furnishing power for both 
classes of work would tend to be 
higher than the cost of power for tex- 
tile work alone would necessitate. 



12 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



It is not considered necessary to 
have complete sets of auxiliary pow- 
er apparatus in a power plant oper- 
ated by the mill it- 
Auxiliary self, for certain risks 
Apparatus of shut-downs can be 
taken. This is not 
true with central stations, as they 
must at all times be ready to furnish 
power. This extra equipment to at 
least some degree balances the fact 
that large plants produce power more 
cheaply than smaller ones. ' 

The cotton mill which is operated 
by power purchased from a central 
station is free to extend and enlarge 
its departments as much as it wishes 
without giving serious consideration 
to the power problem. The mill as 
a whole is much more flexible than 
if it maintained its own power house. 

While it is true that isolated plants 
take the risk of shutting down when 
trouble occurs, is this risk expensive? 
Power from central stations is more 
reliable and as much or as little of it 
as is wanted may be used at any 
time. 



The one great question is that of 
cost. Is central station power cheap- 
er than that delivered by private 
plants? Doubtless 
Cost of power can be deliv- 
Power ered to-day from 

many large power 
companies cheaper than the actual 
cost of producing it in small isolated 
stations. In many of these instances, 
however, the cost of an isolated plant, 
as figured by the mill man maintain- 
ing it, will be below the price charged 
by the central station. 

Two important conditions are ac- 
countable for this. First, the mill 
man invariably does not charge his 
power plant with all the "general ex- 
pense" items that he should. Second, 
the management of central stations 
does not give due consideration to 
the fact that the expense of furnish- 
ing 5,000-horse power to, say, five 
customers is much less than furnish- 
ing this same amount to 500 custom- 
ers. 



We do not mean that the cotton 
mill superintendent purposely figures 
the cost of his power plant too low. 
There are certain 
Estimates general items such as 
Too Low engineer's salary, cost, 
of coal, water, equip- 
ment, etc., which are sure to be in- 
cluded in his figures, but how about 
the percentage of his own or his as- 
sistant's time that is used in the pow- 
er department? How about the cleri- 
cal work of filing away coal consump- 
tion and other engine room records? 
If a breakdown occurs, is the estimat- 
ed monetary loss charged against 
power? There are no end of small 
expenses brought about by the power 
plant which are frequently charged 
up as "general expense" and not in- 
cluded in power costs. Mill owners 
have sometimes made the statement 
that they would rather pay 15 or even 
25 per cent more for central station 
power than the cost entailed by the 
isolated plant. They do not mean this 
for one moment. What they do mean 
is that the estimated cost of operat- 
ing an isolated plant is always lower 
than the true cost by 15, or even 25 
per cent. 

The cotton mill manager seldom 
figures any of the interest on the 
floating debt against cost of power. 
(jVIoney is nevertheless tied up in the 
coal pile and must be drawn from 
somewhere. It must also in some 
way earn its interest. This item is_ 
comparatively small, but it is worth' 
consideration. 

The removal of ashes is a point 
"which is sometimes neglected in flg- 
uring the cost of power, although it 
is clear that this should be included. 
Depreciation should be carefully flg- 
ured, not upon the time which the 
plant might last, but upon the prob- 
able time that it will be used. Many 
other small matters, such as time re- 
quired in hiring men and purchasing 
coal, oil and other supplies, in the ag- 
gregate represent a considerable out- 
lay, and if due allowance should be 
made for them, the estimated cost of 
power as furnished by the isolated 
plant would be nearer the correct 
value. 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



13 



Central stations have been extreme- 
ly slow in realizing the benefits they 
might enjoy by selling power in 
' wholesale quantities 
Wholesale at fair wholesale 
Prices prices. For several 

years they continued 
to base their costs upon retail prices 
only, forgetting, or at least ignoring, 
the decrease in distribution expense 
made possible by a few large custom- 
ers instead of many small ones. 
Where wholesale prices were con- 
templated they were given up be- 
cause the average cost per kilowatt 
hour was greater than the wholesale 
price. To-day central stations are be- 
ginning to realize that it is per cent 
on investment and not cents per kilo- 
watt hour that means profit. For ex- 
ample, if a central station supplying 
a few large customers installs a net- 
work of wires and apparatus for han- 
dling small retail customers, the av- 
erage cost to the station, per kilo- 
watt hour will be increased. Even 
if the retail price is arranged to cover 
the increased expense, the average 
cost per kilowatt hour for current de- 
veloped will be greater than formerly, 
but there is no reason why the whole- 
sale purchaser should have his price 
increased. This confusion of whole- 
sale and retail prices has greatly re- 
tarded the introduction of the central 
station power supply for textile 
mills. 



Building an independent power 
plant requires considerable initial 
outlay. This money is available for 
use in other branches 
Initial of the business when 

Expense power is purchased. 
A better arrange- 
ment of buildings can often be made 
when it is not necessary to include 
a power plant and in some instances 
the saving in floor space is in itself 
a point of importance. 

At present, circumstances exist 
which make the isolated plant desira- 
ble in some instances, while in oth- 
ers, it is best to purchase power from 
some central power station. As not- 
ed, however, the central stations are 
just beginning to realize the advan- 



tages of furnishing power in large 
amounts, and while mills already 
owning well equipped power plants 
will proibably continue to operate 
them, new cotton mills will find that 
the inducements offered by central 
power stations are increasing in num- 
ber and in importance. 



One method of procuring power for 

textile industries is that of grouping 

several mills near one large power 

house. This practice 

Grouping may be worked out 

Textile Mills economically and it is 
often possible to have 
one or more of the mills near enough 
to the power plant to utilize much of 
the heat from condensed and low 
pressure steam. Again some of our 
large textile establishments use- pow- 
er in sufficient quantities and oper- 
ate enough mills to require immense 
stations for their own use. 

Granting that it is best for many 
new cotton mills to omit the isolated 
power plant and arrange to pur- 
chase power, the number of instances 
where the independent plant is ad- 
visable for medium sized cotton mills 
added to the importance of power 
station construction and equipment 
for groups of mills leads us to consid- 
er somewhat in detail the question of 
textile mill power plants. While 
much of our discussion will bear di- 
rectly upon new power plants, some 
of the suggestions will be of equal 
importance to textile mills which are 
now being operated by plants out of 
date. Many of these could be placed 
on a much more economical basis by 
the introduction of simple improve- 
ments, the s^ost of which would often 
be exceedingly slight. 



The American Wool and Cotton 
Reporter has already outlined the 
general arrangement of several tex- 
tile mill power 
Power plants. It has not 

Plants wished to crititelze 

severely even the 
most undesirable methods of obtain- 
ing power, but it has endeavored to 
speak a word of praise whenever op-^ 



14 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



portunity offered. The careful study 
of the articles referred to supple- 
mented by matter which will continue 
to appear, must of necessity call at- 
tention to possible improvements in 
existing power plants and should also 
guard against costly mistakes in con- 
nection with new work. Some rules 
hold true for all textile establish- 
ments, but there are numberless 
other important ones which are con- 
trolled by existing conditions. 

We have already mentioned the im 
portance of placing the steam power 
station where coal may be obtained 
cheaply and have likewise laid stress 
upon the advantages of locating near 
a lake, pond or river containing wa- 
ter suitable for boiler feed and oon 
densing purposes. Water which will 
not form scale within the boilers is a 
great asset, and a sufficient supply 
of water to handle satisfactorily all 
condensing apparatus redu£es the 
cost of power. From 15 to 20 per 
cent of the fuel used by a non-con- 
densing engine will be saved if it is 
operated with a condenser. For each 
pound of steam exhausted by an en- 
: gine the condenser will require 30 to 
35 pounds of water, so it at once be- 
comes clear that for this work the 
quantity of water required is often 
large. 



ployed in handling coal will be taken 
up more at length later, but we wish 
right here to emphasize the fact 
strongly that our present textile mills 
have a wide field for reducing power 
costs along the one line of coal and 
ash conveyance. 



The expense of handling coal after 
it has been delivered to the mill is 
frequently much too great. It is often 
advisable to install a 
Conveying mechanical system 
Coal for bringing coal 

from the storage bin 
to convenient places in front of each 
of the boilers. Systems have been 
designed for all kinds of work and 
are not expensive. Often the same 
conveying arrangement removes the 
ashes and carries them to a con- 
venient bin or pile, as conditions may 
make desirable. 

At some plants coal can be stored 
in bunkers directly in front of the 
furnaces. In these plants a trestle 
may be built from which the bunkers 
may be filled by gravity directly 
from the freight cars. Some of the 
various methods which may be em- 



The question of construction and ar- 
rangement most suitable for an inde- 
pendent textile mill power station is 
important. The sub- 

The Power j e c t divides itself 
House readily as follows: 

1. General rules ap- 
plicable for all textile mill power 
plants. 2. Water power stations 
transmitting power mechanically. 3. 
Hydro-electric stations. 4. 'Steam 
power plants using reciprocating en- 
gines and mechanical power transmis- 
sion. 5. Turbo-electric stations using 
steam turbines and electric generators. 

All power plants should be built as 
nearly fireproof as possible. With cot- 
ton mills using water for the entire 
power, steam boilers are necessary for 
heating and manufacturing purposes, 
and should be installed in a fireproof 
building. Reinforced concrete makes 
satisfactory walls for power plants, 
but at the present time the tendency 
is to build the walls of brick and sup- 
port the roof by steel trusses. The 
steel trusses should be covered by 
some type of roof which is fireproof. 
Wooden roofs covered with tar and 
gravel will be found at many stations, 
but in most cases it is wise to use 
concrete, sheet steel, or some type of 
tile. 

Good substantial cranes should be 
installed in every power house to 
assist in placing or repairing machin- 
ery. The methods of supporting these 
cranes demand consideration at the 
very outset. Some engineers prefer to 
build the brick walls sufficiently heavy 
and strong to hold the roof and crane, 
while others supply steel columns for 
this purpose, which are set upon spe- 
cially designed foundations. This lat- 
ter method is preferable, as a rule, 
and the columns may be imbedded in 
the brick walls, so that they are out 
of sight and in no way interfere with 
the free floor space. 



MILL eONSTRUCTIGN AND POWER 



15 



The design of power house should 
be worked out by a structural engi- 
neer, and the matter given by the 
American Wool and 
The .Cotton Reporter is 

Engineer in no way intended to 
make the services of 
an engineer less necessary. Our inten- 
tion is to familiarize the reader with 
important points, which are, or should 
be, considered by the engineer, so that 
new buildings and equipment may be 
obtained by the mill man understand- 
ingly. Only by understanding, in at 
least a general way, the advantages of 
certain engineering principles, is it 
possible to decide correctly upon the 
type of plant required. 



Proper foundations are not always 
obtained. Work buried under ground 
sometimes seems less important than 
other considerations, 
Founda- but poor foundations 
tions are sure to mean 

poor results. No seri- 
ous accidents may haippen, but the ma. 
chinery will require more attention 
that the bearings may be kept in line 
and free from unnecessary friction 
losses. Uneven settlement of the hrick 
walls is liable to cause ugly cracks in 
the structure, which are undesirable, 
if not actually dangerous. 

The character of the soil underly- 
ing the proposed site for a power 
house should he carefully and thor- 
oughly examined. If there is the 
slightest doubt concerning the condi- 
tion of the soil, one or more experts 
should be called in and their opinions 
ascertained. No rules of the bearing 
power of soils can be given which will 
cover all cases, but the following, 
taken from the New York Building 
Code is of interest: "Different soils, 
excluding mud, at the bottom of foot- 
ings, shall be deemed to safely sus- 
tain the following loads to the super- 
ficial foot, namely: Soft clay, one ton 
per square foot; ordinary clay and 
sand together, in layers, wet and 
springy, two tons per square foot; 
loam, clay or fine sand, firm and dry, 
three tons per square foot; very firm, 
coarse sand, stiff gravel or hard clay, 
four tons per square foot." 



Solid rock foundations will stand 
almost any amount of loading, but all 
loose rock should be removed. In 
building upon solid 
Solid rock, its surface 

Rock should always be 

stepped off and con- 
crete used to insure vertical down- 
ward pressure. Within a power house 
there is much heavy machinery, for 
which large foundations are needed, 
but the principles to be considered are 
so similar to those met with in regular 
building foundations that we will post- 
pone the further discussion of this 
subject until we take up foundation 
questions as applied to the main cot- 
ton mill. 



Costly mistakes may easily be made 
in locating the apparatus within a new 
power house. The boilers should al- 
ways be placed near 
Inside the turbines, or en- 

Arrangement gines, that losses in 
the steam pipe line 
may be small. The arrangement 
should also be such as to permit the 
installation of new units without mov- 
ing any part of the original equip- 
ment. Where it is possible, it is best 
to have the boiler-room and engine 
room in one building, separated from 
each other by a fire wall. The boilers 
should be arranged in a row, with the 
rear end near the dividing wall. The 
engines or turbines may also be 
placed in a row parallel to the divid- 
ing wall, and if it becomes necessary 
to enlarge the building, it will be pos- 
sible without in any way interfering 
with the units which are in use. 

It is best, in most cases, to have the 
boiler room fioor on the level of the 
outside ground, and that of the engine 
room six or twelve feet higher. By 
this arrangement, the room under the 
engine room may be used for con- 
densers, pumps, heaters and other 
auxiliary apparatus. Local conditions 
sometimes make it wise to place the 
engines, or turbines, upon the same 
floor with the boilers. When this is 
done, it becomes necessary to have a 
pit under the ground floor for the aux- 
iliary apparatus, and these pits should 
be avoided. There is always consider- 



i6 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



able vibration in a power station, and 
it will be found hard to keep surface 
water and water contained in the soil 
from leaking into the pit. Concrete 
walls have been built, but the vibra- 
tion is apt to cause cracks which will 
allow water to come in. Again, with 
the two rooms on the ground floor, 
much of the piping will necessarily be 
covered over, and therefore, be much 
harder to get at in time of trouble or 
in making changes than if it were in 
a regular basement. 



In a recent issue of the American 

Wool and Cotton Reporter it was 

stated that the field for improvement 

along the line of 

Handling handling coal at the 

Coal mills was large. In 

building a new power 

house, the economical handling of coal 




Fig. 1. 



Coal Elevator and Two-Ciiain 
Shovel. 



should have careful study and consid- 
eration. The expression, "coal con- 
veying system," to some mill men 
means an expensive contrivance good 
for use in large central stations only. 
This is a sadly mistaken idea, and, we 
trust, one which will soon be cor- 
rected. 

A simple system, which is in use at 
the Narragansett Mills in Fall River, 



was explained some weeks ago in the 
American Wool and Cotton Reporter. 
The system is not expensive to oper- 
ate and the initial cost is small. The 
idea utilized for supplying the firemen 
with coal directly in front of each 
boiler is one which is often of value. 
By building coal bunkers just outside 
and against the 'boiler house wall the 
fuel falls by gravity through openings 
provided in front of each furnace. 



If coal is to be received by barge 
loads at a private wharf, a belt or 
bucket conveyor can often be arranged 

to take the coal di- 

From the rectly from the un- 

Wharf loading apparatus 

and deposit it in the 
storage bunker. Figure 1 is a sketch 
of a self-filling bucket and elevating 
apparatus used for unloading coal 
barges. The arrangement indicated 
shows a small industrial railway car 
for taking the coal from the wharf to 
the power house, but any type of buck- 
et or belt conveyor can be used in- 
stead of the industrial railway where 
advisable. Sometimes it is best to 
build a railroad trestle so that the coal 
cars may be delivered at a point 
where they can be unloaded directly 
into the storage bins. This same 
trestle arrangement can be used for 
unloading regular freight cars, if the 
coal is received by rail, or it may be 
used in connection with small cars of 
industrial railway systems, such as 
often convey fuel from a wharf to the 
mill. 

At the Narragansett Mills the floor 
of the boiler room is much lower than 
the street level, so that coal is deliver- 
ed from teams into a coal bunker built 
against the boiler-house wall. No ma- 
chinery is needed for handling the 
coal, but it falls by gravity directly in 
front of the boilers. A conveyor runs 
through the ash pit under each boiler 
and carries the ash to an elevated bin, 
from which it is readily removed by 
carts. We refer to this simple ar- 
rangement to show that it is possible 
to greatly reduce the cost of handling 
coal and ash, if the matter is given a 
fair amount of thought and attention. 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



17 



Local conditions generally decide 
which of many good systems is the 
one most suitable, and for this reason 
the question should 
Many Good be settled before con- 
Systems struction work is 
started upon the sta- 
tion itself. When it is not advisable 



boilers or into automatic stokers, as 
the case may be. The same conveyor 
may be arranged to pass under the 
boiler grates so as to remove the 
ashes and carry them to a convenient 
storage pocket, from which they can 
be drawn by gravity into carts or cars. 
Figure 2 shows a section through a 



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to build a trestle, and the coal is re- 
ceived in cars or teams on about the 
same ground level as the boiler room, 
coal storage bunkers are frequently 
placed over the boilers. They are 
filled by an endless chain of buckets, 
and by means of spouts fuel is deliv- 
ered as needed, either in front of the 



power house, and indicates the way 
a conveying system may be arranged 
to handle both coal and ashes. The 
conveying buckets may be dumped at 
any desired point, and can be arrang- 
ed to run in either direction. 

With systems which have the buck- 
ets swung freely on pivots, it is essen- 



18 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



tial that the buckets be filled evenly 
to prevent spilling. Figure 3 illus- 
trates one style of a spout filler which 
tills the buckets evenly and prevents 



When coal is delivered to a plant by 
boat, it is frequently elevated by a 
self-filling bucket and raised by a 
boom to an elevated coal hopper in a 




o 



□l 
CO 



the conveyed material from dropping 
between them. The filler has a series 
of bottomless shells which fit over the 
buckets of the conveyors and distrib- 
ute the material evenly as they are 
drawn out. 



tower on the wharf. The coal passes 
through a crusher to reduce the size 
of all large pieces, and then falls into 
automatic weighing scales. Prom the 
scales it falls upon a conveyor and is 
delivered to the bunkers over the boil- 



MILL CONSTRUCTION aND POWER 



19 



ers. Frequently, large storage bunkers 
are built outside of a power house, 
these being filled by conveyors, while 
a second conveyor extends from the 
storage bunker to the smaller ones 
over the boilers. 



One-fifth of the entire steam power 

used for manufacturing purposes in 

the United States is to-day operating 

textile mills, and, ac- 

Important cording to a state- 
Facts ment made by John 
S. Lawrence in a 
paper read before the National Asso- 
ciation of Cotton Manufacturers last 
April, the coal consumption of the 
United States is over one-third that 
for the entire world. It is interesting 
to quote somewhat further from this 
same paper as follows: "In 1908, New 
England's total coal consumption was 
about 24,000,000 tons of 2,240 pounds 
each, for which over $100,000,000 was 
paid. The exact statistics are not ob- 
tainable, but it is estimated that there 
was an increase of approximately 100 
per cent in the steam coal consump- 
tion in the ten years from 1898 to 
1908. Of this enormous quantity, ap- 
proximately 8,600,000 tons were an- 
thracite and 15,400,000 tons bitumi- 
nous coal. Of this total, 16,000,000 
tons were discharged at New England 
ports, while 8,000,000 tons were re- 
ceived all-rail from the mines." 

Where water power is depended up- 
on entirely, and steam is used only for 
manufacturing purposes and heat, it is 
not necessary to locate the water 
wheels near the steam plant. If the 
water power is to be transmitted to 
the mill by belts and shafting, the 
main consideration is that of well-de- 
signed drives. The wheel-house loca- 
tion is rather definitely fixed by the 
natural water power which is to be 
utilized, but there is often some 
choice. Future additions to the mill 
must be considered, and the water 
turbine located so that the main drive 
will be as central as possible, in rela- 
tion to the machinery it is to operate. 



amount of power may he obtained 
from the stream in 
Hydro-Elec- question, with as lit- 
tric Plants tie expense as pos- 
sible. We do not 
mean that the initial expense should 
be considered alone, for the future op- 
erating costs must be estimated and 
included. As already stated, steam 
boilers require large amounts of 
water, and in many instances, mills 
receiving their power from hydro- 
electric stations find it advisable 
to locate the boiler plant in the same 
building. The best location for the 
water wheel is the major considera- 
tion, and the flexibility of electric 
transmission makes it possible to re- 
move the power house some distance 
from the main mill, without increasing 
materially the transmission losses. 



Steam power plants depend upon 
the boilers for their power, and the 
relative location of the engine room 
and boiler room has 
Steam been outlined under 

Plants the subject of "Gen- 

eral Rules for all 
Textile Mill Power Plants." If steam 
engines are to drive the mill mechan- 
ically, special attention must be given 
to the matter of location with respect 
to the mill itself, while if the power is 
to be transmitted electrically, this is 
not necessary. The importance of 
handling fuel cheaply, and of design- 
ing the power station so that auxiliary 
apparatus may have the proper room 
and location, holds true both for 
steam and turbine installations, and 
those where steam engines are uned. 



Hydro-electric power stations 
should be placed where a maximum 



In determining the required capac- 
ity for any electric motor, it is much 
better to slightly underload it than 
to err in the other 
Motor direction. A few 

Rating years ago, makers of 

electrical machinery 
gave ratings which allowed an over- 
load of 25 to 33 1-3 per cent without 
causing the slightest trouble. To-day 
this is not the case, and motors 
should be provided sufficiently large 
to eliminate all troubles of this char- 



20 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



acter. Good motors, as rated at pres- 
ent, will withstand overloads for 
short intervals but will cause exces- 
sive heating if the heavy load is car- 
ried continuously. All spinning 
rooms are hot normally because of 
frictional heat. If overloaded motors 
are used, they will throw off addition- 
al heat which will make it almost 
impossible to maintain proper tem- 
peratures in the summer time. The 
amount of heat produced by a num- 
ber of overloaded motors is much 
greater than one would expect who 
has not had the chance to actually 
observe it. 



In a paper recently read by Mel- 
don H. Merrill before the National 
Association of Cotton Manufacturers, 
much interesting and 
Pickers and valuable information 
Openers was brought out con- 

cerning the electric 
drive as used in the textile mills. 
As mentioned by Mr. Merrill, many 
mills now drive the picking machin- 
ery by individual motors fastened di- 
rectly to the machine framing. The 
pickers and openers were among the 
first of the textile machines to be 
individually driven, and there is 
therefore more data on hand con- 
cerning their power requirement than 
for most of the other machinery. For 
general use, the table biven in a 
previous issue may be safely used — re- 
membering, however, all allowances 
for special conditions. 



In the card room, the group drive 
is used in preference to individual 
motors. As stated in Mr. Merrill's 

paper, the carding is 
Power for a continuous opera- 
Cards tion with practically 

no stops, except for 
grinding, and it does not present the 
attractive features for direct drive 
that are obtained with some of the 
other processes. Manufacturers have 
made tests upon their cards to deter- 
mine the power required, from which 
the average values shown in the fol- 
lowing table have been selected: 



POVS^BR REQUIRED FOR REVOLVING 

TOP FLAT CARDS. 
(Temperature, 70 degrees F. ; relative hu- 
midity, 65%; revolutions per min- 
ute of cylinder, 165.) 
Pounds 

production per Weight of 

day of 10 hours. Horsepower, caid sliver 

40 in. 45 in. 40 in. 45 in. in grains 

mach. mach. mach. mach. per yard. 

72 80 0.8 0.8 36 

81 90 0.8 0.9 38 

90 100 0.9 1.0 40 

99 110 1.0 1.1 46 

108 120 1.0 1.1 48 

126 140 1.1 1.2 52 

133 148 1.1 1.2 56 

142 158 1.2 1.3 60 

159 177 1.2 1.4 64 

171 190 1.3 1.4 68 

180 200 1.3 1.5 72 

198 220 1.4 1.5 76 



Combers 



The power used by a six-head comb- 
er is about 0.5-horse power, while an 
eight-head machine requires 0.7-horse 
power. Sliver lap 
machines need 0.5- 
horse power, and for 
the ribbon lap notia- 
chine one-horse power should be pro- 
vided. Drawing frames frequently re- 
quire excess power on account of poor 
leveling. There seems little reason 
why these machines should not be 
kept level, but it is often wise to in- 
vestigate this matter. When in proper 
condition, one-horse power for every 
six deliveries will be needed if ordi- 
nary rolls are in use. Machines hav- 
ing metallic rolls generally require 
slightly more power, say one-horse 
power for every five deliveries. 



So many different conditions affect 
the power used by speeders and spin- 
ning frames that it is impossible to 
state any definite val- 
„ . ues as the ones most 

t>peeaers correct. The intro- 
duction of the indi- 
vidual motor drive, in connection with 
ring spinning, has enabled us to obtain 
some additional information for these 
machines, but the available reliable 
data concerning speeders is more lim- 
ited. Some years ago, the Woonsocket 
Machine & Press Company made a 
fairly complete series of tests, show- 
ing the horse power required to drive 
slubbers, intermediates, roving frames, 
and jack frames. The following table 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



21 



gives some of the results thus ob- 
tained: 

SPEEDERS. 
(Temperature, 76 degrees F. ; relative hu- 
midity, 65%.) 





3 






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Ot3 3 


u si 


Frame. 


a 




■2'S.g 

O M " 




03 ® 




o 


.2?S 




1^ 


'd oj 




6 




^2 




l°l 


3 ^ 

^-0 


no 


Slubbers . . . 


. 48 


12x6 


10 


660 


0.50 


48 


Slubbers . . . , 


. 48 


11x5 Vz 


9 


657 


0.60 


58 


Int'rm'd't's , 


.108 


9x4 Vz 


6% 


938 


1.47 


62 


Int'rm'd't's , 


. 90 


9x41/2 


6% 


969 


1.47 


52 


Rov. f ram's, 


.160 


7x3% 


5% 


1207 


4.75 


99 


Rov. fram's. 


.160 


7x3 1/2 


5 


1428 


5.10 


87 


Jack fram's 


.160 


6x3 


4% 


1520 


8.33 


89 


Jack fram's 


.200 


6x2% 


4y4 


1538 


15.00 


104 


Jack fram's 


.200 


6x21/2 


4y4 


1480- 


15.00 


114 


Jack fram's 


.200 


6x2% 


iVi 


1477 


15.00 


114 


Jack fram's 


.200 


6x2% 


iVi 


1446 


15.00 


111 



In consideration of results given by 
other machine builders, the following 
values are fairly good averages for 
general use: Slubbing frame, 45 spin- 
dles per horse power; intermediate 
frame, 55 spindles per horse power; 
roving frame, 87 spindles per horse 
power, and jack frames, 100 spindles 
per horse power. 



Various power losses in the spin- 
ning frame were explained at some 
length in a recent issue of the Amer- 
ican Wool and Cotton 
Ring Reporter, but it is 

Spinning well to speak once 
more of this in con- 
nection with the amount of power 
required to operate these machines. 
Considerable stress was laid upon 
power losses caused by excessive band 
tension, but little was said concerning 
the size of the band itself. This point 
is important. A large band produces 
more air resistance and consumes 
more power at the same tension. The 
Draper Company have made actual 
tests of the power added per pound 
increase of band tension. Although 
there is little excuse for the use of 
large bands on ordinary spindles, re- 
sults are shown in the following table 
obtained from tests upon both kinds: 



Bands 
about 
120 to the 
Revolutions. pound. 

At 1000 R. P. M. each lb. 

of band tension adds. . 0.00017 
At 2000 R. P. M. each lb. 

of band tension adds. .0.00035 
At 3000 R. P. M. each lb. 

of band tension adds. . 0.00055 
At 4000 R. P. M. each lb. 

of band tension adds. .0.00075 
At 5000 R. P. M. each lb. 

of band tension adds. . 0.00095 
At 6000 R. P. M. each lb. 

of band tension adds. .0.00120 
At 7000 R. P. M. each lb. 

of band tension adds. . 0.00145 
At 8000 R. P. M. each lb. 

of band tension adds. . 0.00170 
At 9000 R. P. M. each lb. 

of band tension adds. . 0.00200 
At 10000 R. P. M. each lb. 

of band tension adds .. 0.00230 
At 11000 R. P. M. each lb. 

of band tension adds. .0.00260 
At 12000 R. P. M. each lb. 

of band tension adds. . 0.00295 



Horse 
power per spindle 



Bands 

about 

80 to the 

pound. 

0.00027 



At the first glance, the above figures 
seem extremely small and unimpor- 
tant, but it must be remembered that 

they represent the in- 

An Interesting crease in power for 

Test one spindle. Another 

series of interesting 
tests carried on by the Draper Com- 
pany had for its object the deter- 
mination of the extra power required 
to overcome certain undesirable con- 
ditions present in actual spinning 
rooms. Cramped cylinders, tight 
bands, poor oil, dirty spindles, poor 
bobbins, heavy travelers or rings out 
of centre, and poorly oiled and ad- 
justed rolls were all frequently found, 
and tests were made to determine the 
power directly chargeable to them. 
Some of the results from this series 
of tests are given below. 



Extra 
power 
required, 
H. P. per 
spindle. 
0.00030 
0.00185 



Cause. 
One cramped cylinder. 
Band pull increased to three 
pounds. 
0.00200 Cheap, low gravity oil. 
0.00300 Dirty spindles. 
0.00030 Poor bobbins. 
0.00050 Too heavy travelers, or rings out 

of centre. 
0.00200 Rolls poorly oiled, tightlj fitted, o^ 
too heavily weighted. 

The sum of the above extra power 
amounts to nearly as much per spin- 



22 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



die as is necessary to drive the same 
when in proper condition, and spin- 
ning frames which should require one- 
horse power for every eighty spindles 
have been found using one-horse 
power for every fifty spindles. With 
proper care and attention, ring spin- 
ning frames will require approximate- 
ly the power shown below: 

POV^'ER REQUIRED FOR RING SPIN- 
NING FRAMES. 

(Temperature 76 degrees F. ; Relative Hu- 
midity, 50%; Band Pull, Two Pounds.) 
WARP YARN (Standard Warp Twist). 



Z Qo5 



10 

12 
14 
16 
18 
20 
24 
28 
32 
36 
40 
45 
50 
60 
70 
80 
90 
100 
110 



2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

1% 

1% 

1% 

1% 

iy2 

11/2 

IVa 
IVz 

11/2 

1% 
1% 



71/4 
714 
71/4 

7 

7 
7 
7 
7 
61/2 

61/2 

6 1/2 

6 1/2 

6 

6 

6 

6 

6 

6 

51/2 

51/2 

51/2 



. n7 



Co « 

»-' 5 ID 
fe l^ P. 

161 

158 
154 
150 
146 
141 
138 
134 
125 
120 
114 
108 
106 
100 

94 

86 

80 

76 

72 

66 

64 



C o ^ 



5,900 
6,700 
7,250 
7,750 
8,100 
8,450 
8,750 
8,950 
9,200 
9,500 
9,500 
9,700 
9,700 
9,700 
9,700 
9,500 
9,500 
9,300 
9,100 
8,700 
8,500 



fi5 

s- 23 

u t^ n 

814 
920 
1,000 
1,069 
1,124 
1.166 
1,207 
1,280 
1,280 
1,140 
1,140 
1,164 
1,164 
1,164 
1,164 
1,140 
1,140 
1,130 
1,090 
1,044 
1,020 



A M P. 

85 

74 

68 

76 

72 

70 

72 

74 

7C 

76 

78 

78 

80 

83 

86 

90 

94 
100 
108 
114 
127 



FILLING YARN (Standard Filling Twist). 



u 


a) . 


. 


003 


3 


^.2 2 


dj 












¥1 


05: 
f- 


d 


CO 

fl"SS 


:> ^1 
>- £ ® 


ft 5) <B 
M t. ft 


1, ft 


|ft 


6 


1% 


7y2 


178 


4,800 


662 


142 


8 


11/2 


7y2 


175 


5,450 


752 


140 


10 


11/2 


71/2 


171 


5,950 


821 


125 


12 


1% 


7 


166 


6,350 


876 


122 


14 


11/2 


7 


162 


6,700 


924 


120 


16 


11/2 


7 


158 


6,950 


959 


116 


18 


11/2 


7 


154 


7,200 


992 


110 


20 


11/2 


7 


150 


7,400 


1,021 


98 


24 


11/2 


7 


144 


7,800 


1,070 


87 


28 


1% 


6% 


140 


7,900 


949 


86 


32 


1% 


6y2 


135 


7,900 


949 


88 


36 


1% 


61/2 


129 


7,900 


949 


90 


40 


ly* 


6 


122 


7,900 


949 


90 


45 


iy4 


6 


115 


7,900 


949 


91 


50 


iy4 


6 


109 


7,900 


949 


93 


60 


1% 


5% 


100 


7,900 


949 


97 


70 


1% 


5% 


92 


7,800 


936 


100 


80 


1% 


51/2 


87 


7,700 


924 


104 


90 


iy4 


5% 


80 


7,400 


888 


110 


100 


ly* 


51/2 


75 


7,200 


864 


117 


110 


iy4 


51/2 


70 


6.900 


830 


132 



Dry twisters require about the same 
power as warp spinning frames when 
working on the same numbers of 
yarn; while, for wet 
Twisting and twisters, these values 
Spooling should be increased 

10 per cent. The 
power needed for spoolers varies 
greatly, and while conditions requir- 
ing one-horse power per 300 spindles 
are sometimes obtained, the value 225 
spindles per horse power is a safer 
average. 



With mule spinning, 90 to 125 spin- 
dles may be operated per horse power. 
Warpers require about one-quarter to 

one-half of one horse 

Weaving and power per machine, 

Finishing slashers one and one- 

h a 1 f horse power, 
plain 40-inch looms one-quarter of 
one-horse power, and wide 92-inch 
looms about one-horse power. A fair 
average for reels is 250 spindles per 
horse power, for brushers and shear- 
ers three-horse power per machine, 
and for cloth folders one-half of one- 
horse power. 



Compressed 



While speaking of the saving gain- 
ed by keeping machinery clean and in 
good running condition, we may well 
mention here the rap- 
idly increasing use of 
compressed air for 
cleaning textile ma- 
chinery. Compressed air has been used 
for this purpose, in a small way, for 
some time, and during the last few 
years, experiments have been made 
which prove plainly many advantages 
obtained with it. Operatives are in- 
clined to waste large quantities of air 
by removing nozzles and using the 
open hose for various unnecessary 
purposes, but this can be avoided by 
having special nozzles fastened to the 
hose in a way to make their removal 
by operatives impossible. Not only 
would the extravagant use of com- 
pressed air greatly tax the compres- 
sors, but large amounts of lint and 
dust would be raised. Some mills 
have provided reducing valves in the 
air pipe, in addition to the special 
nozzles, and in this way have elimi- 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



^3 



nated troubles caused by too large 
air openings. 



At first, it was thought that the 
equipment necessary to provide 
enough air for cleaning spinning 
frames would make 
Special the practice imprac- 

Nozzles ticable. This would 

no doubt have been 
true had it not been discovered that a 
jet of air from a small aperture at the 
end of a long, thin tube would do 
much more and better work than a 
powerful blast from a comparatively 
large nozzle. The long, thin tube 
makes it possible to apply the air ex- 
actly where needed, and the dirt is 
removed by the small jet without 
blowing lint and dust upon the other 
machines, as is often the case when 
large volumes of air are used. Spin- 
ning machinery may be cleaned while 
running without fear of "spinning in" 
lint, and better results are obtained 
without the expensive losses from 
stoppage. 



Very few textile mills realize the 
importance of giving careful attention 
to the power used for driving the spin- 
ning frame spindles. 

Driving the The amount used to 
Spindles. rotate one spindle is 
not large, even in the 
worst cases, but when we multiply 
this by many thousand the amount 
used is worthy of careful considera- 
tion. Any changes which will de- 
crease the horse power per spindle are 
worth trying. The power consumed 
in causing a spindle to rotate is used 
to overcome friction. This friction va- 
ries greatly according to the type and 
size of spindles used, but in all cases 
care should be taken to reduce this 
to a minimum. No spindle can be 
made exactly straight, round and 
smooth, and the bearing is bound to 
be more or less rough. This causes 
friction, which increases with the 
weight supported and which will cause 
serious trouble unless kept properly 
supplied with oil. The load caused by 
a spindle is of such a nature as to 
throw its centre of gravity somewhat 



out of line and this brings about a 
centrifugal force, which increases both 
air resistance and bearing friction. 
The pull of the traveler also has to 
be overcome, and, last but not least, 
the lateral friction brought about by 
the pull of the band. 



The amount of power required to 
overcome each of the several resist- 
ances noted varies greatly with the 
quality of the work 
Eccentricities performed, the speed 
of Power of rotation and the 
general construction 
of the spindle itself. One principal ele- 
ment of power consumption is the 
lateral friction caused by the pull of 
the band, and in general practice to- 
day it is equal to a direct pull varying 
from a quarter of a pound to, at times, 
eight pounds. In some cases this pull 
varies from two to four pounds, while 
one pound would be ample if same 
could be constantly maintained. Mois- 
ture changes, however, affect these 
bands greatly, causing a considerable 
change in their lengths and for this 
reason they are ordinarily put on tight 
enough to take care of the variations. 
In addition to changes in bands 
from moisture in the atmosphere, oil 
too may be thrown upon them by 
the spindles, and considerable contrac- 
tion is liable to take place while the 
machines are not in use, as during 
nights and week ends. A rain storm 
sometimes increases the power requir- 
ed by a spinning frame as much as 
ten per cent, and frequently even 
greater increases in power are noted 
when frames are first started after 
standing during the week end or even 
over one night. 



These changes are hard ones to re- 
move, and it is generally necessary to 
run the bands rather tight. Not 
enough attention. 
Overseers of however, is given to 
Spinning the amount of this ex- 

tra pull. Spinning 
overseers are rarely called to task for 
using too much power, while they are 
severely reprimanded if loose yarn is 
produced. This, of course, causes the 



24 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



boys who tie the bands to make them 
in all cases too tight rather than too 
loose. It is true that loose yarn is not 
wanted but it is also true that the 
mill manager does not wish to burn 
extra tons of coal each year simply to 
overcome excessive and unnecessary 
friction. 



The friction of the spindle in its 
bearing depends upon whether it runs 
tight or loose. Many modern spindles 

have what is known 

The Fit of as an "adjustable fit" 

the Spindles and where this is 

provided its advan- 
tages should be carefully utilized. In- 
stances have been found where a large 
excess of power has been daily wasted 
on account of failure to properly ad- 
just the fit of the spindles. It is cus- 
tomary in starting up new machines 
to have the bearings adjusted' rather 
close, for this causes the spindles to 
run steadier. As the bearing wears 
it requires less power to turn the spin- 
dles, provided other points which 
cause friction are carefully guarded 
against. The metal worn away will 
settle in the bottom of the spindle 
bearing, thicken and clog the oil, and 
in every way make spindles run hard 
unless at the outset large quantities 
of good oil are used. By large quan- 
tities we mean an excess so that the 
powdered metal will be actually 
fiooded out of the way. 

Careful attention should always be 
given the bands used in driving spin- 
dles, these should not be kept too 
tight. Proper oil used freely will save 
much money even if the price of same 
is higher than the kind now used. If 
spindles have adjustable fits they 
should be kept in proper adjustment; 
do not have bearings too loose but 
still have them loose enough to pre- 
vent excessive friction. Dirt must be 
kept from bearings as much as pos- 
sible and if it is present to any con- 
siderable extent it will pay to clean 
the spindles thoroughly. 



methods of procedure present them- 
selves which are 
Measuring more or less valuable 
the Power according to existing 
local conditions. In 
some cases the transmission dyna- 
mometer fills the requirements bet- 
ter than anything else, but in other 
cases the machines are driven by elec- 
tric motors and accurate results are 
obtained by use of wattmeters. Some 
mills are arranged in such a way that 
by obtaining the power required to 
operate a certain room very valuable 
data is obtained. Perhaps the room 
may be driven electrically, in which 
case the wattmeter comes into use, 
but often this is not the case and re- 
sults are obtained by use of a steam 
engine indicator similar to the one 
shown. By determining the power 
necessary to run the engine when 
driving the room in question and sub- 
tracting from this result the power 
needed to drive the engine and shaft- 
ing alone, we obtain the power used 
by all of the machines in the room. 
Again, we may determine the power 
used by each machine by removing the 
belts from one machine at a time, indi- 
cating the engine as each machine is 
removed from the total load. 



In testing the power required by 
machines in a textile mill several 



There are to-day few engineers who 
do not know more or less about an en- 
gine indicator, and still many of them 

continue to look upon 
The Engine it as a useless con- 
Indicator trivance made for the 

theoretical man and 
for which they have no need. The 
makers of steam-engine indicators are 
doing all in their power to show mill 
managers the advantages which may 
be gained by the use of an indicator 
and we are glad to find that the num- 
ber of engine rooms without a set of 
indicators is fast growing smaller. 

The steam engine indicator, as in- 
vented by James Watt, was for a 
long time kept secret and was in its 
early form so crude that its value was 
decidedly limited and restricted. To- 
day, however, the instrument is one of 
great value and to a rapidly increas- 
ing number of mill owners and engi- 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



25 



neers is the "watchman of the engine 
room." 

The indicator shown is but one of 
many makes and styles, all of which, 
however, differ by small details, very 
important, perhaps, but not affecting 
the general working principles of the 
mechanism. A piston of a carefully 
determined area is placed inside a 
smaller cylinder, so that its motion 
up and down may cause as little fric- 
tional resistance as possible, and still 
fit tight enough to prevent any consid- 
erable amount of steam from leaking 
between it and the cylinder. One end 
of this cylinder is open and made to 
connect with the steam space inside 
the engine cylinder, so that the same 
pressure is exerted upon the small pis- 
ton of one indicator as is applied 
to that of the engine. A spiral spring 
of known elastic force is arranged to 
resist the upward motion of the small 
piston — due to the steam pressure — so 
that a certain motion of the piston cor- 
responds to a definite known pressure. 
This motion is conveyed by a small 
piston rod which comes out of the top 
of the indicator cylinder and is fas- 
tened to a system of levers similar to 
those shown in our illustration. These 
levers are arranged to give a vertical 
motion to the pencil point, shown near 
the cylindrical drum, and the amount 
of this motion bears a constant ratio 
to that of the piston. 



The cylindrical drum just mentioned 
has metal clips arranged upon it so 
that a piece of paper may be quickly 
fastened around its 
Simple Cal- surface. This drum 
culations is fastened to the cyl- 

inder of the indicator 
in such a way that the pencil point 
may be moved in contact with it 
and thus mark upon the paper. By 
means of a string fastened to the en- 
gine crosshead and a spring upon the 
indicator the drum is given a rotary 
motion coincident with and bearing a 
constant ratio to the movement of the 
engine's piston. By placing the pen- 
cil point against the paper covered 
drum a line is drawn indicating the 
pressure within the engine's cylinder 
at all portions of the stroke. During 



one-half of the stroke the line repre- 
sents the pressure moving the piston 
forward and during the other half it 
indicates the pressure against which 
the piston must return. By shutting 
off the steam from the indicator and 
submitting it to atmospheric pressure 
a line is drawn upon the paper repre- 
senting the pressure of the atmos- 
phere. This shows at a glance wheth- 
er the pressure within the cylinder at 
any desired portion of the stroke is 
greater or less than that of the at- 
mosphere. Knowing the average pres- 
sure — known as the "mean effective 
pressure" — upon the piston, the horse 
power may be obtained by simple cal- 
culations. 

The usefulness of a correct engine 
indicator diagram goes much farther 
than simply giving the amount of pow- 
er developed by an engine. Wrong 
valve settings are shown and the nec- 
essary changes clearly indicated. The 
positions of the piston at admission, 
cut-off, release, and compression are 
obtained. The adequacy of the ports 
for admitting and releasing the steam 
is determined and a very detailed 
study of the engine's action is repre- 
sented by the indicator diagram. 



The simplest machine in a textile 
mill needs careful use and attention in 
order to do its work in the proper 
way. The amount 
Verifying of twist given to 

the Test yarn might seem a 

very simple thing in 
itself, and yet how important a part 
this plays! The same principle holds 
true with the steam engine indicator 
and unless small matters are consid- 
ered it will tell a story differing great- 
ly from the correct one. 

To make sure that indicators are 
correct to within, say, one per cent the 
following points must be given care- 
ful attention: First, scale of the 
spring; second, friction of all moving 
parts; third, backlash of all moving 
parts; fourth, inertia of all moving 
parts; fifth, design of pencil motion, 
and sixth, length and kind of indicator 
cord. 

Good indicator springs when tested 
by direct loads out of the indicator 



26 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



usually have correct and uniform 
scales, that is, they will collapse the 
proper amount when certain loads are 
applied. It is true that all springs are 
somewhat weaker when exposed to 
high temperatures, but with steam 
engines the indicator spring is expos- 
ed to the steam for short intervals and 
little or no error is caused by this. 
Some indicators, like that shown in 
the illustration, have the spring ar- 
ranged outside of the cylinder, and 
with these the steam does not at any 
time come in contact with it. If an 
indicator spring is uniform, but is 
either more or less than the rated 
scale, a correction may easily be ap- 
plied. For example, if a spring marked 
60 pounds to the inch is found to col- 
lapse one inch under 58 pounds, we 
may use it with accuracy by remem- 
bering that the pencil point will be 
raised one inch for every 58 pounds' 
pressure. If, however, an indicator 
spring is irregular, that is, will col- 
lapse, say, one inch under 50 pounds 
and only one and three-quarter inches 
under 100 pounds, it is absolutely 
valueless and should in all cases be 
rejected. 

Friction is a necessary evil and the 
steam indicator is now made so that 
the amount of this is very small. As 
indicators are used they will need to 
be occasionally oiled. In no case 
should any oil be used except that 
specified by the makers of the instru- 
ment in question. This small matter 
is one which often brings about errors 
of from three to five per cent. 



Backlash of the moving parts is an- 
other item which must be eliminated 
as much as possible. The reducing 

mechanism for con- 
Eliminating veying the motion of 
Backlasli the engine crosshead 

to the paper drum 
should be designed as simply as pos- 
sible. It should then be kept in good 
condition and any unnecessary loose- 
ness corrected: In guarding against 
friction and backlash the inertia of all 
moving parts must be considered. The 
parts are generally light and with care 
inertia will not cause serious trouble. 



The pencil motion is arranged to 
multiply the motion of the indicator 
piston about five or six times. This 
pencil motion must be parallel to that 
of the piston and is very nearly cor- 
rect in all first-class instruments. Er- 
rors due to the paper drum are pro- 
portional to the length of the cord 
which rotates it. For this reason the 
length of this cord should be kept as 
short as possible. Proper cords made 
for the purpose should always be used 
to guard against stretch and breakage. 

The steam-engine indicator, while 
by no means a perfect instrument, can 
easily be used in a manner which will 
give valuable results. The action of 
the steam engine can be determined 
by its use better than by any other 
way. Engineers may know what their 
engines are doing by frequent use of 
the indicator, and the resulting cards 
may be kept on file for records. The 
power required by spinning rooms, 
separate spinning frames, or, in fact, 
any department throughout the mill 
may often be advantageously obtained 
by the use of the engine indicator. 



The problem of providing proper 

coal storage and efficient apparatus 

for handling fuel is comparatively 

simple for a small 

Coal Storage mill, although even 
Problems the plants having no 
more than three or 
four boilers can almost always save 
money by putting in some sort of au- 
tomatic coal handling machinery. The 
small mill which purchases fuel from 
local dealers and which has only a 
limited space for storing coal, due to 
the fact that this point was not sufii- 
ciently considered at the time the mill 
was built, may find it impractical to 
make changes for buying coal in large 
quantities. Even if this Js not a prac- 
tical proposition, it is in most cases 
safe to assume that some simple type 
of coal conves'or could be installed at 
a price which would prove a good in- 
vestment. 

At this time, however, Ave will con- 
fine ourselves more to the considera- 
tion of practical methods of storing 
and handling coal for mills which are 
so situated that storage bunkers can 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



27 



be 'built or at which some type of 
storage system has been designed 
■without enough attention having been 
giveu to the best method of handling 
the fuel. Probably the most satisfac- 
tory and interesting way of approach- 
ing this is by giving brief descrip- 
tions of a few systems which have 
been installed in textile mills and 
which have proved themselves eco- 
nomical and satisfactory. 



conveyor above the boilers, and is 
ihen distributed by another conveyor 
into several storage bunkers placed 
over the (boilers. From these bunk- 
ers, there are chutes equipped with 
special coal valves, so that as a fire- 
man requires fuel for any particular 
boiler he draws out a certain amount 
from one of these chutes and then 
shovels it from the floor into the fur- 
nace. With an arrangement of this 




Fig. 180. Coal and Ash Handling Apparatus at the Pacific Mills Power 

House. The Coal Bunker is Shown at the Left and a Corner of 

Boiler House at Right. Ashes Are Being Loaded into a 

Motor Dumping Truck. 



The boiler house of the Hamilton 
Mfg. Co., at Lowell, Mass., is arranged 
so that the coal is dumped from the 
cars into a concrete 
Hamilton pit and is then taken 
Mfg. Co. from the pit by an 
electric hoist and de- 
livered to a crusher which breaks up 
the large pieces. In connection with 
this crusher there is a special weigh- 
ing hopper, and after leaving this the 
coal is carried by an elevating belt 



kind, coal is drawn directly upon the 
boiler house floor, but with a fair 
amiQunt of care the boiler house may 
be kept clean. When desired, the coal 
can be taken directly from the rail- 
road car to the crusher without first 
being dumped into the concrete mt. 

At the Wood Worsted Mill, Law- 
rence, Mass., the coal is conveyed 
from the storage bunker to the boiler 
house and "distributed before the vari- 
ous boilers by large belt conveyors. 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



In this particular mill this apparatus 
was not installed at the start and after 
it was put in it became possible to 
handle the same amount of fuel with 
about one-quarter the help and in 
about one-half the time. 



Tlie Pacific Mills, at Lawrence, Mass., 

built a large power plant about five 

years ago for furnishing power to 

what is known as the 

Pacific old print works, the 

[VI ills cotton department, 

the cotton yarn mill, 

the new worsted mill and a part of 



The boiler house at this station con- 
tains 24 boilers and two large brick 
chimneys. A coal bunker was built 

of rednforced con- 

The Coal c;re;te,<h.aving'a capao- 

Bunker ity of 5,000 tons. This 

main coal storage 
building has no lower outlet for de- 
livering coal at the bottom of the stor- 
age bins, but is designed so that the 
fuel is taken out by an electric hoist, 
as required. To provide against the 
possibility of this electric hoist be- 
ooiming out of order, a small concrete 
bin is located at one end of the stor- 
age building and has an opening at 




Fig. 181. Motor Dumping Truck Like Tliat Used at the Pacific Mills. Dump- 
ing Meclianism is Operated by Power. 



the old worsted mill. There was no 
available land near these mills, and it 
became necessary to place the station 
something like half or three-quarters 
of a mile from the centre of the plant. 
Thlsl was unfortunatie on account of ithe 
difficulty in utilizing hot water returns 
from the various departments, but it 
was a comparatively simple matter to 
arrange for the transmission of power, 
as this was to be all distributed elec- 
trically. 



the side, so that the coal may be re- 
moved and taken to the boiler room 
by the ordinary wheelbarrow or tip- 
cart. This bin, it must be remem- 
bered, is provided only for emergency 
use. 

The electric hoist is shown by Fig- 
ure ISO and is supported by an over- 
head track as indicated. This track 
runs between the coal storage bunker 
and the boiler house, runs in front of 
both rows of boilers, and also runs 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



29 



over all of the coal storage bins. The 
clamshell which handles the coal is 
operated electrically and will pick up 
approximately one ton of coal at a 
time. The clamshell and hoisting ap- 
paratus is shown over one of the Pa- 
cific Mills motor dumping trucks in the 
yard space between the holler room 
and the storage bunker. 



The coal cars enter the storage 
bunker on an elevated trestle and 



set of 12 boilers has a separate chim- 
ney. The hoisting car runs over a 
specially designed scale at the en- 
trance of the boiler house, so that each 
load that the clamshell delivers is ac- 
curately weighed before being dumped 
on the boiler house floor. • To elimi- 
nate the necessity of recording the 
weights of each load with a pencil 
and paper, a punch arrangement is 
provided, so that by throwing a small 
lever the weight is recorded clearly, 
and the operator has little chance of 




Fig. 182. Motor Dumping Truck 
Used by Thomas Cakes & Co., Bloomfieid, N. J. 



dump either side into the storage 
bins. The electric 
The Electric hoist runs on the 
Hoist overhead track, takes 

coal from any desired 
part of the storage bins, elevates it, 
carries it to the boiler room and low- 
ers it to the boiler room floor in front of 
any of the boilers. In this boiler house 
12 boilers are placed on each side of 
i-hp: room facing each other, and each 



introducing errors in coal consump- 
tion data. 



At this plant the ashes are removed 
by the night men, are wheeled into 
the yard and can be quickly loaded 
into tea,ms the next 
Removing morning with the 
Ashes same clamshell 

which handles the 
coal. In connection with the economi- 
cal handling of ashes, and, in fact, any 



30 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



other materials which must be car- 
ried some distance and then dumped 
quickly, the motor trucks which are 
to-day used by the most up-to-date 
mills should receive special attention. 
Figure 180 shows a five-ton autom^atic 
dumping truck made by the White 
Company which is in use at the Pa- 
cific Mills. There are many different 
styles of dumping trucks suitable for 
mill requirements and in Figure 182 we 
show another truck which many of 



mechanism by tlic same power that 
drives the truck. 



A large new print works and dye- 
house is just being completed for the 
Pacific Mills and is located aboiit two 
and a half miles from 
Motor Dumping the power station 
Trucks which supplies pow- 
er to the main mill. 
There is a separate power house for 




Fig. 183. Lower Story of Coal Pocket at Pacific IVIilis New Print Works 

Coal Cars Similar to That Shown in Figure. 186 Are Seen at the 

Right and Coal Valves for Removing Coal from the Bins 

Are Seen in the Centre of the Illustration. 



the mills are using - and which is 
manufactured by the General Vehicle 
Company. This particular truck is 
used by Thomas Oakes & Co., Bloom- 
field, N. J. 

Figure 181 shows a truck similar to 
that owned by the Pacific Mills witli 
the bodj^ tipped for dumping. To tip 
this, the driver is not obliged to leave 
his seat, but operates . the dumping 



the print works' plant, but in carry- 
ing ashes from the main power house 
to the new mill for grading purposes 
Ihe fi-ve-ton dumping truck shown in 
the accompanying illustration has ren- 
dered excellent service. Much might 
be said concerning the increasing 
uses for all kinds of motor trucks for 
handling miscellaneous haulage prob- 
lems which the textile mill must meet. 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



31 



This would introduce a discussion 
dealing with the various types of 
tracks and Avill be reserved for a later 
issue. 



Coming to the installation at the 
Pacific Mills' new print works, in 
Lawrence, Mass., we find that the in- 
dustrial railway type 
The New of conveyor is used. 

Print Works As already noted, the 
facility for storing 
a large quantity of coal is an essential 
consideration for mills located some 
distance from the coal mining terri- 
tory, and the storage bunker which 
has just been completed for the power 
house of the Pacific Mills' print works 
has a capacity of 10,000 tons and cov- 
ers about 19J feet by 153 feet. The 
footings for this building rest on con- 
crete piles and support six lojigitudi- 
nal rows of 37-inch reinforced con- 
crete columns, placed 16 feet 9 inches 
on centres. The storage space is di 
vided into several separate bins by 
concrete walls, so that should the coal 
in anj' one of these bins become heat- 
ed, it is a comparatively simple mat- 
ter to empty this particular bin with- 
out disturbinig that which is in the 
other bins. Figure 183 shows the 37- 
inch concrete columns and also the 
type of valve used for drawing out 
the coal from any one of the several 
sitorage chambers. This same illustra- 
tion shows the narrow gauge railroad 
for the coal cars, and two cars full 
of coal are seien at the right. The 
general method of handling these cars 
will be described later. 



Figure 1S4 shows a viev/ looking 
down into one of the storage bins, 
showing the depth and also indicating 
the way in which the 
The bottom of the bins 

Storage Bins are shaped so that' 
all coal can be drawn 
through the valves seen in Figure 183. 
In Figure 184 a portion of the convey- 
ing apparatus and distributing chiitps 
are ?hown. We will explain their opera- 
tion in connection with that of the 
small •coal cars. The conveying buck 



ets and chutes just mentioned are il- 
lustrated still more clearly by Figure 
185. Regular coal cars are brought in- 
to the mill yard on a private siding, 
and the car which is to be unloaded 
is placed over an opening or hopper 
which is approximately on the ground 
level. We should have noted that the 
car to be unloaded is first weighed on 
a platform scale, which is located 
near the above mentioned hopper. 



Practically all of the coal which is 
delivered to this mill is received in 
the type of car which has a bottom 
d u m p in g ar range- 
Unloading ment and the coal is 
the Coal allowed to fall by 
gravity into the un- 
loading hopper. This hopper, or 
chute, carries the coal to a crusher 
which breaks up all large lumps, leav- 
ing it in a suitable condition for han- 
dling with buckets and for delivering 
through the coal valves, both of which 
are shown in the accompanying illus- 
trations. The crusher is in a pit un- 
derground, and the first conveying sys- 
tem consists of a bucket elevator. 
Theise buckets are really a part of the 
system of buckets shown by Figure 
184, and the other part of the elevator 
system may be seen at the extreme 
rear of the r^oom (Figure 1S5). The 
buckets in the lower part of this fig- 
ure are the empty ones returning for 
a new supply of coal, and the full 
buckets rise vertically, as seen in Fig- 
ure 185, and then pass over the chutes 
which feed the separate bins. 



These buckets are large enougih and 
are designed to move at such a speed 
that the system can readily take care 
of 60 tons per hour 
A Ton or one ton per min- 

Per Minute ute. The coal falls 
from the regular car 
into the crusher, from the crusher it 
is delivered to an inclining length of 
the buckets, which later become ver- 
tical and then pass over the entrance 
to the several- dhiites.,. By' a simple 
tripping mechanism, this chain of 
buckets... can- be rnade to empty into 



32 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



any one of the chutes illustrated, 
and the chains which are seen 
in the illustration are for set- 



there are still other storage bins 
which are not equipped with chutes 
as those shown in our illustration. 




Fig. 184. Interior of Coal Pocket at New Print Works (Pacific iVIills) 
Shiowing Coal Conveyor and Storage Pits. 



ting these respective tripping mecha- 'These are auxiliary or secondary stor- 

nisms. age bins built so that a large surplus 

At tbe extreme left of Figure 185 of coal can always be kept on hand 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



33 



for use in time of any coal shortage 
3r other emergencies. 

For filling these bins the buclvets 
are tripped over a large hopper at 
the end of the building from which 
coal is fed into an electrically driven 
metal car. This car after being filled 
with coal is run out over any one of 
the auxiliary storage bunkers and is 
quickly dumped by raising the sides of 
the car. These car sides are hinged 



cars can be unloaded at the rate of 
one ton per minute, and it is possible 
that even this speed may subsequent- 
ly be increased. 

Coming down stairs upon the same 
level with the boiler house floor, we 
reach the room indicated by Figure 
183. There are several coal valves for 
each storage bin, this point being 
shown by Figure 183 and Figure 184. 
The coal cars from which the fuel is 




Fig. 185. 



Upper Story of New Print Works (Pacific IVlills) Sliowing Coal 
Conveyor. 



at the top, and the bottom of the car 
is so shaped that the coal all falls 
out as soon as the sides are lifted. 



The accompanying illustrations 

show the mechanism for handling the 

buckets, this being operated by an 

electric motor, as in- 

Tlie Coal dicated. There is 

Conveyor nothing complicated 

to get out of order in 

this system, and, as already noted, 



shoveled directly into the boilers are 
shown in Figure 183. Each of these 
cars holds about one ton of coal and 
is handled easily, on the narrow 
gauge track, by one man. Switches 
are arranged so that the car can be 
filled from any one of the numerous 
valves, and then the cars are pushrd 
by hand to the boiler house. 



There are 30 Bigelow boilers in this 
station, 15 being placed on each side 



34 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



of the room and having twoi sepai'at? 
stacks. The tracks 
Small for' the indusitrial 

Steel Cars coal cars are ar- 
ranged so that the 
car can he weighed at the entrance 
to the boiler room and then moA^ed in 
front of any one of the boilers, being 
the proper distance away from them 
to enable the firemen to shovel di- 
rectly from the steel car. One of these 
cars is shown by Figure 1S6 with the 
side lowered into a horizontal position 
ready for feeding one of the boilers 



filled from the valves at the bot- 
tom of 'the bunkers in less than a 
minute. The entire outfit for han- 
dling this vast quantity of coal, in- 
cluding the equipment for filling the 
auxiliary storage bins, takes up little 
room, is easy to keep in repair and is 
a decidedly practical arrangement. 



The general construction of the 
building itself is of unusual interest 




Fig. 186. 



Steel Coal Car Used for Bringing Fuel from Storage Bunkers to 
Boilers. 



in a plant equipped with apparatus 
similar to that used at the Pacific 
Mills' print works. 

Prom the time the coal is unloaded 
until it is shoveled into the furnace, it 
is all handled by a combination of auto- 
matic dumping buckets and small 
steel cars. The fact that the coal 
is shoveled directly from the car, as 
shown 'by the accompanying illustra- 
tion, keeps all coal off from the btoiler 
house floor and adds a great deal to 
the general cleanliness of the room. 
The coal is brought into the storage 
bunkers at the rate of one ton per 
minute and the one-ton cars, similar 
to that shown (by Figure 186, can be 



especially due to the fact that a good 
deal of the concrete 
Concrete was laid during the 
Construction cold weather. The 
concrete construction 
company which did this work and the 
mill architects who superintended the 
construction have had considerable 
experience in handling concrete under 
adverse weather conditions and 
showed plainly what they could ac- 
complish in this particular construc- 
tion. 

The water used for mixing the con- 
crete was heated by means of a steam 
3et placed in the water barrel. Steam 
was also applied directly to the sand 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



35 



pile and to the stone pile, and before 
the concrete was poured steam was 
applied to the forms for removing 
all snow and ice. Large sections \vere 
covered with canvas, and salamanders 
using coke were placed beneath all 
freshly poured concrete and kept burn- 
inig until it had thoroughly hardened. 



vious to the placing of any orders for 
same. 



There is a sub-iba&ement under- 
neath the boilers, and the ashes are 
removed through valves somewhat 

similar to the coal 

Special valves shown in our 

Ash Cars illustrations. The 

small steel car for 
handling the ashes has a specially de- 
signed top and cover which fits onto 
the ash valve closely, so that the car 
is filled without allowing any dirt and 
dusit to escape into the air. At the 
present time, the Pacific Mills is 
using the ashes for grading purposes 
anxi the special ash car is moved di- 
rectly to the dump and emptied by 
lifting the sides. The track on which 
these cars run is light and caji be 
quickly laid to new locations, as it may 
become necessary to take the ashes to 
different parts Of the yard, or to any 
type of elevating apparatus for filling 
carts or cars. 



When considering the erection of 
a new mill it is often a help to have 
on band figures by which the ap- 
proximate size re- 
Space quired may be as- 
Required certained. To a con- 
siderable extent this 
depends upon many special conditions, 
but the figures about to be given 
will in many cases be found useful. 
Cotton machinery has been manufac- 
tured for many years, and, although 
at the present time new inventions 
are being introduced almost daily, 
these are largely of a character that 
do not alter the amount of floor area 
required by the various kinds of ma- 
chinery. We find that cotton machin- 
ery manufactured by different con- 
cerns does not vary much in its over- 
all dimensions, so that the actual 
space needed for placing machinery 
may be closely approximated even pre- 



The spacing required between the 
various kinds of textile machinery is a 
subject which has received much at- 
tention. Mill men to- 
Arranging day do not always 
Maciiinery agree upon the 
width required for 
aisles, passageways, storage space, 
etc., and in all probability they never 
will. In some instances the main ob- 
ject worked for is to get all the ma- 
chinery possible into a certain space, 
and in doing this working spaces are 
made as small as the width of bob- 
bin carts and other trucks will allow. 
Some go to the other extreme and in- 
sist upon a spacing of machinery 
which not only wastes room but also 
much of the operator's time. If the 
product from the cards, for example, 
has to be carried a long distance to 
the drawing frames a small amount 
of time is lost very often, and at the 
end of even one week it amounts to 
an item worthy of consideration. In 
preparing a set of figures indicating 
the amount of floor space required 
per machine or per spindle by a cot- 
ton mill data has been taken where 
machinery was somewhat crowded, 
where spaces considerably too large 
have been left, and also, where, in 
the opinion of the writer, the best 
possible relations between machinery 
space and alley space exists. This 
data has been carefully compared and 
averages obtained, after first, how- 
ever, throwing out cases which seem- 
ed extremely undesirable. In build- 
ing a new mill the additional future 
machinery should always be consid- 
ered, but this extra room should be 
figured at the start to as great an 
extent as is possible. 



Starting with the picker rooms we 
find that out of twelve mills consid- 
ered the average floor space pro- 
vided per machine 
Picking was 450 square feet. 

Machinery The largest amount 
provided was 500 
square feet and the smallest slightly 



36 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



under 400 square feet. Some of the 
rooms were equipped with, two heat- 
er breakers which are larger than the 
single heaters now coming into more 
frequent use. Results will, however, 
be fairly close by use of the average 
value, 450. Coming to the carding 
department the average space provid- 
ed per card was found to be 123 
square feet. The total number of 
cards installed in the combined rooms 
of the mills considered was 350, and 
the space provided per card varied 
from 100 to 160 square feet. 



Drawing frames are frequently 
placed much too close together, and, 
although the result obtained from in- 
vestigations made 
Speeder in t w e Iv e mills 

Rooms gives an average 

space per delivery of 
about 20 square feet, the writer would 
advise the use of 25. The important 
point sometimes overlooked is the 
fact that the coiler cans are seldom 
placed in such a way as to use the 
minimum amount of space. Any ex- 
cess room around the slubbers is 
never wasted and if the drawing 
frames take less room than that al- 
lowed it is easy to arrange this to 
come near the slubbers. Although 
more room is desired around slubbing 
frames than around intermediates and 
roving we will consider them all un- 
der the name of speeders. For these 
the floor space per spindle figures 
slightly over two square feet, and the 
value, 2.3, is a safe one to use. 



In considering the amount of room 
to allow for ring spinning frames we 
will divide them into three groups ac- 
cording to the gauge 
Spinning used. For 2%-inch 

Rooms gauge 0.9 square feet 

per spindle should 
be provided; for 3-inch gauge this fig- 
ure increases to 0.95 square feet per 
spindle and with 3i-inch gauge one 
square foot per spindle is none too 
much. The space taken up by mule 
spinning also varies with the gauge, 
but from data taken from three mills 
the value of about one and three-quar- 



ters square feet per spindle was ob- 
tained. Twisters require from one to 
two square feet per spindle according 
to the gauge, while about two and one- 
half should be figured for spoolers, 
and one and eight-tenths for reels. 
Looms should be given from forty to 
sixty square feet per machine, and an 
average taken from five mills having 
together about twenty-five hundred 
looms gives us fifty-four and one-half. 
The following table is given show- 
ing the various values just described, 
and, while it may be wise to diverge 
from them greatly in some cases, they 
can often be used to advantage in 
making preliminary investigations 
concerning the size and type of mill 
best suited for cases in question. 

Sq. ft. Sq! ft. 

Machine. per inch, per Spindle. 

Picking machinery 450 . ... 

Cards 123 ..'. 

Drawing frames ; . . . *25 

Speeders : 2.3 

Ring spinning, 2% in. G 0.9 

Ring spinning, 3 in. G 0.95 

Ring spinning, 3^4 in. G 1.00 

Mule spinning 1.75 

Twisters, 3 in. G 1.1 

Twisters, 3% in. G 1.2 

Twisters, 3% in. G I.3 

Twisters, 3% in. G 1.4 

Twisters, 4% in. G ... 1.8 

Spoolers 2,5 

Reels 1.8 

Looms 54.5 : ..i 

♦Per delivery. 



After deciding upon the approxi- 
mate amount of floor area required to 
furnish a certain desired output the 
question immediate- 
Types of Mill ly arises concerning 
Construction the type of construc- 
tion, the number of 
stories and the cost. The standard 
type of slow burning mill construc- 
tion is the type most often used for 
textile purposes, although reinforced 
concrete is becoming more and more 
popular for all classes of building 
construction. The conditions gov- 
erning the type of construct'toU are 
cost, safety, durability, time of erec- 
tion and fire protection, while many 
minor factors enter into each individ- 
ual case. Types of buildings for mills 
may be classified as follows: (1) 
frame construction; (2) steel con- 
struction; (3) mill or slow burning 
construction, and (4) reinforced con- 



MILL CONSTRUCl'ION AND POWER 



37 



Crete eonstruction. The first type is 
the cheapest at the outset, but its 
great fire risk and lack of durability 
make it very undesirable for textile 
use. 



The second or steel construction 
makes a very desiraJble building, and 
the amount of steel used in textile 

Twr,»o «f r^y, buildings has greatly 

Types of Con- inp„p„„p^ d iTr i n e- 

struction Com- i?^^^f ^ , . during 

bared years. 

*^ Steel beams are 

used with wooden fioors and also 

with floors of concrete. In the first 

case the fire hazard is greater than 

with the floor of concrete, but this 

hazard is much less than that with 

a frame or slow burning mill type 

construction, and the durability is at 

the same time greatly increased. 

The mill or slow burning type of 
canstructipn, as its name implies, is 
not flreproof, but the use of large 
heavy beams and planks instead of 
large quantities of lighter stock 
makes danger from fire very small 
in comparison with that where light 
wooden frame work is used. As al- 
ready stated, this slow burning mill 
construction is to-day by far the most 
common type used by the textile in- 
dustries. 



Coming lastly to reinforced con- 
crete construction for textile mills we 
arrive at a style of construction com- 
paratively new. It is 

Reinforced very desirable from 
Concrete the standpoint of fire 
risks and due to this 
characteristic enables the owners to 
obtain insurance at better rates. It 
is proving itself to be exceedingly 
durable, thus eliminating frequent re- 
pairs and renewals, and in some cases 
has been erected more quickly than 
the standard type with brick or stone 
walls. Its cost depends greatly upon 
local conditions. Some instances 
have been known where gravel, from 
which the concrete is made, has been 
taken from the excavations made nec- 
essary by the new (building itself, and 
in such cases mills have been built 



for about the same cost as would have 
been necessary had the slow burning 
type of construction been followed. 
It is generally, however, somewhat 
more expensive. Concrete construc- 
tion for the textile mill has often 
been objected to on the ground that 
much more trouble and expense was 
necessary in suitably fastening ma- 
chinery and shafting. This is being 
overcome in many different ways by 
the incorporating of wooden stringers 
within the concrete floors, to which 
are fastened in some cases a com- 
plete top flooring of wooden plank. 
It is impossible to know the extent 
to which reinforced concrete will re- 
place the brick or stone mills for new 
plants, but there are many reasons 
for believing that this will be true to 
a considerable extent within the next 
ten or fifteen years. 



Although we have gone at some 
length into the subject of reinforced 
concrete for textile mills, let us re- 
turn once more to 
'^•ost of Con- the slow burning 
struction type of mill. These 

consist of stone or 
brick walls having heavy wooden 
beams for supporting the flooring and 
roof. In speaking of the cost of these 
mills we will consider those having 
brick walls and not those having 
stone. While contractor's bids may 
readily and quickly be obtained after 
building plans are made a rough esti- 
mate of the cost at the very outset 
often proves that a height or width 
very different from that contemplated 
is the one most economical. In speak- 
ing of mill widths it seems wise to 
note that cotton mill rooms, in which 
drawing frames are to be placed, 
should have this fact carefully con- 
sidered, for often a poor machinery 
arrangement is made necessary by the 
inability to properly locate the draw- 
ing frames. Prices are constantly 
changing in every line, and the cost 
of mill construction is much different 
than it was ten years ago. In the 
figures about to be given the prevail- 
ing prices during January, 1910, have 
been averaged and used. 



38 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



Let us first consider mill founda- 
tions. The cost of this work depends 
greatly upon the kind of soil, and the 
presence of any un- 
Founda- usual mud or other 

tions soft and undesirable 

bottom must be given 
special attention. For ordinary 
straightforward work, however, the 
following figures, which include ex- 
cavation, may be used to advantage. 
The prices given are the cost per 
linear foot for foundations under out- 
side walls and inside walls: 

OUTSIDE WALLS. 

One story 2.00 

Two stories 2.90 

Three stories 3.80 

Four stories 4.70 

Five stories 5.60 

Six stories 6.50 

INSIDE WALLS. 

One story 1.75 

Two stories 2.25 

Three stories 2.80 

Four stories 3.40 

Five stories 3.9 

Six stories 4.50 



For determining a rough estimate 
of the cost of brick walls, including 
doors and windows, the brickwork is 
based on twenty-two 
^^ 11 bricks per cubic foot, 

^^ ^ costing $18 per thou- 

sand laid, and open- 
ings are estimated at 40 cents per 
square foot, including windows, doors 
and sills. Cost per square foot of 
brick walls, including doors and win- 
dows: 

OUTSIDE WALLS. 

One story 40 cents 

Two stories 44 cents 

Three stories 47 cents 

Four stories 50 cents 

Five stories 53 cents 

Six stories 57 cents 

INSIDE WALLS. 

One story 40 cents 

Two stories 40 cents 

Three stories 40 cents 

Four stories 43 cents 

Five stories 45 cents 

Six stories 47 cents 

Floors used in slow burning mill 
construction will cost about thirty-two 
cents per square foot and by adding 
five cents per square foot we may in- 
clude columns, column piers, castings 
and wrought iron work used with 
same. Standard tar and gravel roofs 
may be figured at thirty cents per 



square foot, which price includes col- 
umns and an overhang of about eight- 
een inches. 

Two stairways should be allowed in 
buildings 300 feet long or under, and 
these stairways for buildings over 300 
feet in length. They will cost about 
$100 per flight per story. 



With electrical apparatus, it is easy 

to keep correct data concerning the 

amount and cost of power used by the 

various departments 

Correct of a textile inill. 

Records Some mills, where it 

would be simple and 

economical to keep correct records of 

the power used, do have a certain 

method of recording the horse power 

consumed, the daily coal consumption 

and various other records, but the 

manner in which data for some of 

these records is obtained makes it 

worse than useless. Unless the data 

as taken is correct, it is absurd to 

make lengthy calculations from it. 

In many instances, mill men do not 
install recording electrical instru- 
ments, and, in fact, some concerns up 
ing alternating current are not equip- 
ped with any type of wattmeter. A 
representative of the American Wool 
and Cotton Reporter recently asked 
a master mechanic of a good-sized 
textile mill how they kept track of the 
amount of alternating current used for 
power purposes. A blank was shown 
on which four readings in kilowatts 
were marked daily. There was 
no wattmeter to be seen on the 
switchboard, and the question natur- 
ally arises as to how the readings 
were obtained. It was found that four 
readings were taken daily of the volts 
and amperes, and that these were mul- 
tiplied together and entered upon the 
report as watts in the same manner 
as would have been correct for a di 
rect current. Every master mechanic 
who has anything to do with electrical 
apparatus should certainly know that 
the product of volts and amperes does 
not give the correct number of watts 
for an alternating current. To obtain 
the watts from this product, a certain 
power factor must be used which 
varies according to the nature of the 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



load. The mill in question receives a 
good amount of power from the alter- 
nating current generator. There can 
be no good reason why this plant did 
not have at least an indicating watt- 
meter. 

It is not our intention to dwell up- 
on the different kinds of electrical 



comparatively few operating engi- 
neers. To-day it is 
The Power used in probably all 
Plant engine rooms of 

consequence. Many 
engineers to-day do not get the value 
from their indication diagram which 
they should. Nearly all of them, how- 



Fig. 91. 



DAILY BOILER HOUSE REPORT 
THE AMERICAN THREAD COMPANY. 

KERR MILLB, FALL RIVER. MABS. 



No. 1 A 2 Plants. 



D*TE. 



COAL AND 


ASH 














w 


A T 


E,R 
















CAR NO. & INITIAL 


KIND 


QUALITY 


POUNDS 




No. 1 1 No. 2 


IO» M. 




if M 










Temp.— Heater — o° F 
" —Pump — ■• 
" — Econ. No. 1— •• 








METERED NO a PLANT 




i2Night-6A M.-Lbs 
6A. M-uM- •• 




ANT. 


en 


13 M.— 6 P. M.- 

6 P M -Tj Night 










Bal. on Hand— Tons. 
Coal Unloaded— Lbs. 
" Cons'd— No. I Plant— Lbs 


ToT»L 


Deduct for Blowoff. Etc.. Lbs 

Lbs. Water Evap'd. Act. No. 2 Plant 


■' —Caustic Pl't- Lbs. 
Total Cofisumption " 
Coal Put in Storage 


Temp Flue Gas Ent. Econ.— No. i No. J Plant "F 
•■ _ • ' Leav •• "F 


Bal. on Hand— Tons. 


Leav. "F 


Ashes— No. 2 Plant— Lbs. 


Av. Thickness of Fire " " In. 


LABOR 


" Steam Temp. " " "F 




NO. 1 PI., 


.lOHT 


NO. s 


PLANT. 


" Co. —Boiler No " " % 
" Temp. Boiler Room "• " *F 
Weather 


No. Foremen 
" Firemen 










" Ash Wheelers 
" Coal Trimmers 




Boilers in Use, 


, ' Unloading Coal 
•' Tetpermen 












Boilers No. 
No. I Plant 
No. 2 Plant 






J 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


9 









meters, but we do wish to point out 
the advantage of keeping some kind 
of an accurate record for all depart- 
ments of the power house, and an ac- 
curate record cannot be obtained with- 
out the use of proper measuring de- 
vices. 



Not many years ago, the steam en- 
gine ■ indicator was understood by 



ever, are obtaining some help from 
the use of this appliance, while there 
are many other simple devices which 
they do not use at all. 

The power records may be valuable, 
so that they must be recorded in some 
systematic way, and the matter must 
be in charge of a capable and respon- 
sible party. There should be some per- 
son in each mill who can obtain from 
his file an accurate record of the effi- 
ciency under which his power plant is 



40 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



being operated. Some record should 
be on hand giving the amount of feed 
water used, temperature at which this 
feed water is introduced into the boil- 
ers, the temperature of this water on 
entering and leaving the heaters, the 



Kerr Mills of the American Thread 
Company. Figure 92 
is a corresponding 
daily report of the 
power house, 
plants, temperature 



Some 
Examples 



For many 



Fig. 92. 

DAILY POWER HOUSE REPORT 

THE AMERICAN THREAD COMPANY. 

KERR MILLS, FALL RIVER, MASS. 



No. 2 Plant. 







— 




— 














— 







"~ 










. 




"*" 


VOLTS j 


AMPCRCS 1 


K. W. 


POWER 


Fills AMPIRtS 


phecb 






. 1 


» 


• 


I 


i 


> 




I 


3 


1 


< 


a 




10 A.M 
8 P.M. 
































EXCITERS 


OPERATION— MRS. RUN 


nw 


VOLTS J 


AMPERES 1 


R. W. 


TURSO-OEN.. 


EXCITERS 




i 


t 


1 


t 


3 


I 


2 


a 


1 ■ J 


a 


1 1 } 


a 






















. 




1 






TIME 


10 A M. 


a p M 


8 P.M. 


Temp. Turbine Room 
•• Outside Air 








CONDENSERS 


SUPPLIES 


IHIC 


MUT 


OUTLET 1 


VACUUM 


■ AOOM. 




1 


t 


9 


1 


t 


a 




10 A.M. 
IPtl 











































DISTRIBUTION OF 


POWER 








MILL NO. 1 K. W 


MILL NO * R W 


- MILL NO 3— K W MRS 


■WITCH 


•»"" 


kOAP 


SWITCH 


":r 


M... 


.WITCH 


"5!;* 


RCAOINO 





LIGHTS 
ISTFLOOH 
CARDING 

CARDING 
3RO ft <TH PLOOR 
HULE SPINNING 






NO I HILL 

CASSING & 
PICKBR ROOM 






•ASBMENT 

1 D TWISTING 

TWISTING 
ttND PUOOR 

COP WINDING 
auo FLOOR 

CARDING 
•TH FLOOR. «. 

RING SPINNING 
•TH PLCKIR, S. 

RINGSrtNNING 








•TH PLCXIIt. N. 

tTH PLOOR. S. 

RING SPINNING 

TOTAL 


OILERS- 




REPAIRS 1 — 















amount of coal burned per horse pow- 
er developed, the temperature of tne 
flue gas each side of the economizer, 
the amount of carbon dioxide in the 
flue gas, and many other equally im- 
portant points, the number of which 
varies with the size and kind of equip- 
ment. 



Figure 91 is a reproduction of the 
daily boiler house report used by the 



readings, pressure readings, elec- 
trical readings, etc., may be taken 
from two to four times each day, and 
the average of these observations 
used. It is, however, often advisable 
to install some kind of recording ap- 
paratus by which a complete record is 
obtained for each day's run. Figures 
89 and 90 in the June 15 issue of the 
American Wool and Cotton Re- 
porter are reproductions of two ac- 
tual charts, showing respectively tem- 



Mill construction and power 



41 



perature of the feed water as it leaves 
the heater, and the economizer. These 
charts are changed daily, and from 
them the exact reading corresponding 



ciprocating engines, certain changes 
to this form would, of course, be nec- 
essary. 



Ste«-*n 




60s inlet 



Fig. 94. Diagram Illustrating Opera- 
tion of Machine for Measuring Car- 
bon Dioxide Gas. 



to each hour of the day is known. A 
recording instrument can be used for 
indicating the amount of feed water 
used throughout the day, and record- 
ing electrical instruments are upon 
the market which indicate the elec- 
trical power delivered. 

Figure 88 ' in the June 15 issue of 
American Wool and Cotton Re- 
porter is a reproduction of a chart 
made by the American Thread Com- 
pany's plant, which shows the per- 
centage of carbon dioxide in the flue 
gas. 



Figure 92 is a convenient form for 
recording engine room data. The 
American Thread Company generates 
its power by steam 
Engine Room turbines directly con- 
Data nected to electrical 
generators, so that 
the items appearing in Figure 92 re- 
fer to the electrical readings, temper- 
ature readings and the distribution of 
power. For a power house using re- 



Several 
Copies 



Reports similar to those illustrated 
by Figures 91 and 92 should be 
made out upon manifold pads. The 
number of copies 
needed is governed 
entirely by the size of 
the plant. A copy of 
all such records should go to the engi- 
neering department where they should 
be examined at once, checked over 
carefully, and kept on file. As a rule, 
the treasurer or agent should receive 
a condensed summary of these re- 
ports, and this summary should be 
made out by the engineering depart- 
ment. Of necessity, the above sum- 
mary will be somewhat delayed in 
reaching the agent or treasurer, and 
one of the manifold copies of the orig- 
inal report should go at once to their 
office. It is probable that this original 



TO BULER ROOM INNCikTOR 



TO'RECOROINC OAUCE 



CAUSIIC DRIP 



ABSORPTION CHAMBER 




CAUSTIC OVERFLOW 



Fig. 95. Diagram of Most Important 
Parts of Carbon Dioxide Instrument 



42 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



report will seldom receive much at- 
tention from the agent if the sum- 
maries are sent to him promptly and 
regularly. In looking over the con- 
densed summary, some item may ap- 
pear unusually large or small, and the 
agent or treasurer may wish to follow 
this figure daily for a short time. This 
is one reason why he should receive 
a copy of the original report. 



The 
Fires 



It will be noted that the form illus- 
trated by Figure 91 shows at a glance 
the kind and quantity of coal on hand; 
the car numbers 
Reduces are noted, and a 

Expenses summary made from 

this part of the re- 
port should be sent to the purchasing 
department at regular intervals. 
There is a weekly report which 
contains many items of value to 
the purchasing department. It likewise 
furnishes data for the cost keeping 
department as well as giving the en- 
gineering department figures which 
show whether or not the plant is be- 
ing operated efficiently, and if not, 
where the abnormal expenditures lie. 

The master mechanic of a medium 
sized and even fairly small mill 
should have records similar to the 
ones illustrated, kept accurately. 
There is no call for their forms being 
nearly as long and detailed as the 
ones shown, but a dozen or so of the 
most important figures should always 
be kept on file. 

We find that it is customary for 
most mills to keep records of this 
sort, but we also find that there is a 
tendency for these to be inaccurate. 
or, if accurate, they are often given 
too little attention. It cannot be ex- 
pected that the treasurer of a mill 
will keep close watch of these details 
from day to day, but he should employ 
competent men in the power depart- 
ment who realize the advantages to 
be gained by keeping careful watch 
upon the costs of producing light, heat 
and power. 



eiving careful attention to the fires 
under the boilers. If too much air is 
fed to the fires they 
will be unnecessarily 
cooled and heat will 
be wasted. If, on the 
other hand, too little air is supplied, 
the combustion will be incomplete and 
carbon monoxide gas will be formed. 
Every pound of carbon which is burn- 
ed to carbon monoxide instead of car- 
bon dioxide signifies a loss of many 
thousand British thermal units. Good 
results can generally be obtained by 
supplying about 40 per cent excess air. 
This amount of air corresponds with 
a certain percentage of carbon dioxide 
in the flue gas. By keeping an accurate 
record of the amount of carbon diox- 
ide it is possible to determine the 
quantity of excess air which is being 
supplied. 



Figures 94 and 95 illustrate the 
method of operation of a carbon diox- 
ide meter. Instruments of this type are 

in use in many tex- 
Carbon tile mills. In testing 

Dioxide samples of flue gas 

with an Orsat appa- 
ratus, or by any ordinary carbon di- 
oxide recorder, the amount of carbon 
dioxide is determined by passing the 
gas through a solution of caustic pot- 
ash which removes the carbon dioxide 
from the sample. The volume of gas is 
measured before and after it has been 
passed through the caustic potash so- 
lution, and the decrease in volume rep- 
resents the amount of carbon dioxide 
which was previously present. 

Apparatus designed for taking sam- 
ples of flue gas and analyzing them is 
comparatively simple, but is, neverthe- 
less, a rather delicate apparatus to 
use every day for frequent readings. 



Much waste can be prevented by 



The automatic instrument, whose 
operation we will explain by the use 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWEH 



43 



of Figures 94 and 95, makes use of the 
same fact, that the 
Automatic carbon dioxide is ab- 
Instrument sorbed by a solution 
of caustic potash 
With the automatic measuring device, 
the flue gas to be analyzed is drawn 
through two apertures A. and B, Figure 
94, by a constant suction produced by 
an aspirator, shown in the ilustration. 
If these two apertures are kept at the 
same temperature, the suction, or par- 
tial vacuum in the chamber between 
the two apertures, will remain con- 
stant so long as all the gas passes 
through both apertures. If part 
of the gas is taken away or 
absorbed in the space between A 
and B, the vacuum will increase in 
proportion to the amount of gas ab- 
sorbed. By connecting a water column 
or light vacuum gauge with the cham- 
ber C, the amount of gas absorbed 
will be indicated by the vacuum read- 
ing. Figure 95 is another diagram of 
the same apparatus as that shown in 
Figure 94. It is, however, more com- 
plete and illustrates more clearly 
some of the details of the apparatus. 
The instrument consists of a filter 
absorption chamber, two apertures, A 
and B, and small steam aspirator. Gas 
is drawn from the uptake of the boiler 
by means of the aspirato.- through a 
preliminary filter located at the boiler, 
and passes through a second filter on 
the instrument as shown. Besides 
these filters, auxiliary filters are 
placed before each aperture in order 
to prevent any possibility of these 
openings becoming clogged. 



The clean gas passes through aper- 
ture A, then through the absorption 
chamber and aperture B to the as- 
pirator, where it 
Recording leaves the instrument 
iVIeter with the exhaust 

steam. A diluted so- 
lution of caustic soda fiows into the 
absorption chamber by gravity. This 
flows through a sight feed which is 
regulated by a cock as indicated in the 
illustration. The carbon dioxide is 



completely absorbed by the caustic 
solution as the gas flows through the 
absorption chamber and while it is be- 
tween the apertures A and B. This re- 
duces the volume and causes a change 
in the partial vacuum of the gas be- 
tween the two openings. This vacuum 
varies in accordance with the percent- 
age of carbon dioxide contained in the 
gas, and is indicated by a water col- 
umn shown in Figure 95. 

Other indicating columns may be 
placed at any desired part of the pow- 
er house. Figure 95 shows the man- 
ner of connecting two other indica- 
tors. One is shown going to the boiler 
room indicator and the other to the 
recording gauge, which gives the 
printed chart like that illustrated in 
Figure 88 in the American Wool and 
Cotton Reporter for June 15. With an 
instrument of this kind, the indication 
of the percentage of carbon dioxide is 
continuous, that is, the gas is always 
being drawn through the apparatus. 



The question of proper draft for tex- 
tile mill power plants is one which 
opens up the subject of chimney re- 
quirements. Where 
Cinimney any of the various 

Design forms of mechanical 

'iraft are used, the 
matter of the proper height for the 
chimney becomes of less importance, 
but where natural draft is depended 
upon, the chimney should be designed 
in accordance with the work it is 
to do. 

Much has been written upon the 
theory of the draft within chimneys, 
and while theory adds materially in 
chimney design, it is best in all in- 
stances to take advantage of practical 
results obtained with chimneys in ac- 
tual use. Rules and formulas have 
been worked out, some of which give 
fairly good results, but it is a simple 
matter to compare new requirements 
with some plant already in operation. 



Two factors affect the capacity of a 
chimney, its cross-sectional area and 



44 



MiLL CONSTRUCtlOhf AND POWER 



its height. An engineer once said that 
high chimneys "are 
Chimney monuments to the 

Capacity folly of their build- 

ers." This statement 
is frequently quoted, and while it is 
in a way true enough, it must be re- 
membered that too low chimneys are 
extremely undesirable. The fact that 
too high chimneys are not wise in- 
vestments should in no way discour- 
age the erection of chimneys 150 to 
200 feet high, according to local con- 
ditions. Cheap, low-grade fuels require 
more draft than some of the more ex- 
pensive kinds, and it may prove more 
economical to build a fairly high chim- 
ney that the cheaper grade of coal can 
be used with satisfaction. At times of 
abnormal demands for steam, it is of- 
ten of great value to have ample draft, 
as this serves as reserve boiler capac- 
ity, and is as good as additional boiler- 
heating surface. 



Some of the old textile mills have 
square chimneys, and it is not advis- 
able to pull these down that others 
may be built. Square 
Square Ver- chimneys do not, 
sus Round however, give as 
good results as those 
of round section, and the latter type 
are considerably less exposed to the 
wind pressure. The octagonal shape 
offers but little more exposure to the 
wind, but as a rule, it is best to build 
round chimneys. A round flue offers 
less resistance to the gases than a 
square one, the corners of the latter 
being always filled with eddy currents 
which are not effective for carrying 
away the products of combustion. 



Steel chimneys have been intro- 
duced considerably, and for some 
plants, they prove a wise investment. 
This is the case prin- 
Steel cipally with the 

Stacks smaller power 

houses, although 
there are many engineers who advise 
the steel stack with our large modern 
stations. Steel stacks are sometimes 
lined part way with brick, and in other 
installations they consist simply of 



the sheets of steel rolled and riveted 
together. The durability of a steel- 
plate chimney depends upon the thick- 
ness of the metal, the kind of fuel 
burned in the furnaces, the atmos- 
pheric conditions surrounding the lo- 
cation, and the care taken to main- 
tain the chimney in good condition. 
Steel stacks should always be kept 
well painted, and this expense is 
sometimes pointed out as offsetting 
the interest charge on the higher cost 
of a brick chimney. 

Several guy wires are used to sup- 
port steel stacks against all wind pres- 
sure, and they can generally be fas- 
tened conveniently in the wall, or up- 
on the roof of some nearby building. 
Frequently, these guy wires will have 
little work to do, as the weight of the 
chimney itself gives considerable sta- 
bility. They should be firmly fastened, 
however, and should always be larger 
than the actual resistance to breakage 
would demand. The reason for this is 
that the wires are exposed to the 
weather, and are apt to become con- 
siderably weakened with use. To be 
sure, it is possible to watch these 
stays and to have them renewed when 
necessary, but this may be forgotten, 
and it is better to supply good, large 
wires at the outset. It seems hardly 
necessary to call special attention to 
this detail, but there are contractors 
who ordinarily do the best of work 
that seem to use little judgment when 
dealing with the question of wind 
pressure against steel stacks. For 
stacks 50 feet high or more, it is sel- 
dom wise to use wire rope smaller 
than one-half inch. 



The ordinary round brick chimney 
has an outside wall of carefully se- 
lected hard brick, with an inside wall, 
which forms the flue 
Round Brick or core. The core is 
Chimney so arranged that it 

may expand and con- 
tract with the changes of temperature 
without in any way straining the out- 
side wall. The inside wall is built to 
support its own weight only as the 
external brickwork protects it from 
all outside stresses. The top of a brick 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



46 



chimney is generally arranged so as 
to shed rain, and keep the water 
from penetrating the brickwork, but 
the shape of the top is mainly a mat- 
ter of appearance. 



Concrete 



Chimneys of reinforced concrete are 
and can frequently be built consider- 
being used with the best of results, 
ably cheaper than 
those of brick. This 
type of chimney is 
comparatively new, 
but the fact that one single firm in 
the city of Chicago has erected nearly 
1,000 of them in seven years, indi- 
cates that this is to be one more im- 
portant use for cement. 

Whatever type of chimney is used, 
the foundation should be carefully 
laid. If the chimney is a large one 
the services of an engineer familiar 
with this kind of work should be em- 
ployed. The weight of a chimney is 
concentrated at the foundation on a 
small area and the disastrous results 
that would follow defective workman- 
ship make safe work necessary. 



Foundations 



A natural foundation is to be pre- 
ferred, but piling and other artificial 
methods of preparing the earth for 
the foundation may 
be used when neces- 
sary. Good, natural 
earth should carry, 
with absolute safety, from 2,000 to 
4,000 pounds per square foot, and the 
base of a chimney should be spread 
out so that this pressure, or whatever 
the earth can safely bear, may not be 
exceeded. 

It must be remembered that the 
work required of one chimney may be 
very different from that demanded by 
another set of boilers used for fur- 
nishing the same amount of power. 
This does not make it impossible to 
use data obtained from one plant in 
determining the best design for an- 
other, but necessitates a consideration 
of many details when making com- 
parisons. What we speak of as draft 
is really a pulling force. This force 
must be sufficient to overcome fric- 
tion through the grates, and this va- 
ries according to local conditions. 



The friction through the coal de- 
pends upon the depth of the fires, the 
quality and grade of the coal, the 

tendency of the fuel 

Various Local to clinker, and the 

Conditions manner in which the 

fireman operates the 
plant. Different kinds of boilers have 
their special methods of baflaing the 
hot gases, and the friction thus intro- 
duced varies considerably according 
to the type of boilers in use. The at- 
tention of the writer was recently 
called to a certain boiler plant where 
much trouble was being encountered 
with poor draft. The man in charge 
of the station had informed his em- 
ployer that it would be necessary to 
install some form of mechanical draft 
in order to generate the steam needed. 
The draft was poor, but nearly all the 
trouble was corrected by changing the 
arrangement by which the boilers 
were connected to the chimney. The 
flues were many times too small and 
were turned through sharp and un- 
necessary bends on their way to the 
main stack. 



Good, strong vigorous draft makes 
it possible to furnish steam with a 
smaller number of boilers than 

D^^.,r.;^r, ^-re otherwise needed, 
Keaucing ,, j • ^^ . . 

Boiler thus reducmg the ini- 

Expense ^^^^ equipment ex- 

pense. Operating ex- 
penses are also decreased by using 
fewer boilers, each loaded near its 
rating. Along this line the following 
interesting statements were made by 
Mr. Henry G. Brinckerhoff in a paper 
recently read before the National As- 
sociation of Cotton Manufacturers: "It 
is becoming generally appreciated that 
there is also considerable economy 
in running with fewer boilers, due 
more or less to the following causes: 

"First. There is less expense for 
banking same at night, as it costs no 
more to bank at night a highly de- 
veloped boiler than for one running 
under or at normal rating. 

"Second. With an intensity of fire 
the gases are more completely burned 
to carbon dioxide. A low flue tem- 
perature does not indicate that the 
gases were completely burned, and, in 



46 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



fact, it generally shows that they were 
not, as well as having an excess of 
air 

"Third. The better circulation set 
up and the more rapid circulation of 
steam makes better boiler efficiency. 
I remember, in my reading of an in- 
teresting account of a discussion on 
that matter, that experiments had 
absolutely proved that there was 
a better transference of heat to ebul- 
lating water than to still water, and 
abroad they have carried this out log- 
ically in firing special boilers to heat 
the water for the steam making boil- 
ers. 

"Fourth. Although, aside from any 
use of the economizer, there is gener- 
ally a greater gain to be had from an 
intensive furnace, it is very apparent 
that the economizer value is increased 
greatly by bringing the heat in the 
flue down the lowest point allowable 
to sustain draft." 



A cast iron cap is generally fitted 
into the top of a brick chimney, and 
if the stack be a high one, it is usual 
to install a system of 
Lightning copper rods to con- 
Protection duct lightning dis- 
charges down to the 
ground. The Dwight Manufacturing 
Company, of Chicopee, Mass., have 
recently erected a brick chimney 250 
feet high, designed by Charles T. 
Main, for handling about 7,000-horse 
power. This chimney is equipped 
with a system of lightning protection 
which we will briefly outline. 

The outside of the chimney is octag- 
onal in section for something over 40 
feet in height. At this part it is 26 
feet from face to face, and the diame- 
ter of the flue itself is 12 feet through- 
out its entire 250 feet. There is a 
stone water table set in the outside 
wall at the top of the octagonal sec- 
tion, and above this point the chimney 
is round. The diameter decreases 
gradually to about 16 feet at a point 
331/^ feet from the top, and then flares 
out to form the top. 

To collect and convey to earth any 
lightning discharge there are 10 
three-quarter-inch copper rods screw- 
ed securely into two cast iron 



caps which are set into the brickwork 
of the inner and outer walls respec- 
tively. Four copper ribbons, one-eighth 
of an inch by one inch, connect the 
two cast iron caps with the ground. 
The two caps are electrically connect- 
ed, a 2-inch expansion loop being pro- 
vided to take care of the changes in 
length of the inner wall or core. The 
four copper ribbons are spaced equal- 
ly around the chimney and are fasten- 
ed by copper clamps held by insulat- 
ing blocks set into the brickwork. The 
ribbon conductors are arranged to 
slide up and down behind the copper 
clamps and a 2-inch expansion loop is 
provided every 100 feet. Every 36 feet 
copper bands, two inches wide, en- 
circle the chimney, and they are all 
electrically connected to the vertical 
conducting ribbons. 



At the base three of the copper rib- 
bons are buried about 20 feet in the 
ground, the end of each being securely 
riveted and soldered 
Ground to a copper plate 2V2 

Connections feet by 5 feet; which 
is buried in a 2-foot 
layer of charcoal or crushed coke. 
The fourth conductor is led to a water 
main and soldered in two places to 
brass plugs screwed into separate 
lengths of pipe. 



We have already stated that with 
mechanical draft the height of the 
chimney becomes less important. Me- 
chanical draft can be 

Meclianical used to advantage in 
Draft many power plants 

originally arranged 
for natural draft only. For new 
power stations it is impossible to state 
deflnite rules along this line, as it is 
sometimes much better to build a suf- 
ficiently high chimney to obtain am- 
ple natural draft, while in other in- 
stances a modern application of arti- 
ficial draft is doubtless the best 
method. 

Mechanical draft may be either of 
two systems or a combination of them 
both. The systems are known as in- 
duced draft and forced draft, while 
the combination of them both is called 
balanced draft. With induced draft a 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



47 



fan is arranged to suck the gases 
through the furnaces and discharge 
them into the air through a cliimney, 
which is, as a rule, short. Old plants 
making use of the induced draft often 
have fairly high chimneys and these 
work equally well. Forced draft is 
the name given that system where air 
is forced into the furnace beneath the 
gratebars, either by a fan or by a jet 
of steam. 



Some of the advantages gained by 

the use of mechanical draft can be 

summarized as follows: First. By 

regulating the speed 

... of the fans, or the 

Advantages amount of steam fed 
to the jet blower, it 
is possible to change the draft to suit 
the demand for steam, regardless of 
weather conditions. It is customary, 
as has been previously indicated in 
the American Wool and Cotton Re- 
porter, to arrange automatic control- 
ling devices in connection with the 
damper regulators by which the 
amount of draft is changed as the 
boiler steam pressure varies. 

Second. Mechanical methods make 
it possible to create much stronger 
drafts than can be obtained by chim- 
neys of practical height. 

Third. Economizers placed in the 
flue may utilize more of the heat from 
the gases than with natural draft, for 
the amount of draft does not depend 
upon the temperature that the gas is 
delivered to the chimney. 

Fourth. Cheap and low-grade fuels 
can be burned with mechanical draft, 
which could not be used without 
strong drafts. 

Fifth. The erection of high chim- 
neys cost consid.T-able, and should the 
textile mill wish for any reason to 
change the location of its power 
house, the chimney cannot be moved. 
Apparatus for furnishing mechanical 
draft can, on the other hand, be read- 
ily removed to the new location. 



under a boiler by means of a steam 
jet. These may be 
The Steam easily applied to old 
Jet boilers where the 

draft is poor but 
they use considerable quantities of 
steam and cannot be advised for new 
installations. By blowing a jet of 
steam through a specially shaped air 
nozzle, large amounts of air are 
sucked in with the steam and the mix 
ture blown through the fire. With 
some kinds of low-grade anthracite 
coal the mixture of air and steam 
tends to soften the clinkers and thus 
aids combustion. However, unless it 
is possible to obtain a device of this 
sort, more eocnomical in the use of 
steam than those commonly found at 
the present time, they should not be 
depended upon for general use. 



Several different arrangements are 
upon the market for forcing the fire 



The proper design of fans for va 

rious purposes is a study in itself, and 

frequently, when trouble appears with 

systems of mechan 

c-o^, ni^oi^^ ical draft, it is re- 
ran Design j -u \l-u • j. i 
'' moved by the mstal- 

lation of proper fans. 
A well-known firm, who has given 
this question careful study for years, 
makes the following statements: 

"In the design of a (fan) wheel to 
meet given requirements it is neces- 
sary to make its peripheral speed such 
as to create the desired pressure, and 
then so proportion its width as to pro- 
vide for the required air volume. Evi- 
dently, the velocity and corresponding 
pressure may be obtained either with 
a small wheel running at high speed 
or a large wheel running at low speed. 
But if the diameter of the wheel be 
taken too small, it may be impossible 
to adopt a width, within reasonable 
limits, which will permit of the pas- 
sage of the necessary amount of air 
under the desired pressure. Under 
this condition it will be necessary to 
run the fan at higher speed in order 
to obtain the desired volume. But. 
this results in raising the pressure 
above that desired, and in unneces 
sarily increasing the power required. 
On the other hand, if the wheel be 
made of excessive diameter, it will 
become almost impracticable on ac- 



48 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



count of its narrowness. Between 
these two extremes a diameter must 
be intelligently adopted, which will 
give the best proportions. 

"When a fan is employed for ex- 
hausting hot air or gases, the speed 
required to maintain a given pressure, 
difference is evidently greater than 
that necessary wnen cold air is 
handled, the difference being due to, 
and inversely proportional to, the ab- 
solute temperature." 



Induced Draft 



With induced draft the smoke flue 
connects with the inlet of a large ex- 
hauster, which forms a partial vacuum 
and sucks the air and 
stack. The lans are 
gases out into the 
sometimes driven 
from the main line of shafting by a 
small belt, sometimes by a small 
steam engine, and again by an electric 
motor. There should always be an 
arrangement whereby the flue gases 
may be by-passed around the fan that 
it may be possible to make any re- 
pairs and clean out the fan when 
necessary. 

A good system of induced draft has 
all the advantages pointed out under 
the general neaamg or mechanical 
draft, and its one great disadvantage 
is the constant daily cost of operating 
and maintenance. Before installing a 
system of this kind these items of ex- 
pense should be carefully studied and 
the liability of ever wishing to move 
the power house given due considera- 
tion. The cost of operating the fan 
will be much greater in some in- 
stances than in others, and every in- 
stallation must receive individual at- 
tention, taking advantage, however, of 
results already obtained by existing 
stations using similar apparatus. 



Systems of forced draft, like the in- 
duced system, have many different 
modifications. The fan may be placed 
in any convenient 
Forced location and the air 

Draft conveyed to the ash 

pit by a large sheet- 
iron pipe entering at the side of the 
ooiier. With this method, special 
plates and dampers are supplied 



which convey the blast underneath the 
grates. Sometimes it is thought 
best to build an air duct underneath 
the boiler-room floor in front of the 
boilers, and in this way supply the 
blast at the front through dampers 
operated by hand rods near the boiler 
doors. With all systems of forced 
draft there must be some convenient 
way of shutting off the blast when- 
ever it is necessary to stoke the fires 
or remove the ash, for without this 
much dirt and possibly more or less 
hot coal would be blown out into the 
boiler-room. 

The cost of operating a fan with the 
forced system is practically the same 
as with the induced arrangement, be- 
cause, although the volume of air sup- 
plied is less than that handled by the 
fan with induced draft, the hot gases 
are much lighter than the cool air, and 
the weight of air moved in each case 
is about the same. It is sometimes 
possible to use heated air for the 
forced blast, which introduces greater 
economy. 



The object of balanced draft is to 

obtain a neutral or zero draft over 

the flre, so that when the flre doors 

are opened, there is 

Balanced no inrush of cold air 

Draft against the boiler 

shell, nor, on the 

other hand, is there any outward flame 

to cause trouble. The expense of a 

combination of the forced and induced 

systems of draft need not be great, 

and it is probable that the balanced 

system may, in the future, replace 

some of the other methods of artifl- 

flcial araii. 



The advantages to be gained by 
supplying feed-water to steam boilers 
at a high temperature are easily un- 
derstood by all inter- 
Boiler Feed- ested in the econom- 
Water ical generation of 

steam. In spite of 
this fact, we frequently flnd power 
plants giving the question of prop- 
erly heating feed-water an exceeding- 
ly small amount of careful attention. 
The surface condenser may be util- 
ized as a feed-water heater as well 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



49 



as for condensing the exhaust steam, 
but among the textile mills the jet 
type of condenser is found in large 
numbers. 

The feed-water heater is an im- 
portant part of the power station 
equipment. All heat that can be im- 
parted to the feed-water before it 
enters the boilers is just so much 
saved, both in cost of fuel and boiler 
capacity. By the term "feed-water 



It is true that there are comparative- 
ly few textile mill power plants 
where there is not some appliance for 
utilizing a part of the heat contained 
in exhaust steam, but there are nu- 
merous installations where this point 
is not given sufficient attention. 



Exhaust steam feed-water heaters 
may be divided into two classes, one 




Fig. 1. Open Feed-Water Heater and Purifier. 



heater," we mean any kind of an ar- 
rangement whereby the temperature 
of the boiler-feed water may be raised. 
We define this term for the reason 
that we wish to include economizers 
as well as the steam heaters. 



With the most economical boilers 
known, there is a large percentage of 
heat wasted, and any type of appa- 
ratus which can util- 
Wasted ize some of this 

Heat wasted heat in a 

practical manner is 
something which should be made use 
of. There are three ways in which 
heat is often wasted at our power 
stations. First, it is frequently car- 
ried away in the exhaust steam from 
pumps, and other auxiliary apparatus; 
second, some portion of that contained 
in the exhaust steam from the main 
engine or turbine is often thrown 
away; third, hot gases are allowed 
to pass up the stack and into the air. 



Heaters 



being known as the open heater type, 
and the other as the 
closed. The open 
type is so constructed 
that the feed-water 
with the other, the water is heated in 
is exposed to the atmosphere, while 
a closed receptacle in which it is sub- 
jected to pressure. With a direct- 
contact open heater, the exhaust 
steam comes in contact with the water 
and has the disadvantage that oil in 
the steam may be taken by the feed- 
water and conveyed to the boilers. In 
a coil heater of the open type, the 
water is exposed to the atmosphere, 
but the exhaust steam circulates 
through a coil of pipes, the outside 
surface of which is in contact with 
the water. 

With the closed exhaust steam feed- 
water heater, the water is heated by 
coming in contact with hot metal sur- 
faces, which are generally groups of 
tubes or specially designed coils 
through which the steam is passed. 



50 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



This style of heater is similar to a 
surface condenser, and as the steam 
and water do not come in direct con- 
tact with each other, there is no 
danger of the oil being carried to the 
boilers. 

The quality of the available feed- 
water determines to a large degree 
the type of heater most suitable for 
any particular installation. With some 
kinds of water, the question of puri- 
fication is of great importance, and 
the type of heater which can best re- 
move scale-forming impurities and 
other foreign matter from the water 
is the one most suitable. 



Figure 1 illustrates one form of 
water purifier and heater. It con- 
sists of a cylindrical shell in which 
are placed several 
shallow steel pans, as 
shown. The water 
enters at the top and 
fiows into the upper pan from which 
it overfiows and falls in thin sheets 
to the pans below. Steam enters at 



Purifiers 



With this type of purifier, the steam 
comes in direct contact with the 
water and if exhaust steam is used 
the question of oil being mixed with 
the boiler-feed is introduced. At 
some power stations this form of puri- 
fier is supplied with live steam 
taken directly from the boilers so that 
the feed-water may be purified with- 
out the danger of feeding-in cylinder 
oil. This method gives satisfaction so 
far as the purification is concerned, 
but does not make use of the waste 
heat in the exhaust steam. Oil sep- 
arators can be placed in the exhaust 
steam pipe line before it reaches the 
heater, and if the separator suc- 
ceeds in removing the oil sufficiently 
the results will be economical and de- 
sirable. There are many different 
form sof oil-removing devices upon 
the market, with some of which good 
results along this kind of work have 
been obtained. If a separator will 
properly separate, there is nothing to 
prevent the use of exhaust steam with 
the heater shown in Figure 1, but if 




Fig. 1-A. Pan Removed fro m Open Feed-Water Purifier. 



the top and heats the water by direct 
contact to nearly its own temperature. 
Impurities that are insoluble in the 
heated water are precipitated. Mud 
and earthy matter also settle out in 
passing over the pans, and the heated 
and purified water passes out of the 
heater at the bottom. 

Figure 1-A shows one of the pans re- 
moved for cleaning and illustrates the 
manner in which scale-forming ingre- 
dients are precipitated and deposited. 



the oil is not removed it will gen- 
erally give trouble. 



One head of the cylindrical shell 

shown in Figure 1 is removable, and 

this allows the occasional cleaning 

of the collecting 

-^1 . pans. Mud and vari- 

oieaning ^^^ other suspended 

foreign matter will 

precipitate inside the pans, and the 

scale will usually form upon the out- 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



51 



side of the pans. When cleaning the 
pans from this style of heater they 
should be cleaned as soon as they are 
exposed to the air, for if left for some 
time where the atmosphere can come 
in contact with them, the scale be- 
comes hard and much more difficult 
to remove. 

The practice of putting kerosene in- 
to the boiler feed-water was men- 
tioned in a previous issue of the 
American Wool and Cotton Reporter 



^ Figure 2 shows a feed- water puri- 
her and heater designed for exhaust 
steam without the use of an indepen- 
dent oil separator. 
Heater and The exhaust steam 
Separator enters from the side, 
near the top, and 
comes in direct contact with the water 
which flows over trays, and thus ex- 
poses a large surface. The heated 
water falls to the bottom part of the 
heater, and is filtered through a thick 




Fig. 2. Open Heater and Oil Separator. 



Kerosene has the effect of loosening 
scale and preventing its adher- 
ence to the tubes. When this 
IS done, the kerosene should be added 
before the water enters the heater 



layer of coke, after which it is 
pumped to the boilers. The exhaust 
steam, which is not condensed, leaves 
the heater by a pipe at the top of the 
heater. The water level within this 



52 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



purifier is maintained practically con- 
stant by a special valve mechanism 
controlling the supply of incoming 
cold water. 

Heaters similar to that just de- 
scribed have a certain advantage on 
account of bringing the exhaust steam 
into actual contact with the water to 
be heated. Considerable of the steam 
is condensed, and this decreases the 
amount of feed-water required. The 
greater part of the impurities will 
settle out of the water while it is in 
the heater, and cannot therefore 
cause trouble in the boilers. The oil 
extractors, whether combined with the 
heater or entirely separate apparatus, 
must be of such design as to do their 
work properly when this type of heat- 
ing and purifying feed-water is in use. 

Some closed heaters pass the feed- 
water through coils of pipe, while in 
other makes, these coils are replaced 
by nests of straight 
Closed tubes. The coil ar- 

H eaters rangement provtides 

an excellent heating 
surface, but its use is not advised 
with water that will precipitate sedi- 
ment or scale^formiing matter of any 
kind, unless there is some special 
proviso for removing these impuri- 
ties. Heaters having the straight 
tuibesi should be made wiith ample 
sediment chambers, and when they 
are properly designed, they can 
handle satisfactorily water which con- 
tains considerable amounts of organic 
or earthy matter. Carbonate of lime 
sometimes combines with certain 
earthy impurities, and forms a hard 
scale, and while organic matter can 
be taken carei of by this type |of 
heater, it should not be usled where 
scale-formiiinig ingredients are pres- 
ent. 



Much of the heat in exhaust steam 
from main engines or auxiliary appa- 
ratus can be saved by the proper use 
of one or imore ex- 
Placing haust steam feed- 
Heaters water heaters. With 
non-condensing en- 
gines, the steam from the engine it- 
self should generally be passed 
tb'^'iusrh scyme foj'm of feed-water 



heater. With condensing engines, it 
is sometimes wise to pass the exhaust 
steam through a closed heater on its 
way to the condenser, but frequently 
the exhaust steam from steam pumps 
and various auxiliary steam-driven 
units supply enough steam to heat 
the feed-water to a temperature as 
high as can be obtained from the use 
of the steam which is on its way to 
the condenser. Often feed-water is 
haated to 100 or 125 degrees by a 
heater placed in the main exhaust 
line froim an engine and is then passed 
to another heater receiving steam 
from auxiliary apparatus. No hard and 
fast rules can be laid down concern- 
ing the installation of water heaters, 
for conditions differ greatly in plants 
where the nature of the worfk de- 
manded seems quite similar. A good 
thing to always' remember is that 
heat may be easily wasted in exhaust 
steam, and to prevent this waste, it is 
necessary to have this matter inves- 
tigated by some engineer who can 
determine with accuracy whether the 
best possible economy is being ob- 
tained. 



Economizers are generally used for 

heating boiler feed-water, although in 

some special cases the water heated 

is used for other pur- 

Econo- posesv They provide 

mizers a means of storing a 

large quantity of 

water at a high temperature which 

can be deliivered to the boilers quickly 

in times of sudden demands for 

steam. Exhaust steam feed-water 

heaters make it possible to supply 

water to the boilers at a temperature 

of about 200 degrees Fahrenheit, 

while with an economizer water can 

be heated to a temperature of 250 to 

300 degrees Fahrenheit. 

To be sure, it is not possible to 
utilize the heat of the flue gases with- 
out meeting with undesirable features. 
Placing an economizer in the path of 
the hot gases offers a certain resist- 
ance, and, consequently, reduces the 
available draft. Natural draft is pro- 
duced by the tendency of heated va- 
pors to rise, and the cooling of the 
gases by the uge of an economizer (Je- 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



63 



creases this. The draft problem can 
readily be settled when a new power 
•plant is being designed, and the effect 
of the economizer considered when 
deciding upon the height of the chim- 
ney, or where used, the type of me- 
chanical draft. Placing- economizers 
in plants already built does reduce 
somewhat the draft, but when they 
are properly installed, the coal con- 
sumption will be decreased enough to 



reduce the operating expenses of their 
plant. These are apt to be the same 
men who insist that the old-fashaoned 
fire-tube steam boilers are the ones to 
use for fairly high steam pressure 
work now being required for power 
units in textile mills. Pire-tube boil- 
ers are cheaper, perhaps, in initial 
cost, but for modern stations, they 
are being superseded by those of the 
water-tube type. 




Fig. 3. A Typical Economizer Installation. 



in part counterbalance this point. 
Often less, draft will be needed, be- 
cause at becomes necessary to burn 
less coal. 



'ihe general arrangement and prin- 
ciples are understood somewhat by 
nearly all men interested directly in 
the operation of the 
Not power end of a textile 

Complicated mill, but there are 
some who look upon 
economizers as complicated mecha- 
nisms, which will increase rather than 



It is likewise cheaper in first cost 
to omit the installation of an econo- 
mizer, but it is the operating expense 
which should govern the matter. 
Economizers consist of rows of cast 
iron pipes. Each of these rows are 
connected at the top and bottom to 
cast iron, headers, through which the 
water is supplied and withdrawn. 
iMore or less soot would collect upon 
the outsolde of the pipes and insulate 
them from the heat in the gases, if 
some method were not employed for 
cleaning them. A special scraper en- 



64 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



circles each of the tubes, and hy 
means of simple mechanisms these 
cleaners are continuously kept mov- 
ing up and down. With economizers, 
there should always be a by-pass flue, 
so that when desired the gases may 
reach the chimney without going 
through the economizer. 



Figure 3 indicates one of many ways 
in whii'ch economizers can be installed, 
and Figure 4 shows a cross section 
taken through an 
An ecoaomizer chamber. 

Installation Both of these illus- 
trations show the 
scrapers ciearly. It will be seen that 




Fig. 4. Economizer Chamber. 

every other scraper is near the top 
of the pipes, while the others are near 
the bottom. One set of scrapers just 
balances an,other set, so that the pow- 
er needed to operate them is slight. 
At the bottom of Figure 3 the pipe 
known as the access pipe can be seen, 



and this is shown lin detail by Figure 
5. These manifolds have cleaning 
openings opposite each branch of 
pipes, which make it possible to thor- 
oughly clean the bottom headers and 
branch pipes. 



It has been pointed out that, with 
the moist economical boilers the gases 
will be cooled by the heating surface 

of the .boilers them- 

The Flue selves to about 400 

Gas . degrees Fahrenheit. 

No doubt this is the 
case with well-proportioned boilers 
operating under the most economical 
load, but owing to the accuniulation 
of soot upon the heating surfaces, and 
the many times that boilers are forced 
at a higher rate of evaporation than 
is normal, the temperature oif the 
waste gas usually exceeds the above 
figure, and the economizer becomes 
of value even with boilers of the most 
economical design. 

We have already spoken of the value 
of a good oil separator in connection 
with arrangements where it is advis- 
able to return the condensation of the 
exhaust steam to the boilers. Separa- 
tors are upon the market which are 
designed to remove either oil, water, 
or both of these from steam. 



Dry Steam 



No engineer would for one moment 
think of running a steam pipe from 
the boilers to the engine without hav- 
ing it covered with 
some substance which 
will prevent the ra- 
diation of heat. In 
considering the best arirangement for 
boilers the American Wool and Cot- 
ton Reporter has emphasized the im- 
portance of placing all equipment so 
that the length of steam pipe might 
be as small as possible. Unless steam 
is superheated there is sure to be 
some condensation in the pipes con- 
necting the boilers with the power 
units, and for removing this water we 
may employ some form of a steam 
separator. 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



g5 



It is impossible to mention here all 
of the various styles with which good 
results may be oibtalned, but one or 

two types will be con- 
Removing sidered brietiy. ;\Iois- 
Moisture ture is carried along 

with the steam in the 
form of small particles or drops of 
water which are much heavier than 
the steam itself. Due to the greater 
weight of the moisture it moves with a 
much greater inertia than the steam. 
By causing the steam to flow over va- 
rious systems of baffle plates, the in- 
ertia of the moisture tends to prevent 
it from changing its course and the 
water collects upon the plates, from 
which it is removed through a suitable 
drip pipe. 



are in the throat or reduced section 
of pipe, and that in the main line just 
before the diameter is reduced. 

The diagram shown by Figure 143 
illustrates the principle employed by 
'.lie Venturi meter, and if the taper- 
ing pi'pe and tnroat B are properly 
proportioned, there will be almost no 
loss of pressure caused by the intro- 
duction of this measuring device. The 
pressure of the outlet C increases on 
account of the decrease in velocity, 
and practically the same amount of 
water will be delivered through a 
tube of this kind as would pass 
through an equal length of straight 
pipe of uniform diameter. There will 
be, however, a temporary loss of pres- 
sure at B, and this has been found to 




Fig. 5, The Access Pipe. 



The Venturi meter is a device for 
measuring the flow of liquids which 
does not depend upon any float, pad- 
dle-wheel a r r a n ge- 
Venturi ment or other niov- 

Meter ing part in contact 

with the liquid. If 
the pipe through which the water 
flows has its inside diameter grad- 
ually tapered until it is much reduced, 
and is then enlarged iback to the origi- 
nal size, . the water will, of course, 
have a greater velocity through the 
section with a small diiameter. Due 
to the increased velocity, the pres- 
sure at this section of small pipe will 
be less than in the main pipe, and by 
using a reducing section, which is 
carefully and accurately made, it is 
possible to determdne the quantity of 
water flowing by recording the pres- 



increase approximately as the square 
of the throat velocity. If the velocity 
at B is twice that at A, the pressure 
will be one-fourth as great at B as at 
A. By determining the velocity of the 
water through the throat, and know- 
ing the cross section of the tube, the 
quantity of the water can readily be 
figured. 



The princople of the Venturi meter 
is not new, but recording and indi- 
cating attachments, which are neces- 
sary to maJke the ap- 
Used by Tex- paratus practical for 
tile IVIills mill work, have ibeen 
improved and meters 
of this type are now in use in many 
of the large textile mills. Among 
these are the Bates M::inufr ,t. l:.^ 
Company, Lewiston, Me.; the Grey- 



56 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



stone Mill at Greystone, R. I., and the 
textile machinery plant of the Whitin 
Company at vVhitinsville, Mass. 

Two small pressure pipes are car- 
ried from the throat and inlet cham- 
ber, respectively, and the mechanism 
for indicating the amount of water 
passing through the tube may be plac- 
ed at any convenient location in the 
engine room, boiler room, or in both 
places. Any arrangement which in- 
dicates the -difference in pressure at 



of flow through the meter tube. All ir- 
regularities together 
Uniform Boil- with the time and ex- 
er Feed tent of each, are 

shown, and this fur- 
nishes the chief engineer with a daily 
check on the operating efficiency of 
the plant. The counter dial shows 
the total pounds, cubic feet or gal- 
lons that have already passed through 
the meter tube. By checkinig this 
reading against the coal burned for 




Fig. 143. Diagram Indicating Principle of IVIeasuring Hot Water with the 

Venturi IVleter. 



the points B and C, Figure 143, can 
be read against a specially graduated 
scale which will give directly the gal- 
lons of water flowing through the 
tube. 

In its simplest form the indicating 
device consists of a U-shaped tube 
partially filled with mercury, one 
opening being connected with the 
pressure pipe from the throat and the 
other with the pressure pipe from the 
inlet chamber. For commercial pur- 
poses it is desirable to know the 
amount of water flowing through the 
tube per hour or per day, and by a 
simple clock attachment, a recording 
device has ibeen arranged which will 
give this information. In connection 
with this attachment, a chart record- 
ing dial has also been designed, so 
that the complete attachment contains 
apparatus for giving a graphical rep- 
resentation of the amount of water 
flowing at all times, a counter dial, 
which shows the amount of water 
used from the time the apparatus is 
connected, and an indicating dial, 
showing the rate of flow. 



the same period of time the evapora- 
tion per pound of coal is readily de- 
termined. This makes it possiible to 
try out different kinds of coal with- 
out weighing the feed water in tanks. 
The indicator dial may be igraduated 
so that it wiill read in pounds per 
hour, cubic feet per hour, or any other 
convenient units. 

The chart made upon one of these 
shows whether the water is being de- 
livered to the boilers uniformly or 
not, and if the amounts taiken vary, 
that is, if the boiler is given a large 
amount of water for a short time and 
then the supply is almost entirely cut 
off, it calls attention to this irregu- 
larity. If large quantities of water are 
suddenly forced into the boiler this 
water will be insufficiently heated and 
will cause a consequent loss in econ- 
omy. By watching the meter indica- 
tions, the fireman can so regulate the 
feed valves that a more even feeding 
will take place and the water enter 
the boiler at a higher temperature. 



The chart recorder dial gives a con- 
tinual autographic record of the rate 



The one maun point to be consid- 
ered by the mill man before installing 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



57 



one of these arrangements is its ac- 
curacy. The fact that 
Its Accu- the hot water does 
racy not come in contact 

with any moving 
parts eliminates the danger of the 
apparatus being warped by the high 
temperature and the tube itself is 
lined with ibronze or composition 
metal which will not be affected by 
the warm water. An linteresting test 
was recently made to check up the 
accuracy of tMs measuring device, 
and results obtained with the Ven- 
turi meter were compared with the 
actual amount of water used as de- 
termined by weighing tanks. The 
general arrangement of the apparatus 
for this series of tests is shown by 
Figure 144. 

The trials were made under vary- 
ing temperatures and velocities; un- 
der varying pressures, intermittent 
and steady; using a triplex power 
pump in good condition, and with one 
plunger out of commission. A duplex 
s'team pump in good condition was 
used, also one in poor condition, and 
an injector. The reason for trying 
these different pumps was that differ- 
ent condiiitions which are met in actual 
boiler room practice might be studied. 
The main part of the meter was of 
cast iron, and all internal portions 
were lined with brass. Surrounding 
the up-stream portion and throat were 
angular chambers between the brass 
sleeve and the iron casing. Six holes 
were drilled through the brass lining 
into these angular chambers at about 
equal distances around the carcum- 
ference, in order to give the actual 
pressure heads in the meter at both 
throat and up-stream end. From the 
outside of these angular chambers 
there were pipes connecting to glass 
U tubes containing mercury. 



The apparatus was connected up so 
that the meter could be supplied from 
a li-inch injector, a il by 2i by 4 
inch duplex pump, or 
A Labora- a 4 by 51 inch triplex 
tory Test power pump or from 
a pressure tank sup- 
plied from the city mains. These 
pumps were arranged to take their 



suction from a piit 12 feet long, 6 feet 
wide and 4 feet deep. This pit was 
placed directly beneath the Venturi 
•meter, and a 1-inch steam line put in 
to heat the water. The pit held about 
300 cubic feet of water, and it was 
thus pos,sible to maintain an even 
temperature. The discharge from all 
pumps was carried up a vertical 2- 
inch pipe, at the top of whiich was 
an air chamber 4 inches in diameter 
and 3 feet long. (See Figure 144.) 

For making comparisons of the ac- 
curacy of the meter under varying 
temperatures, a coefflcient was first 
obtained by using cold water, that is, 
the constant was obtained by which 
the meter reading had to be multi- 
plied in order to give the actual 
amount of water. It must be remem- 
bered that this coefflcient or constant 
is always obtained by the makers of 
the apparatus, and the indicating ar- 
rangement designed so that the dial 
readings show corrected values. 
Therefore, the variations in coefficients 
obtained indicates the change in ac- 
curacy which might be expected with 
this apparatus when used with water 
at different temperatures from those 
for which it is calibrated. 



With a range of temperatures 
from 40 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit 
the coefficients were found to change 

only 0.028. The maxi- 

Range of mum errors in dis- 

Temperature charge, as figured 

from the mercury 
column deflections., were found to be 
as follows : with water at 80 degrees, 
1.39 per cent; 120 degrees, 1.5 per 
cent; 140 degrees, 1.9 per cent; 180 
degrees, 0.82 per cent. 

The test made with the triplex 
power pump gave the hest results, 
and even with one plunger disconnect- 
ed the maximum variation was only 
2.4 per cent. The meter was least reli- 
able when pulsations were present, 
and when the throat velocity was less 
than 10 feet per second. The type 
of instrument used for actual mill 
service differs from the apparatus 
used for this test in ways which large- 
ly overcome this trouble. 



MILL CONSTRUCTION ANt) POWER 



The instrument used during the 
test for indicating the pressure con- 
sisted of a glass tube partially filled 
wiiith mercury. This 
Mill tube contained only 

Tests about one pound of 

mercury. The in- 
ertia was, . consequently, small and 
the mercury levels unsteady. The 



velocities, and in the registering in- 
struments, desdgned for mill use, the 
movement of the mercury is multi- 
plied by a system of levers. 

A series of tests carried on in a 
large povi^er station to determine the 
accuracy of the Venturi meters in ac- 
tual operation at that plant showed, on 
a seven-hour run where about 170,000 




Fig. 144. Apparatus as Arranged for Laboratory Test of a Venturi iVleter. 



apparatus used in mills contains near- 
ly one hundred pounds of mercury, 
which has a damping effect and makes 
the readings steady. The scale from 
which readings of the mercury col- 
umns were taken at the test had its 
graduations close together at low 



pounds of water was fed to the boiler, 
that the meter reading exceeded the 
water weighed by 631 pounds, or ap- 
proximately 0.37 of 1 per cent. In 
another test, in which 200,000 pounds 
of water was fed, the difference be- 
tween the results obtained by weigh- 



MILL CONgTRUCTlON AND POWER 



59 



ing the water in tanks and those tak- 
en from the meter reading was 0.47 
of 1 per cent, 'those in charge of this 
series of tests state that they believe 
the results from the meter were fully 
as accurate as tLose by the weighing 
tank, for with the weighing tanks, 
there was considerable opportunity 
for evaporation to' take place. 



cleaning. The moisture in the steam 
is deposited upon the bars of the 
special gratings and then runs by grav- 
ity into the drip pipes provided. 



Certain types of separators impart a 

rotary motion to the mixture of steam 

and water, and the heavy particles of 

moisture are thrown 

Steam out by centrifugal 

Separators force. There is also 

a form of separator 

which operates in much the same way 

as the one first mentioned except 



Power stations connected with tex- 
tiile mills, whether large or small, 
should have proper attention given to 
the subject of oiling 
Oiling systems. It may not 

Systems be wise to expend a 

large amount of mon- 
ey for this purpose in old plants, and 
the proper arrangement for these sta- 
tions will not require large expendi- 
tures. A complete oiling system col- 
lects the oil from the bearings, filters 
it and returns dit again for lubrica- 
tion. If some means is not provided 




Fig, 6. Sectional View of Separator. 



that instead of regular baffle plates the 
steam passes through a system of 
gratings arranged so that the har of 
one grate or screen is behind a space 
of the screen in front. 

Figure 6 is a sectional view of this 
last type of separator, and shows the 
staggered arrangement of the plates 
or grates. Figure 7 d's a view of the 
outside of this same device and shows 
one of the plates partly removed for 



for saving the oil which drips from 
the various bearings of a prime mover, 
it is safe to say that 60 to 75 per cent 
of the oil will be wasted. 

Few, if any, of the power plants of 
our textile mills fail to provide some 
sort of a method for saving oil, but 
there is much chance for improve- 
ment in many of the methods em- 
ployed. We should not discourage for 
a moment the use of waste for oil- 



60 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



ing machinery, but oftentimes oil 
is wiped up with waste, which is after- 
ward burned when a suitable drip 
■pan could easily be arranged to pre- 
vent this loss. Engines should by all 
means be kept clean, and waste which 
has absorbed any considerable quantity 
of oil shoul-d be put through some form 
of extractor, and the oil saved instead 
of being burned. 



boiler room and burned. This concern 
consumed 28,000 pounds of waste each 
year, and, as much of it was used for 
wiping the engines and oily machinery, 
it was heavy with oil. An expert who 
investigated the general conditions of 
the whole station reported that at 
the very least 2,000 gallons of oil 
were being wasted every year. By 
using an oil extractor this oil could 




Fig. 7. One Type of Separator. 



In many instances, the amount of oil 
soaked up by waste will seem small 
and unimportant. In a few instances 
this is true, but ordi- 
Oil Soaked narily the amount 
Waste thus used is large. In 

a certain mill, for ex- 
ample, all oily waste was sent to the 



have been, saved and the waste itself 
washed and used again. 

Several good types of machines are 
made for removing the oil from waste. 
One form makes use of the centriiugal 
tendency which causes the oil to 
\e<aive the waste when it is given a 
rapid rotary motion. The machine is 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



61 



really a small steam turbine, and tht 
strainer in which the oily waste is 
put is caused to rotate with great 
velocity. The oil is thus thrown out- 
ward through the strainer and fails 
down into a suitable tank. 



lustrated is designed to remove this 
as well as other foreign matter. The 
oil enters at the top, percolates down 
through the waste in the central com- 
partment, and then descends still fur- 
ther through a pipe as indicated in 




Oil, which has been delivered to <he 
bearings and is collected by the sys- 
tem of drip ipans, should be well fil- 
tered before being 
Oil again fed to the en- 

Filters gines. Figure 8 shows 

a sectional view of 
an oil filter manufactured by the Burt 
Manufacturing Company. Frequently, 
the oil returned to the filter contains 
more or less water, and tlie filter il- 



011 Filter. 



the figure. Leaving the pipe at the 
bottom, the oil comes in contact with 
water, through which it rises and col- 
lects in the space allowed for pure oil 
near the top of the filter. In passing 
from the water to the oil tank it is 
caused to once more filter through a 
layer of - ste. 

Oil will (filter more rapidly when 
warm, and the filter shown in Figure 
8 indicates a steam coil wihich is used 



62 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



to heat the oil and water through 
which it rises. 



The filtering tanks should, if pos- 
sible, be located so that the oil will 
flow into them hy gravity, and they 
should be placed in a 

I «,^3+!«M hullding which is 

L.ocation .,, s ^ 

either fireproof or so 

situated that the 

danger from fire will be small. With 

power plants such as many of our 

larger textile mills demand, it is 

advisable to give this poamt careful 

attention, and even with the small 

stations, all oil tanks and filters 

should, if possible, without too much 

extra expense, be located in fireproof 

buildings. 



In sipeaking of oiling systems which 
may be installed within a new power 
statiion for any textile mill, it is well 

to call attention to 

Gravity the simplicity of grav- 

Feed ity-feed systems for 

delivering oil to the 
numerous bearings on engines in pow- 
er plants already built and in use. It 
is a simple matter to equip an old 
engine with a system of gravity ciil 
feed, and its use will frequently reduce 
labor cost in the engine room consid- 
erably. By placing an oil tank in 
some central location, high enough to 
make possible a feed to all bearings 
by gravity, piping can readily be in- 
stalled so that whenever oil is in the 
supply tank, each bearing will receive 
the proper amount of lubrication. A 
small pump may be arranged to carry 
the oil to the tank, and a by-pass can 
be used so that the pump may be op- 
erated continuously, regardless of the 
oil level in the tank. Some engineers 
oibject to a system of this kind, on the 
ground that some of the pipes are 
liable to become clogged and the oil 
supply cut off from an important 
bearing without warning. The pipes 
may be arranged so that the oil has 
to drop a certain distance when en- 
tering each bearing, and with this 
design a glance at any oil cup will 
tell whether it is receiving its proper 



amount of oil. Again, if properly fil- 
tered oil is used and the piping in- 
stalled as it should be, there seems 
to be little reason why trouble should 
result. 



The admission of cold air to the 
boiler flues must of necessity check 
the fire. Every one is aware that 

the ordinary house 

Air furnace fires are 

Leaks checked by openimg 

an air draft lin the 
sinoke pipe, but people frequently for- 
get that the same principles hold true 
regarding the fires under mill boilers. 
It has already been pointed out that 
all flues should connect with the chim- 
ney in as direct a manner as is pos- 
sible, and that bends should be made 
as easy and gradual as circumstances 
will allow. Boiler flues, when care- 
fully desiigned, must frequently be 
made of considerable length, and 
whether they be long or short, they 
should be maintained perfectly air 
tight. 

Even small leaks will admit enough 
air to seriously affect the draft, and 
there is no excuse whatever for their 
existence. A case which recently 
came to the writer's attention illus- 
trates the bad results* caused by these 
sn^all leaks. The draft at the base 
of a certain chimney was one inch by 
the water gauge, and due to a leaky 
flue, the same gauge registered but 
one^fourth of an inch at the boiler. 
The flues should have several doors 
through which they may be cleaned, 
and it is at these doors that much cold 
air is often unnecessarily admitted. 
, The average master mechanic of our 
textile mills knows that the flues 
should be kept tight, but he frequent- 
ly does not realize the harm that the 
small leaks will introduce. New flues 
are as a rule made fairly tight, but 
they should never be accepted as sat- 
isfactory untjil carefully tested. 



At some mills, the writer has seen 
flues from ■ small ■ forges or other fur- 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



63 



naces used in the machine shops con- 
nected with the main 
Branch chimney. While these 

Flues small fires are in use, 

it is doubtful wheth- 
er the draft is in any way decreased, 



and at the same time be tight fitting. 
Those regulating the draft for the 
boilers are often arranged to leave 
an opening sufficient for the gases to 
escape rather than to return to the 
boilers even when the damper is 



but as a rule, these small fires are closed. 




BLOW! 

Fig. 9. Automatic Damper Regulator. 



used only at certaam intervals, and 
cold air is allowed to flow unrestrict- 
ed to the chimney at all other times. 
Dampers can be installed which may 
make the arrangement satisfactory, 
but often no attempt is made to prop- 
erly close these flues when they are 
not in use. 

What has just been said about flues 
from small auxiliary furnaces applies 
equally well to all branch flues con- 
nected in any way with the main 
chimney. Where more than one flue 
enters the chimney, each one should 
be provided with an efficient damper 
so that repairs will not necessitate 
the shutting down of the entire plant. 
These dampers should operate easily 



Dampers used only occasionally at 
times of repairs, etc., should be op- 
erated by hand, but the ones used 
regularly for govern- 

Automatic ing the fires can be 
Dampers arranged to operate 

automatically with in- 
creased economy. These automatic 
dampers are operated by the changes 
in steam pressure, and can be adjusted 
so as to insure uniform pressure dur- 
ing the ordinary, running conditions as 
met with in the textile mills. 

Figure 9 illustrates one type of au- 
tomatic damper regulator, and indi- 
cates clearly the way in which the 
damper is moved. A small steam pipe 
froim the boilers communicates the 



64 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



boiler pressure, and any changes in 
this operates a valve which admits 
water into a small hydraulic cylinder. 
The water acts upon a piiston, which 
by means of the system of levers 
shown moves the damper. By use of 
adjusting weights, the apparatus can 
be so balanced that small changes 
in the steam pressure will change the 
draft and give satisfactory and uni- 
form results. 



can be seen clearly, and the automatic 
damper regulator is fastened to the 
brick wall behind and just to the 
right of the fan. Near the steam pipe 
leading to the engine a lever can be 
seen, which operates the throttle of 
the engine and which is connected to 
the damper regulator. 



As the steam pressure within the 
bailers increases, the regulator closes 




Fig. 10. Forced Draft Fan Controlled by Damper Regulator. 



When mechanical draft is employed 

it is customary to control the system 

by the same automatic regulator that 

operates the damper 

Mechanical in the flue. Whether 

Draft the draft he produced 

by the induced or the 

forced method, the speed of the fan, 

or fans, can readily be changed by 

the damper regulator. 

Figure 10 shows a forced draft fan 
as it is arranged (in one of our New 
n^ngland textile mills. The small 
Steam engine which operates the fan 



Operation 



the damper in the flue, and at the 
same time operates 
the steam valve con- 
trolling the engine so 
that the engine is 
slowed down. If the steam pressure 
falls below a certain point the damper 
is moved and the throttle of the blow- 
er engine is opened. With systems 
of induced draft the speed control is 
arranged in a similar manner. 

In bome of our power plants electric 
motors are used for driving mechan- 
ical draft apparatus, an-d in these in- 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



65 



stallations the damper regulator is 
connected to a suitable electric con- 
ti'oJler so that the results are the same 
as in the case just described. It will 
be remembered that the American 
Wool and Cotton Reporter has 
d-escribed existinig power stations 
where induced draft fans were in use 
which always ran at constant speeds. 
This arrangement is found only where 
the fans are driven by belting or 
ropes from the maioi engine, and its 
use is seldom advisable. When the 
damper closes, due to increased steam 
pressure, the draft caused by the suc- 
tion of the fan is not wanted and 
power is wasted. More or leas hot 
gas will also be drawn up the stack 
when the damper is closed with con- 
stant speed fans, and this introduces 
a loss of valuable heat units. 



the Pacific Mills and in hundreds of 
others. 



Low-pressure turbines, as their name 
implies, are those operated by low- 
pressure steam. High-pressure tur- 
bines are generally 
Low-Pressure referred to when the 
Turbines term steam turbine is 

used, but there are 
many uses for units operated by ex- 
haust steam. The advantages of elec- 
tric drives for textile mills are many. 
Alternating current motors are the 
ones best suited for most branches of 
'the textile industry, and jthe h|igh 
speed of steam tunbines is especially 
adapted for driving alternating cur- 
rent generators. 

Mention has been made in the 
American Wool and Cotton Reporter 
of many power plants where power 
is developed by turbines. One of the 
generating units installed in the new 
power plant of the Royal Weaving 
Company, Pawtudket, R. I., has been 
described and a cut of the turbine 
shown. The mills of the American 
Thread Company at Fall River are 
driven by steam turbines, the Tremont 
& Suffolk Mills at Lowell have several 
in use; and, in fact, nearly all of the 
large textile mills which are employ- 
ing electric drives are making use of 
the steam turbine. Turbine units are 
in use at the Boott Mills, the Massa- 
chusetts Mills, the Amoskeag Mills, 



Low-pressure turbines are generally 
employed for generating comparatively 
small amounts of power. This liln no 
way signifies that 
Power Costs they are unimportant. 
Reduced There are many mills 

where the installa- 
tion of a low-pressure isteam turbine 
would reduce the cost of power. Ex- 
haust steam from reciprocating en- 
gines, steam pumps, and other auxil- 
iary apparatus can be delivered to low- 
pressure turbines which in connection 
with suitable condensers are capable 
of delivering considerable amounts of 
power. 

Engines which are running non-con- 
densing are discharging steam at at- 
mospheric pressure. This is about 14 
pounds per square inch. Steam tur- 
bines may be arranged to receive this 
steam at the atmospheric pressure and 
discharge into a vacuum of from 24 
to 29 inches. With such an installa- 
tion, the output may be increased from 
75 to 100 per cent. The same steam 
used in the engine is given a second 
chance to do work, and this in no 
way increases the size of the boiler 
plant. The engine and exhaust turbine 
require no more steam than is de- 
manded by the engine alone; there- 
fore, there is no extra cost introduced 
for fuel, chimneys, coal handling ap- 
paratus and buildings. 



The usefulness of the low-pressure 
turbine is not limited to plants where 
the engines are simple non-condensing 
units. Condensing 

Not Limited ^i^Sines may be ar- 
ranged to exhaust 
into an exhaust tur- 
bine, and the turbine in turn will ex- 
haust into the condenser. In many 
instances considerable extra power 
can be obtained with this arrangement 
without increasing the consumption of 
steam. 

Mills often have single cylinder en- 
gines w!hich have heen installed with 
the idea of later putting in a low- 
pressure cylinder and compounding 
the unit. Instead of putting in the 
low-pressure cylinder, an exhaust 



66 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



steam turbine can b© arranged to re- 
ceive the steam from the high-pres- 
sure cylinder and utilize its expansion 
powers by discharging into a vacuum 
of 24 to 29 inches. This plan may 
not always be advisable, but it should 
be given consideration. 



be operated by it continuously. To ac- 
complish this, a re- 
The Regenera- generator is employ- 
tor ed. Thic is simply a 
heat storage reser- 
voir which consists of a tank partly 





F 




g 






t_ 




_®j 




b 




a 


P 




jS 




Fig. 44. Plan and Elevation of Low-Pressure Turbine Installation. 



Figure 44 is a plan, an elevation of 
an exhaust turbine generator installa- 
tion showing the connectioms and the 
relative proportions of the parts. A 
load of 300-horse power is carried by 
th© engine, and the turbine supplies 
200 additional horse power. 



If exhaust steam is available inter- 
mittently, a low-pressure turbine can 



filled with water. The excess steam 
supplied at intervals is condensed by 
the water and re-evaporates, due to 
the drop in pressure within the re- 
generator when the exhaust steam 
supply is deficient. 



Figure 45 |i(lluistrates one type of low- 
pressure steam turbine which is sue- 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



67 



cessfully used in textile mills. They 
may be directly con- 
Mixed Pres- nected to electric 
sure generators. circula- 

tion pumps, or any 
high-speed apparatus. Figure 46 shows 
another make of exhaust turbine built 
for direct connection to centrifuigal 
pumps. In some instances, ;it is de- 
sired to operate an exhaust turbine be- 
fore the unit supplying the exhaust 



carbonates and sulphates of lime and 
magnesia, silica, oxides of iron and 
alumina and suspended matter. All 
of this tends to form scales. Cor- 
rosion is brought about by the pres- 
ence of sulphuric, hydrochloric, car- 
bonic, acetic and tannic acid. Small 
amounts of these acids will cause 
practically no trouble, but acetic and 
tannic acids are frequently present in 
large quantities, due to contamination 




Fig. 45. A Typical Low-Pressure Steam Turbine. 



steam is started. For instance, an ex- 
haust turbine may drive a pump which 
circulates the condensing water for its 
own condenser. For such installations, 
a mixed pressure machine lends litself 
for use with either high or low-pres- 
sure steam. A mixed-pressure unit 
may be installed to utilize all of the 
exhaust steam available and automati- 
cally take high-pressure steam in 
quantities necessary to handle the 
load. 



Commercial filtration plants have 
recently been described, and in the is- 
sue of April 6, the water softening 

and purifying appa- 

Softening ratus as used by the 

Water Sauquoit Spinning 

Company, C a p r o n, 
N. Y., was illustrated. Since the cot- 
ton industry first started, the advan- 
tage of locating mills near plentiful 
water supplies has been appreciated. 
The consideration of the kind of 
water available has frequently been 
neglected. The following inorganic 
substances are often found In water; 



from near-by chemical works. Iron 
sulphate and magnesia chloride form 
a scale and cause corroding action as 
well. Carbonates, sulphates and 

chlorides of sodium and potassium 
are often present in a mill's water 
supply, but they seldom cause trouble. 
When water is heated to 212 degrees 
Fahrenheit and is boiled for some 
time, the carbonates of lime and 
magnesia are precipitated. These de- 
posits will collect upon the boiler 
tubes or within the feed water heat- 
er or other various pipe lines and 
then cause serious trouble. Carbo- 
nates of lime and magnesia are poor 
conductors of heat. It is claimed that 
the conducting power of boiler scale 
is about one-thirtieth that of iron. 



In speaking of the ill effects from 

non-conducting scale, J. C. Wm. 

Greth gives the following: "First, 

The increased 

amount of fuel which 

it is necessary to use 

in order to raise the 

temperature of the water to a given 



III Effects 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



point or to generate steam. Second. 
There is great danger of burning or 
overheating the boiler, by reason of 
the fact that the water is not in imme- 
diate contact with the shell and cannot 
carry off or absorb the heat from the 
plates. The iboiler being under pres- 
sure, the overheating of the metal 
results in the stretching of the plate, 
forming a bag; or the metal may 
blister or crystallize, which will very 
much reduce its tensile strength, ren- 
dering the boiler unsafe. This means 



cumulating. It is usually very hard, 
and can only be removed after con- 
siderable hard work. Continual ham- 
mering and chipping is injurious to 
the metal, and even if the intentions 
of the cleaner are the best, it is im- 
possible to reach all parts of the 
modern steam generator for cleaning. 
Third. The boilers are not the 
only part of the steam generating 
plant which are affected by the im- 
purities of the water. A deposit of 
a part of the carbonates of lime, mag- 




Fig. 46. An Exhaust Turbine for Driving a Centrifugal Pump. 



repairs are in order, even in cases 
where the metal does not get heated 
enough to bag or blister, but is suf- 
ficient to cause the metal to expand 
unequally, distorting the seams and 
joints between the several parts of 
the boiler. This causes leaks, which, 
in time, become serious enough to put 
the boiler out of use. Even under 
conditions where no disastrous results 
follow, a great deal of labor on the 
part of the engineer in charge is nec- 
essary to keep the scale from ac- 



nesia and iron takes place when the 
water reaches the exhaust steam 
heater. The same trouble arises in 
steam plants using economizers on 
heaters through which the water pass- 
es after it leaves the exhaust steam 
heater, and before it reaches the 
boilers. These obtain their heat from 
the waste gases of the furnace, and 
it is very important that their sur- 
faces should be clean and kept so 
without involving a great deal of 
labor and expense. A deposit, too. 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWEk 



69 



especially from well waters, takes 
place in the feed pipes, valves, pumps, 
etc." 



Operating engineers in textile mills 
all have various methods for prevent- 
ing too great an accumulation of 
boiler scale. Some of 
Various these methods work 

Methods satisfactorily, while 
others are unneces- 
sarily expensive and give poor results. 
In some instances, mills have dis- 
continued the use of pond or river 
water and are now purchasing boiler 
feed from the municipal water works. 
Purchasing city water for mill use is 
expensive and many times a scientific 
investigation of the river or pond 
water would show that this water 
could be economically used. 

Foreign matter which can be re- 
moved mechanically with filters has 
been removed by many plants. The 
methods of chemically softening water 
are perhaps less generally understood. 
It is not, however, an expensive and 
unsatisfactory process, as is proven 
by the many textile mills using one 
form or another of this kind of ap- 
paratus. Water can be treated with a 
definite amount of chemicals by me- 
chanical methods. This makes pos- 
sible a softening plant requiring lit- 
tle attention. ■ Boiler tubes have be- 
come almost entirely filled with scale 
before trouble was suspected, and one 
case which we remember offhand re- 
quired 100 new tubes. Scale which 
has been loosened by boiler com- 
pounds but not removed will some- 
times reharden and cause much 
trouble. 



nic, acetic, etc. All of these acids are 
said to corrode the metal and to be 
positively injurious to the boiler. 

"Almost everything, at one time or 
another, has been put into the boiler 
to keep the scale soft, such as shav- 
ings, oak bark and tea, for the tannic 
acid they contain; distillery slops 
and vinegar, on account of the acetic 
acid; potatoes and corn, for their 
starch; leather, slipper elm and ma- 
nure, for their gelatinous matter; mo- 
lasses and sugar, because of the sac- 
charates of lime formed. Innumer- 
able other substances have been used, 
without judgment or reason, as, for 
instance, the following, taken from 
the patent records: parched ground 
coffee, extract of logwood, blood meal 
and salt; all thoroughly mixed with 
water. The two illustrations shown 
and for the purpose set forth. 

"From the chemical standpoint, the 
most efiicieint compounds are tri-so- 
dium phosphate and fluoride of sodium. 
With these, when the water is heated, 
both the carbonates and sulphates of 
lime and magnesia are precipitated as 
phosphates of fluorides, which do not 
harden on the tubes and sihell. The 
principal objection, however, is the 
cost of using them in quantities suffi- 
cient to remove enough of the scale- 
forming matter to be of benefit. They 
are expensive, first, because the chemi- 
cal equivalent of these compounds 
make it necessary to use one pound 
of tri-sodium phosphates to precipi- 
tate 9-10 of a pound of carbonate of 
lime, or .77 of carbonate of magnesia. 
One pound of fluoride of sodium is 
required to precipitate 1.19 pounds of 
lime carbonates or 1.6 pounds of lime 
sulphates." 



In speaking upon the subject of 
boiler compounds, Mr. Greth makes the 
following comment: "Mixtures known 
as boiler compounds 
Boiler have been used for 

Compounds years. The chem- 
istry of boiler com- 
pounds is correct, and the subject is 
thoroughly understood. They are gen- 
erally composed of soda in combination 
with some organic acid, such as tan- 



If substances can be found which 

precipitate boiler scale, there are 

many reasons why thes© substances 

should be used before 

_, ... .. the water enters the 

Purifcat.on ^^.^^^ ^^ ^.^^^ 

scale in a boiler tube 
is well broken up, but before this is re- 
moved from the tube, it becomes hard- 
ened once more and 'more objec- 
tionable than if the compound had 



70 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



never been used. Boiler compounds 
can be used to advantage, but there 
are many instances wtiere independent 
water softening devices are rnore satis- 
factory. 

The purification plant shown in 
the American Wool and Cotton Re- 
porter for April 6 illustrated one type 
of the intermittent water softening 
system. It contained two settling 
tanks provided vfith mechanical stir- 
ring devices. These thoroughly mix 
the lime and soda with the water in 
one tanik, after which the water is 
allowed to settle, while that in the 
other is being treated or used. The 
plant illustrated also contains, a filter 
tank through which all of the water 
was drawn. 



There is another imethod for soft- 
ening water known as the continuous 
system. With this* attachment, lime is 

fed into the vs^ater as 
The Contin- a saturated solution. 
uous System The amount of lime 

introduced depends 
upon the flow of water from the system 
and the amount of impurities which 
are to be rernioved. As soon asi the 
lime treatment is completed, soda ash 
is introduced in definitely determined 
quantities. The water then has an 
opportunity for settling and clearing 
and is finally passeid through a filter 
for the removing of light floating mat- 
ter. This system is especially adapted 
for use where the quantity of water 
required is uniform; where the "wajter 
is uniform in character; where the 
available floor space is. limited ; where 
it is impossible to obtain sufficient 
water quickly enough for the inter- 
mittent system, or where extremely 
large quantities are required. 



Some of the advantagesi of the in- 
termittent system have been summa- 
rized as follows: "First. The ab- 
sence of automatic 
Intermittent chemical feeds. Sec- 
System ond. It can be 
operated by the en- 
gineer or his assistant without in- 



teirfering with their regular work. 
Third. A constant quantity of raw 
water is collected to be treated with 
a uniform aimount of chemical re>- 
agents. An excess or insufficiency of 
chemicals is avoided, and, therefore, 
a uniform character of th© purified 
water is furnished. The simplicity 
of the apparatus enaibles an unskilled 
workman to obtain good results. 
Fourth. The chemical stirring results 
in the agitation of the raw water 
with the chemicals and thus insures 
an intimate mixture and very materi- 
ally hastens and soon completes the 
chemical reaction. Fifth. The sludge 
of previous purificatian, wlhich has 
settled to the bottom of the tanks., is 
mixed with the water by the action 
of the mechanical stirring devices. 
This insoluble matter moving in the 
water gathers together with the 
new finely divided precipitate of lime 
and magnesia, aids chemical reaction 
and assists the chemicals in clarify- 
ing the water. 

"Sixth. The sludge collected in the 
settling tanks relieves the filter bed so 
that the filter can be run from five to 
six times as. long without cleaning, as 
would be the case were the sludge all 
intercepted by the filters. Seventh. 
Inasmuch as the settling tanks do not 
usually require washing or emptying 
oftener than once a week, the amount 
of wash water required is a very small 
percentage of the total amount puri- 
fied. Eighth. The water can stand 
for some time in order to get complete 
chemical reaction hetween the soluble 
impurities of the water and the chem- 
icals added. Every chemist under- 
stands that no chemical reaction is in- 
stantaneous. If the lime and magne- 
sia are not cc mpletely removed in the 
purifying apparatus, they axe sure to 
precipitate in the piping, heaters and 
boilers. Ninth. The perfect quiet of 
the water givesi an opportimity for 
complete settling. Tenth. The ar- 
rangement of the two settling tanks 
permits an accurate daily record to be 
kept of the amount of water evaporat- 
ed in the boilers. This feature will 
be appreciated by careful managers 
of large steam plants who have a re- 
gard tor a coal pile." 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



71 



Requirements for each individual prevention of thi.; scale should receive 
textile mill should receive special at- careful study and systematic regula- 




Fig. 82. A Four-Tank Water Purification System. 



tention; appairatus admirably suited 
for one is in no way 
Special Re- applicable for others. 
quirements All enigineers of tex- 
tile mills are more or 
less familar with the scale-produc- 
ing qualities of their feed water. The 



tion. If boiler compounds give good 
results, they should be used in definite 
quantities, and not in large amounts 
one week and the opposite the next. 
If sicale trouble is not eliminated by 
the 'methods in use, some other ar- 
rangements should be made. 



72 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



Engine rooims containing modern 

equipment are generally provided witli 

continuous oiling devices, instead of 

depending upon the 

Better engineer to fill the 

Lubrication many oil cups by 

hand. These systems 

are not provided simiply to lessen the 

engineer's work, although this item in 

itself is of importance. The main 




Fig. 116. Oil Circulation Piping on Re- 
ciprocating Engine. 

value of a continuous oiling arrange- 
ment is that less oil is required and 
better lubrication obtained with the 
modem forms of supplying oil to the 
various engine bearings in a oontinu- 
ousi stream. Each journal receives 
considerably more oil than would be 
used with hand feed. The excess is 
not wasted, but runs off into drip 
pans; is later filtered and pumped 
back to the supply tank. With this 
system the bearings are completely 
flushed with oil at all times, yet in no 
other way is it possible to accomplish 
proper lubrication with the consump- 
tion of so Jittle oil. 

Consider for a moment the method 
employed when filling the oil cups by 
hand. The engineer keeps a small can 

of oil for filling these 

Oil cuips. As each one is 

Wasted filled, a certain 

amount of- oil drips 
from the can onto the engine. In al- 
most every instance, the engineer will 
carry a 'piece of cotton waste, and 
wipe this oil from the can and oil cup. 
In many instances a certain amount 
will be spilled upon the engine frame 
and this likewise wiped off with the 
waste. A careless engineer will throw 
away a tremendous amount of oil in 
this manner, and even the best of en- 
gineers cannot fill the oil cup by hand 



without spilling some. It is possible 
and practical to use extractors for 
taking the oil out of the old, oily 
waste. These are used at many plants 
and may introduce a considerable sav- 
ing. There is no excuse, however, for 
having such large quantities, of oily 
waste, for by installing a simple sys- 
tem, which will keep the' engine bear- 
ings lubricated automatically, no oil 
will be spilled. There are few who re- 
alize the added expense that this need- 
less waste of oil introducesi. 

William M. Davis, in a paper on 
"Economical Lubrication," read last 
year before the National Association 
of Cotton Manufacturers, included the 
following interesting statements : 
"Another cause for lo^ss often occurs 
from wiping up with waste. The oily 
waste then goes to the boiler room 
to be burned. In wiping up around en- 
gines, it has been found by experi- 
ment that a pound of dry waste will, 
after being used and squeezed out by 
hand, weigh two pounds, or, as the 
writer found at one plant, there was a 
loss of one gallon of oil for every ten 
pounds of dry waste used. 




Fig. 117. Oil Header Fitting for 
Branch Pipe. 

"To give an idea of what this loss 
sometimes amountsi to, the writer, 
while inspecting lubricating conditions 
at a mill, found on inquiry that they 
were using waste at the rate of 28,000 
pounds per year. Most of this waste 
was used for wiping up around the 
engines and machinery on which a 
great deal of oil was used. All of it 
was sent to the boiler room to be 
burned. As the waste was heavy with 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



73 



oil. It is safe to say that, at the very 
least, 2,000 gallons of oil were lost 
per annum." 



With an oil circulation system, it is 

of vital importance that all the oil 

not used up in the bearings be prop- 

„. , . . erly cleaned and re- 

p'^frLf turned to the supply 

S t m tank. There have 

^^ ® been many gravity oil 

feeds attached to engines where only 

part of the oil has been saved, and 




Fig. 118. One Section of Oil Filter, 
Illustrating the Large Filtering Sur- 
face. 

where even this part has not been 
well filtered. Installations of this na- 
ture are sometimes just as good as 



the old hand methods, but as a rule, 
they are more wasteful of oil. Sys- 
tems which are properly designed 
save almost every drop of oil that 
is not actually used on the bearings. 
This is filtered and made perfectly 
clean, and all sediment which is taken 
out by the filter can be used as rough, 
coarse grease for lubricating gears, 
industrial railway switches and other 
purposes of a simlilar nature. 

Too many engineers have an idea 
that any old arrangement containing 
an oil tank and la pulmp for forcing 
the oil drips back tp thisi tank will 
work as satisfactorily as one designed 
with special care by manufacturers 
who have igiven this line of work years 
of study. They go ahead and install 
some sort of a system, according to 
their own ideas, and get results vary- 
ing according to their own 'personality 
and information. 



Instead of using elbows and tees, 
one typical drip system, is composed 
of bent conduits and junction boxes. 
With this arrange- 
Ben t ment every part of 
Conduit the system can be 
cleaned with a wire 
while in service. Drip manifolds are 
provided with a sicrew top. These 
manifolds are heavy enough to permit 
tapping on all sides, and two or more 
pipes may be connected at the same 
side, if necessary. The top cap of the 
manifold is easily accessible, and the 
entire system may ibe readily cleaned. 
Figure 116 indicates the way in which 
the conduit is carried to the various 
oil cups of the engine. An oil header 
runs along the frame, as shown, and 
branch pipes lead out to the various 
feed cups. A header stop valve is con- 
nected with each branch, sio that it 
may be shut off or removed at any 
time. The main header has an oil 
throttle placed near the steam valve, 
and a blow-off connection at the ex- 
treme end of the header. The blow-off 
discharges into an oil iguard, so that 
oil blown out is not wasted, but is 
carried to the filter. Figure 117 illus- 
trates one of the oil header fittings 
cut away to show the inside construe- 



74 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



tion. This fitting makes a straight With proper filters there is seldom 

oil line, and avoids pockets or screw an opportunity for the distributing 






Fig. 119. Tanks, Filters, Pump, etc., for an Oil Filtration and Circulation 

System. 



:*oints. Each system must be designed 
to meet the special requirements, but 
the general idea Oif distributing the 
oil thiTough a system without any 
sharp bends isi well illustrated by 
Figures 116 and 117. 



system to become clogged, but the 

benefits derived from 

The using a system which 

Filter can be easily cleaned 

will be appreciated 

by all engineers. In determining the 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



75 



proper type of filter to install, the 
nurti'ber of square feet of filtering sur- 
face should be definitely determined. 
In addition to this, accurate data ob- 
tained from tests where similar appa- 
ratus is installed should he studied 
and investigated. Manufacturers of 
all types of oil filtersi will gladly refer 
prospective customers to mails where 
their apparatus is in use, and in this 
way the best kind of data can be as- 
certained. 

Figure 118 illustrates one type of 
filter which hasi given good satisfac- 
tion in many power plants. The illus- 
tration shows the inside construction 
of the filter and gives a good idea of 
its construction. It is a closed type, 
and no leakage can take place except 
through the muslin. When the filter 
section is removed for cleaning the 
dirt is removed with it, and on ac- 
count of providing a large filtering 
surface frequent cleanings are unnec- 
essary. 

One type of oil filtration and 
circulating system is illustrated by 
Figure 119. The system of pipes con- 
veying oil to the engine bearings is 
omitted from the illustration. The 
overhead tank and indicator for show- 
ing the oil level are at the top of the 
illustration, while the circulating 
pump, filter and self-measuring supply 
pumps are illustrated in the lower half 
of the figure. The pipes connecting 
the overhead tank with the other appa- 
ratus are shown broken off, as there 
is no necessity of these being directly 
over each other. 



Almost every textile mill has one 
or more oil storage tanks, as it has 
been found unwise to keep oil for 

long periods in ordi- 

All Oil nary barrels. To be 

Saved sure, there are some 

concerns which have 
not yet appreciated this point, but the 
number which have remained in igno- 
rance of the savings which could be 
introduced hy installing simple meth- 
ods of circulating oils to the various 
engine hearings is much larger. A 
good automatic oiling system fur- 
nishes stream feed to 'the bearings, 
permits the re-use of all oil, automat- 



ically collects the drips, filters them, 
and returns the pure, clean oil to 
the supply tank. Waste is reduced to 
a minimum as friction losses are re- 
duced by the provision of best possible 
lubrication. This comes back directly 
to the coal pile, and reduces the coal 
bill as well as the oil bill. 



Some textile mill managers have 
the idea that an oil circulation system 
is simply a device for lessening the 

work of the engineer. 

A They claim that their 

Mistake engineer has time 

enough to oil the en- 
gines by hand, and give the old excuse 
against automatic arrangements, 
namely, that everything automatic is 
liable to get out of order and fail to 
operate. There is far less danger of 
these automatic systemsi failing to 
work than there is for the average 
engineer to forget his oil cups. 



The power plant is but Oiue part of 
the textile mill requiring large quan- 
tities of lubricating oil. Textile ma- 
chinery should be 
Mill well lubricated, and 

Machinery it is possible to waste 
an enormous amount 
of machine oil in each department. If 
oil is kept in one central supply room, 
and is delivered to the different de- 
partments without being measured, it 
is very frequently wasted by those 
oiling the machines. If, however, an 
accurate account is kept of the amount 
furnished to each of these depart- 
ments, this acts as a check, and makes 
those using the oil more careful. By 
using modern storage tanks, it is an 
easy matter to know exactly the 
amount of oil delivered to each depart- 
ment. The tanks have a measuring 
apparatus. A dial is provided, so that 
by setting the lever at one point, for 
instance, each turn of the pumping 
handle delivers one pint. This dial 
can be quickly turned, so that any 
desired quantities can be delivered. 
In this way, no time is lost in measur- 
ing the oil, and at the same time a 
much more accurate measurement is 
obtained than by the use of any ordi- 
nary method. 



76 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



It is also possible to have storage 
tanks placed at any part of the mill, 
where they can be conveniently filled, 

and the delivery 
Delivery pumps and measuring 

System apparatus in any mill 

room. S'ome of our 
textile mills are^ equipped with very 
complete systems for dlstrilbuting oil 
to the different departments. Require- 
ments of this kind vary in different 
plants. Some mills are very desirous 
of distributing all oil from on-e central 
supply room; other plants wish to 
have pipes arranged so that each 
overseer of -a department can obtain 
his own oil supply directly. This ques- 
tion is worth investigation, and well 
worthy of more attention from those 
in charge of textile mills. 



AH textile machinery should be kept 

well lubricated, and there are so 

many grades of oil marketed at the 

present time that it 

Machinery is somewhat difficult 
Slighted to decide which kind 

is the most eco- 
nomical in the long run. Some mills 
buy the most expensive oils, and in- 
struct operatives very definitely that 
this oil must be used with care. This 
no doubt would be the most advan- 
tageous method, if the ordinary oper- 
ative could be relied upon to supply 
enough oil to the bearings without 
wasting it. As a matter of fact, oper- 
atives who are called to account for 
washing small amounts of oil will go 
to the other extreme and slight the 
machinery. It is not difficult to prop- 
erly lubricate all machinery hearings 
without wasting much oil, but it has 
been proven time and time again that 
mill operatives rebel against repeated 
caution about the use of oil, and in 
imany instances., -machinery has been 
badly damaged as a result. 



There seems to be a tendency 
among mill help to allow a certain 
amount of oil to run from the oil can 
onto the fioor before 
The Human filling any oil holes. 
Element No excuse can be of- 

fered for this, but the 
fact remains true. There is also a 
tendency to enlarge the openings of 



oil cans, so that the oil may flow more 
freely. This causes additional waste. 
It therefore becomes questionable 
whether it is true economy to lay too 
much stress upon the necessity of 
using oil sparingly.. In several in- 
stances it has been found more satis- 
factory in the end to purchase a some- 
what cheaper oil and allow the help 
to use this quite freely. Care should 
be taken that this does not go to the 
extreme, and a good overseer can 
readily prevent it. The best over- 
seers, however, have found it impos- 
sible to make the ordinary help use 
the high-grade oils as sparingly as 
they should without causing certain 
machines to be neglected. We do not 
advise using an extremely cheap oil, 
but it has been found that a medium 
grade will oftentimes give good re- 
sults and cost less money per year. 



The value of storage tanks provided 
with some type of self-measuring 
pump has been proven great in many 

instances. The feeling 
Storage among overseers that 

Tanks an accurate record 

is heing kept of their 
supplies makes them unconsciously 
more careful, and the elimination of 
waste caused by the overflowing meas-- 
uring cans amounts to a much larger 
sum at the end of the year than would 
be expected. The choice of economical 
grades of oil and the method of dis- 
tributing these lubricants to mill de- 
partments is one of the comparatively 
small points which may add to the 
cost of production. The larger textile 
mills have given this subject consider- 
able attention, but many of these have 
studied into this matter too little, and 
the smaller mills have steadily ne- 
glected the possible advantages. All 
unnecessary friction means an un- 
necessary expenditure of money for 
power. 

Another detail which should receive 
more attention is the care of belting. 
Several articles have appeared in the 
recent issues of the 
_ , . American Wool and 

Belting Cotton Reporter re- 

ferring to- this ques- 
tion. In some establishments, the care 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



77 



of belting is entrusted to so many dif- 
ferent parties that no one can be held 
resiponsible for actual conditions. TTiis 
method is a mistake, for there should 
be some one man responsible for ev- 
ery belt in the mill. In even medium 
sized plants, this man must, of course, 
have assistants, but their reports, to 
aim must be explicit enough so that 
he can be held responsible in all in- 
stances. 

The evil effects of allowing belts to 
be stretched too tightly have received 
considerable comment. This is an 
important item, however, and much 
power is being thrown away daily on 
this aiccount. Tight belts often injure 
hanger bearings and introduce exces- 
sive line shaft friction, which remains 
even though the belt be subsequently 
loosened. 



In all departments where any 
amount of lint is present, belts should 
be frequently cleaned. The lint was 
removed from a belt 
Needless which had been run 
Neglect several months with- 

out cleaning, and it 
was found that the speed of the driv- 
en shaft was noticeably increased. The 
dust had formed a coating upon the 
inside of the belt and had allowed an 
abnormal slippage to take place. 

The introduction of electric motors 
for driving textile machinery has re- 
duced the number of large driving 
belts, but the majority of electrically 
operated plants still use a large num- 
ber of smaller beltsi tfor operating 
counter shafts, driving machinery in 
groups. Once all these belts have been 
put in good condition, it is not an ex- 
pensive matter to keep them so. It is 
an expensive matter to neglect them. 



Steam boilers for even a medium 
sized textile mill represent a consider- 
able investment. The vital parts of 
these boilers are out 
The Steam of sight. There are no 
Plant working parts which 

prevent the boilers 
being used, even after they have been 
badly neglected, and this abuse is of- 
ten allowed to continue, regardless of 
the additional expense incurred. Fire 



tube boilers, as their name implies, 
contain tubes through which the prod- 
uctsi of combustion pass. With this 
type, the outside of the tubes is in 
contact with the water, and consti- 
tutes the heating surface. Stationary 
fire tube boilers are manufactured 
with horizontal tubes, and also with 
tubes in a vertical position. The for- 
mer type is commonly known 'as hori- 
zontal tubularsi and the latter fre- 
quently designated as vertical boilers. 
Both of these are comparatively cheap 
in first cost, and both are in use in 
hundreds of textile mills. For boiler 
rooms, where the floor space is lim- 
ited, the vertical type can be installed 
advantageously, and when properly 
designed, may give good economy. 
These boilers have a cylindrical shell, 
with a fire box in the lower end, and 
with fire tubes running from the fur- 
nace to the top of the boiler. 



The horizontal tubulars consist es^ 
sentially of a cylindrical shell closed at 
the ends by two flat plates. The fire 
tubes are expanded 
Horizontal into each of the tube 
Tubulars plates, and about two- 
thirds of the bottom 
of the boiler is filled with water, while 
the other one-third is reserved for 
siteam. The products of combustion 
pass hack over a bridge wall to the 
back end, and then' forward through 
the tubes, and up to the up-take, into 
the flue that leads to the chimney. For 
low pressure steam, these boilers are 
very satisfactory, and latest types are 
designed so that steam pressures suit- 
able for operating steam turbines may 
be carried comparatively little. These 
iboilers contain a large body of water, 
and the entire shell is under high pres- 
isure. If there is any failure, either 
through some defect or through care- 
lessness of attendants, the explosion 
which takes place is disastrous. 
When propenly designed, and subse- 
quently cared for by competent and 
careful attendants, they are safe and 
durable. The large mass of hot water 
tends to keep a steady pressure but 
prevents raising the steam quickly to 
meet sudden demands for more steam. 



78 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



Water tube boilers have the water 
inside of the tubes, and are designed 
so that the producits of combustion 
pass over the outside 
Water surfaces. There is a 

Tubes separate drum or res- 

ervoir for storing the 
steam, and in this drum the steam is 
separated from the water. This drum 
is kept away from the fire, or is reach- 
ed only iby gasies that have • already 
passed over the surfaces of the water 
tubes. The tubes are of small diam- 
eter, and can fee amply strong, even 
when made of thin metal. If one of 
the tubes should fail, the damage done 
is comparatively slight compared with 
the failure of the fire tube boiler. 

Each type of boiler has its advo- 
cates, and both fire tube and water 
tube units may give good satisfaction 
if properly mianaged. Boiler inspec- 
tions are made with much more thor- 
oughness than was the case a few 
years ago, but even the most careful 
scrutiny often fails to show up a weak 
joint or other defect, which may lead 
to an exiplosion. Holes are left in hor- 
izontal boilers, so that an inspector 
can get inside and look over all tubes 
and stay-bolts with care, but it is 
frequently found that defects cannot' 
be discovered when the boiler is cool 
enough to allow inside inspection. Re- 
liable iboiler makers are now manu- 
facturing equipment which has reduc- 
ed greatly the numher of boiler acci- 
dents. 



Cleanliness 



The efficiency of any boiler depends 
largely upon the cleanliness of the 
heating surface. This heating surface 
must transmit heat 
from the hot furnace 
gases to the water. 
The transmission is 
rapid through the metal tubes, but any 
accumulation of scale or soot obstructs 
the flow of heat much more than is 
frequently believed. The amount of 
this loss, due to the accumulation of 
soot and scale, varies according to 
the type of boiler, the kind of fuel 
burned, the amount of draft available, 
and the load under which the boiler is 
operated. There have been many tests 
miade to determine the loss of heat 



caused by layers of foreign matter, 
but there are so many details that 
enter into this result that scarcely 
any two authorities agree exactly on 
this point. One recoignized authority 
states that soot has more than five 
times the resistance to heat as does 
fine asbestos. Even allowing this to 
be an exaggeration, all tests show 
plainly that thin layers of soot cut 
down the boiler's efficiency. 



Few engineers ignore this fact en- 
tirely, but many of them give it too 
little consideration. Some engineers 
doubtless realize that 

Removing their tubes are in 
Soot poor condition, but 

either through lack of. 
aggressiveness on their part or un- 
willingness On the part of those in 
charge of the power plant, do not rem^ 
edy the evil. 

The perfection of feed water heat- 
ers has done much to keep hard scale- 
forming material out of the boilers, 
and it is but natural that many who 
realize the injurious effects of hard 
encrusted scale fail to recognize the 
waste caused by thin layers of soot. 

It is estimated that the loss of con- 
ductivity of boiler plate, due to differ- 
ent thicknesses of soot deposit, is ap- 
proximately as follows: 1-32 of an 
inch, 9.6 per cent; 1-16 of an inch, 26.2 
per cent; i of an inch, 45.2 per cent; 
3-16 of an inch, 69 per cent. 

Whether fire tube boilers or water 
tube units are used, the necessity of 
cleaning off soot still remains. With 
the fire tulbe boiler the soot collects 
inside the tubes, while with the water 
tube type, the deposit remains upon 
the outside surfaces. The frequency 
with which these should be cleaned 
depends upon many conditionsi, but 
the cleanings should take place often 
enough so that there may never be 
more than 1-32 of an inch deposit. If 
cleanings can be conveniently made so 
that this deposit will be kept below 
1-32 of an inch, the boiler efficiency 
will, of course, be correspondingly In- 
creased. 

By opening the door in front of the 
tubes of a horizontal tubular boiler, it 
is possible to blow the soot out of 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



79 



each, tube by use of a jet of steam. 
Special nozzles have been designed for 
accomplishing this, and they have 
made it possible to remove soot fairly 
siatisfactorily, while the boilers are 
hot. As already noted, the products 
of coimbustion pass from th.e rear of 
the 'boiler toward the front, therefore 
the jet that is blowing the soot from 
the front is working in th^e opposite 
direction to the natural draft. 



Figure 126 illustrates a tube clean- 
ing attacliment, which is set perma- 



Operation 



is placed opposite the first division, 
as shown in Figure 
126, and the steam jet 
is then directed upon 
the outside tubes. 
Moving tlie indicator around the dial 
changes the steam direction, so that 
when it rests in the lasit notch, the 
steam is delivered directly in the 
centre tubes. This pointer sihown in 
the illustration changes with the in- 
dicator, so ttiat the operator always 
knows which tubes h.e is cleaning. Tiie 
mechanism is simple, can be easily 
installed, and modifications of that 



•NDTE- 





S^=> 



Fig. 126. Removing So ot from Boiler Tubes. 



nently in the rear wall of each hori- 
zontal boiler. It con- 
Tube Cleaning sists of a specially 
Attachment designed steam noz- 
zle, which may be ro- 
tated froni the outside, so that the 
steam jet can be passed throngh each 
one of the fire tubes. With this attach- 
ment, the work of cleaning soot from 
the tubes is greatly decreased. It is 
objectionable work to blow the tubes 
out from th.e front, but with the con- 
trivance illustrated by Figure 126, 
this work can be done effectively and 
quickly. A pointer is provided, as 
shown by the illustration, which in- 
dicates the steam direction. 



shown by Figure 126 can be obtained 
suitable for all kinds of boilers which 
are used in textile mills. 



To clean a set of tubes with this 
apparatus^ the indicator on the dial 



The power plant of the Wood Wor- 
sted Mill, of Lawrence, Mass., contains 
42 horizontal tubular boilersi, and be- 
hind each one a 
Practical mechanism similar to 

Test that shown hy Figure 

126 is provided. With 
this apparatus it has oeen possible to 
keep the 'boiler tubes in unusually 
good condition, and evaporative tests 
made upon the boiler plant show a 
decided gain in efficiency. It is much 
easier to clean tubes with the appa- 
ratus illustrated than with long nozzles, 
which must be applied at the front 
with the boiler front open. This means 



80 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



that tubesi can be cleaned more fre- 
quently with the same amount of la- 
bor. Keeping the boiler front open 
causes a loss in steam pressure, and 
consequently, additional fuel must be 
supplied to regain this pressure. With 
the cleaning attachment connected 
behind each boiler, the cleaning is 
carried on withoiut opening the boiler 
front. 



Why ican isome mill owners erect 
new buildings for less money than 
•others) located within the same city 

or town? Special 

Mill Construe- commercial relations 

tion doubtless enaJble some 

to purchase materials 
at rock bottom prices, but leaving this 
class entirely out of the question, 
there still reimain men who are able 
to put up new buildings' more econom- 
ically than their neighbors. 

We shall not attempt to give all of 
the reasons for this fact. We shall, 
however, consider a few of the types 
of contracts under which mill build- 
ings are generally erected, as the 
choice of the contract affects ma- 
terially the final cost of a new plant. 
The contract which at first seems the 
one most desirable, is frequently un- 
necessarily expensive before the work 
in question becomes completed. Some 
contractors advise a certain form of 
contract, simply because they know it 
will mean more money for them on 
the one' piece of work under consid- 
eration, while others recommend the 
one most advantageous for both par- 
ties, realizing that there will be more 
work in the future which will prob- 
ably be given to the fair and square 
contractor. 



In justice to the contractor, it must 
be said that some mill men are not 
willing to look at the question fairly, 
but are determined to 
Placing give work to the con- 

Contracts tractor submitting the 
lowest initial esti- 
mate, regardless of the probable ex- 
pense for extra work which is sure to 
arise. This type of owner may once 
in a while get work done cheaper 



than the man who considers both sides 
of the questions fairly, but, as a rule, 
he is the loser. 

The method of contracting, which is 
perhaps the most common of all, is 
known as the "lump-sum" system. 
Under this arrangement, the contrac- 
tor agrees to furnisih all labor and ma- 
terial necessary to complete a certain 
definite piece of work for a definite 
lump sum. I'lans and specifications 
must he complete at the outset in 
order that the contractor may know 
definitely just what work is to be per- 
formed. 



It is almost impossible to make 
plans for work of any considerable im- 
portance which will not need imore or 
less changing as the 
"Extra work proceeds. Again, 

Work" the owners are al- 

most sure to change 
their minds about several •details, and 
this introduces still further deviation 
from the original plans. This may 
seem an unimportant matter, but it 
is not. Changes, even though they be 
slight, bring in the all-too-familiar 
term "extra wor^k." If the contractor 
has figured too low on the work, the 
"extra work" account isi his chance 
to turn loss into profit. If there has 
been a time limit clause in the orig- 
inal contract, the "extra work" pro- 
vides for an extension of time. 

Can we blame the contractor? He 
is in business to make money and the 
mill man knows this. Now if in try- 
ing to land the contract, the estimated 
cost has been figured too low, can we 
blame the contractor if he arranges 
the "extra work" account so that the 
work will bring in a fair profit? Per- 
haps not; but will this account bring 
the contractor more than a fair profit, 
and if it does, how can the owner 
prevent it? 



With this form of contract, the in- 

terestsi of the owner are opposed to 

those of the contractor from start 

to finish. Every cent 

Opposed which the contrac- 

Interests tor can save goes 

into his own pocket, 

while all of the money that the owner 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



81 



pays does not necessiarily represent 
value received. The owner 'may be 
paying non-competitive prices for 
extra work and he may also be paying 
a large item for interest on his in- 
vestment and loss of production, be- 
cause the work is not progressing any 
faster than is most economical for the 
contractor. 

Any labor-saving device which in- 
troduces a saving in time benefits the 
contractor and not the owner, for 
if extra work has been ordered, and, 
as is almost always necessary, the 
time limit is extended, the contrac- 
tor can take advantage of the labor- 
saving device by employing less 
men instead of using the same num- 
ber of imen a shorter time. If cement 
can be saved, and still keep the con- 
crete work up to the standard called 
for in the specifications, the saving 
go-es to the contractor and not the 
owner. If savings are introduced 
which do not keep the work up to 
the standard called for, the entire 
amount saved also goes to the con- 
tractor. There are many instances, 
with this kind of a contract, wlhere 
this can 'be done, but we shall not at 
this time discuss the conditions which 
may be introduced by dishonest con- 
tractors. We wish rather to call at- 
tention to the. necesisary relations be- 
tween owners and contractors under 
various types of contracts. 



further transactions in the future. We 
do not say that they cannot do this, 
but that it is difficult. 



The owner wishes, to erect his mill 
for the lowest possible total expendi- 
ture but also wants the best work- 
manship. Again, in 
Best Work- all probability, he 
manship wishes the work com- 

pleted at the earliest 
possible moment. The contractor 
wishes to make as large a profit on 
the work as he can, but he also wants 
to please and satisfy the owner suffi- 
ciently to bring future work in his 
direction. It has already been stated 
that with the "lump-sum" contract, the 
interests of the owner and contractor 
are opposied from the very start. With 
this condition, it is difficult for them 
to agree sufficiently to encourage 



The owner does not necessarily get 
the work done for the lowest cost, for 
he has agreed to pay a stated sum as 
soon as certain def- 
"Lump-Sum" inite work is complet- 
Contracts ed in a manner which 
he and the architect 
cannot refuse to accept. Whether he 
obtains the best workmanship depends 
upon the contractor, and the amount 
of inspection provided and payed for 
by the owner. The worik will not 
in all prohability be completed in the 
shortest possible period of time, for 
time extensions are allowed on ac- 
count of extra work, and the contrac- 
tor will probably do the work at the 
speed most economical for him. 

The contractor who accepts work 
under a "lump-sum" contract is tak- 
ing the risk of meeting unfavorable 
circumstances. For examiple, he may 
find that under one part of the new 
textile mill, several hundred piles 
must be driven for which he has made 
no allowance in his estimate. Some- 
times these unexpected conditions 
cause the contractors to actually lose 
money on a piece of work, but they 
are not in business to lose money, 
and are obliged to add a certain per- 
centage to their estimated cost for 
protection against unfavoraible circum- 
stances. 



The owner has to pay this addi- 
tional percentage whether the undesir- 
able conditions are found or not. If 
they are found, it is. 

Additional of course, right that 
Cost the owner should 

stand the expense. If 
they are not found, the contractor still 
receives the money. It is as possible 
for the contractor to meet with for- 
tunate circumstances as unfortunate. 
In this case, the owner is paying the 
ordinary amount plus the added per- 
centage for risk, while the actual cost 
is below normal, 



82 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



The "percentage" contract is fre- 
quently used by mill owners to over- 
come the undesirable features of the 
method just de- 

'*Percentage" scribed. Under this 
Contracts latter form, the 
contractor agrees to 
furnish all labor and materials needed 
to complete the work to the satisfac- 
tion of the owner and architect for 
cost plus an agreed upon percentage 
of the cost. Under this arrangement, 
the "extra work" item is eliminated 
and the contractor, as well as the own- 
er, wishes to complete the work as 
soon as possible. The interests of the 
two parties are much more in common, 
causing less chance for disagreements, 
which so often make construction 
work drag along over extended pe- 
riods of time. 

With the percentage contract, any 
inexperienced work is paid for by 
the owner, so that the contractor is 
not running any risk and, therefore, 
has no excuse for adding on an addi- 
tional protection price, as with the 
lump-sum arrangement. If certain ma- 
terials like cement can be used more 
economically than is the ordinary 
practice, the owner receives the sav- 
ing. If the contractor introduces a 
labor-saving device, whereby work 
can be performed more quickly and 
economically, the owner is benefited 
by a reduced cost, and both are bene- 
fited by a decrease in the time re- 
quired to complete the building. As 
previously mentioned, mistakes made 
by contractors under "lump-sum" con- 
tracts sometimes make it possible for 
owners to get work done for less than 
cost. This cannot happen with the 
percentage contract, but as it seldom 
happens under any contract the point 
is not of great importance. 



Mill men sometimes object to the 
percentage contract. They claim that 
as the price received by the contrac- 
tor increases in direct 
proportion with the 
total cost of the 
work, the contractor 
finds it to his advantage to make the 
cost as great as possible. It is true 



that the greater the cost the greater 
the contractor's profits. Without doubt, 
contractors who are doing their best 
to give satisfactory results are some- 
times accused unfairly of "boosting" 
the cost. However this may be, here 
is one important point upon which the 
interests of the owner and contractor 
are at variance. The owner wishes 
the cost kept down, while an increase 
in the "ost means an increase in profit 
for the contractor. 



Objection 



To overcome the objection referred 
to without removing any of the ad- 
vantages of the percentage contract, 
another form, known 
The as the "cost-plus-a- 

Remedy fixed sum" contract, 

has been employed. 
Under this method of contracting the 
owner agrees to pay the cost and also 
a stated amount which is to be the 
contractor's profit. With this arrange- 
ment there is no inducement for a con- 
tractor to increase the cost unneces- 
sarily, for he receives a certain stated 
amount of money regardless of the 
final cost of the work. 

The owner's and contractor's inter- 
ests become similar under this last 
type of agreement. The "extra work" 
item is excluded; the contractor is not 
charging an extra amount of money 
to protect himself against a possible 
risk of unexpected work; and it is to 
the advantage of both owner and con- 
tractor to complete operations as quick- 
ly as possible. The owner can decide 
just what grades of stock shall be used, 
can receive the benefit of all cash dis- 
counts, and knows at the outset just 
what the contractor's profit is to be. 
The owner's interests call for the work 
to be performed in the shortest pos- 
sible time at the lowest possible cost 
and with the best of workmanship. 
The contractor's profit, or salary, is 
assured, and it is, therefore, to his ad- 
vantage to perform the work in a 
manner which will cause "repeat or- 
ders." 



Plans may be changed at any time 
without delaying the work to any 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



83 



great extent, and the excavations and 

' foundations may be 

Delay completed while the 

Prevented details concerning the 

superstructure are 

being decided upon and the plans 

drawn accordingly. 

The "cost-plus-a-fixed-sutn" contract 
makes it possible for the owner's engi- 
neer to command the contractor to put 
on non-union men in times of strikes, 
and gives him the right to use what- 
ever means he may wish to obtain 
quick delivery of materials. In short, 
the owner's engineer can have the en- 
tire work performed in any way de- 
sired. While the work is in progress, 
the contractor becomes practically an 
employe under the management of 
the owner. His salary, or profit, be- 
ing decided upon at the start, his aim 
is to give satisfactory results. 



Textile mills in England from 1825 
to 1865 were constructed with wooden 
floors, supported on transverse wood- 
en 'beams, crossed by 

i» c»r.i^»^ longitudinal joints, on 
In England ^^^^^ ^^^ j^y^^.^ ^^ 

floor boards were 
fixed. The ceiling was plastered on 
laths fastened to the joints, and the 
whole floor became a hollow inflam- 
mable structure. 

In writing of the early cotton mills 
of England, Joseph Nasmith states: 

"Just before the year 1870, joint- 
stock spinning companies were start- 
ed, stimulated by the establishment of 
the Sun Mill, Oldham, in 1868. The 
great success which attended this ven- 
ture led to its wide imitation, and for 
a few years, mills in Lancashire, and 
especially in Oldham, increased with 
great rapidity. Gradually they be- 
came larger in size, and a call was 
made on the machinists to provide ma- 
chines of great dimensions. In 1874, 
the ring spinning frame was beginning 
to make its influence felt, and, owing 
to the large production possible by 
reason of the great speeds at which 
the spindles could be run the neces- 
sity for higher velocities of mules be- 
came apparent. Both machines re- 
quired more careful construction, and 
dating from the introduction of the 



ring frame, a complete change has 
come over constructive methods. The 
economic rivalry of the various limited 
companies speedily led to the more 
complete organization of their forces. 
It was found possible to manage mills 
containing many thousands of spindles 
in excess of those previously common 
with the same staff, and mills were 
accordingly designed with this fac- 
tor in full view. 



"Gradually, the lengths of the ma- 
chines increased and the mill was, 
of necessity, correspondingly enlarged. 
As a sequence to this 
Mills En- came a consideration 
larged of providing light, so 

that a room 130 feet 
wide should not suffer in that respect. 
Gradually, the ceilings became loftier 
and the window area of greater im- 
portance." 

Mr. Nasmith points out that since 
1870 there have been three important 
factors at work. They are: 

"1. The increased competition, aris- 
ing from economic causes, tending to 
the enlargement of the machines so 
as to correspond to the limit of the 
operative's capacity. 

"2. The improvements in the con- 
structive methods of machinists, re- 
sulting in the production of machines 
capable of running with steadiness at 
high velocities. 

"3. The provision of building ma- 
terials which lend themselves to the 
construction of mills of large size." 



More Efficient 



These same three factors have been 
and still are at work in the United 
States. Although the number of work- 
ing hours has been 
constantly decreased, 
the amount of work 
turned out each day 
by one operative is greater than it has 
ever been in the past. Improvements 
in the textile machinery are respon- 
sible in a large way for these changes, 
but the improvements in mill construc- 
tion and in general mill equipment are 
also of vital importance. 

Large window areas have already 



S4 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



been mentioned. It is important to 
furnish operatives witli as even and 
uniform illumination as possible. 
Large window areas admit increased 
quantities of cold air during the win- 
ter, and the extra task upon the heat- 
ing system has had to be considered. 
Floor beams will keep out light and 
cause shadows unless they are prop- 
erly designed. This question is re- 
ceiving much attention at present. 

A mill built in England as early 
as 1834 was claimed to be fireproof. 
Tee-shaped cast-iron beams were 
placed transversely of the mill and 
were supported near the middle by 
cast-iron pillars. From the trans- 
verse beams brick arches were sprung. 
Upon them the floor was laid and was 
constructed of timber. 



In America 



In the United States, special forms 
of fire-resisting structures have been 
tried, but most of the mills have been 
built with the aim 
to provide a build- 
ing which, although 
not fireproof, is not 
easily burned. For many years 
the standard slow-burning type 
of mill construction has been 
common. Many arrangements are 
included under the general name 
"standard mill construction" and while 
to outside appearances mills built at 
varying intervals have closely re- 
sembled each other, there have been 
many differences in improved detail. 
Our oldest textile mills were usually 
built of stone and had slanting roofs. 



The slanting roof wastes much room 
and is undesirable for mill buildings. 
These roofs of the old mills were com- 
bustible, and as noth- 

,..,, o r ing was known of 
M.II Roofs ^J^^^^ gj.^ p^^^^^. 

tion apparatus, it was 
not infrequent to have serious fire 
damage. The steep slanting roof 
costs about the same amount and ne- 
cessitates the loss of valuable floor 
space. The floor immediately under 
the roof can be used to some extent 
for storage purposes, but the amount 
of storage space thus provided is 
small. If this part of the structure 
is not floored, the slanting beams of 



the roof offer no ready means of at- 
taching shafting. There are old mills 
to-day which still have this type of 
roof, but most of them have been 
changed and the flat roof substituted. 
Some early mills which had substan- 
tial stone walls were fitted with posts 
and flooring of light material. This 
small stock had to be used m large 
quantities in order to obtain sufficient 
strength, and this again made the in- 
terior of the mill extremely combus- 
tible. Cotton is sensitive to fire from 
causes which would not affect other 
materials, and in several of the manu- 
facturing processes, there is consider- 
able chance for fires. 



Improvements in construction and 
fire protection have reduced the fire 
hazard and have brought the fire cost 

below that of many 

• Fire Protec- other safer kinds of 

tion business. ' Modern 

lighting devices have 
also done much to reduce the fire 
hazard. Kerosene lamps give less 
trouble than one might expect, but 
at best an equipment of this kind 
increased tremendously the danger 
from fire. It is true that a few mills 
are to-day using kerosene lamps. It 
is impossible to conceive any legiti- 
mate reason for this. Parties fa- 
miliar with the plants thus equipped 
claim that there have been few fires 
and that the lamps are not dangerous. 
It may be true that there have been 
few serious fires, and it is doubtless 
true that many small fires have never 
been reported. Mill managers who 
continue to use kerosene lamps for 
lighting their mill would probably 
much prefer to stand small fire losses 
themselves rather than have the case 
become public through the insurance 
company. 



The kerosene lamps cannot suf- 
ficiently illuminate a mill room to give 
best results, but entirely aside from 
this, they are danger- 
- , ■ . . ous and should not 

Gas Lights ^^ tolerated. After 
the kerosene lamp 
came illumination by gas. Gas flames 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



can be protected so that there will be 
little danger, but this was seldom 
(lone. Open flames were repeatedly 
allowed in rooms containing inflam- 



mination is in itself a broad one, and 
there are many different arrangements 
which are satisfactory, but this 
time we will not discuss the merits 




Fig. 78. Steel Towers and Car Used for Handling Concrete. 



mable substances and expensive fire 
losses were the result. All modern 
mills are to-day illuminated by elec- 
tricity. The subject of electric illu- 



of the various systems. Most tex- 
tile mills are to-day equipped with 
some kind of electric lights. Improve- 
ments in electric generators and light- 



86 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND P0WE3R 



ing devices have reduced the cost of 
these installations and simplified the 
layout. Mills driven by water power 
have been able to install lighting gen- 
erators and develop electricity at a 
low cost. Mills using steam power 
have likewise been able to install 
lighting generators, and while power 
may cost them slightly more than the 
water-driven units, the electric light- 
ing system is still an economical one. 



The fact that old mills frequently 

had substantial stone walls should not 

allow us to forget that many plants 

were wooden struc- 

\A/^«^ c-^o.v,^o tures. These were 

Wood Frames „ t -u ■lu. j^ ■,- t j. 

formerly built of light 

framing, and this 
formed excellent material for destruc- 
tive conflagrations. The use of light 
floor beams was later discontinued 
and heavy ones less in number were 
introduced. These heavy beams are 
combustible, but fire can not get be- 
yond control so quickly as with the 
many small ones. From this fact 
originated the name slow-burning mill 
construction. It was a type of con- 
struction which would burn, but fire 
could generally be extinguished before 
any large amount of damage was done. 
The automatic sprinkler head has now 
become a common part of the mills 
equipment. To-day, insurance com- 
panies are strict in demanding an 
equipment of automatic sprinklers and 
they have definite rules regarding the 
location and spacing of these heads. 



the National Board of Fire Under- 
writers, give the proper spacing for 
sprinklers as follows: 

"Under mill ceilings (smooth, solid 
plank and timber construction six to 
twelve feet bays) one line of sprink- 
lers should be placed in the centre of 
each bay, and the distance between 
the sprinklers on each line shall not 
exceed the following: Eight feet in 
12-foot bays, 9 feet in 11-foot bays, 
10 feet in 10-foot bays, 11 feet in 9- 
foot bays and 12 feet in 6 to 8 foot 
bays. The measurements are to be 
taken from centre to centre of tim- 
bers." 

Under joisted ceilings, open finished, 
the distance between the sprinkler 
heads should not exceed 8 feet with 
right angles at joints or 10 feet paral- 
lel with joints. 

Where sprinklers are placed under 
smoothed, sheathed or plastered ceil- 
ings in bays 6 to 12 feet wide 
(measurement to be taken from centre 
to centre of timber, girder or other 
projection or support forming the 
bay), one line of sprinklers should 
be placed in the centre of each bay, 
and the distance between the heads on 
each line should not exceed the fol- 
lowing: Eight feet in 12-foot bays, 9 
feet in 11-foot bays and 10 feet in 
6 to 10-foot bays. 

Bays in excess of 12 feet width and 
less than 23 feet in width should con- 
tain at least two lines of sprinklers. 
Bays 23 feet or over should have lines 
not over 10 feet apart. 



Much attention nas oeen given to 
the smallest details of mill construc- 
tion, both by mill engineers, and by 
insurance companies. 
Automatic The mill engineer 
Sprinklers must of necessity 
consider stability, 
strength of materials and fire protec- 
tion. The insurance companies have 
laid special stress upon the fire pro- 
tection end, but m order to make their 
regulations feasible and uniform, the 
other points have also received con- 
sideration. The requirements for 
sprinkler equipment, as made out by 



Careful consideration has also been 
given to the number of sprinkler 
heads which are allowable with va- 
rious sizes of piping. 

Pipe Sizes ^^^. , , ''T'^f °^ 
•^ sprinkler heads per- 

mitted according to 
the rules of the National Board 
of Fire Underwriters is as follows: 
Three-quarter inch pipe, one sprink- 
ler; 1-inch pipe, two sprinklers; 14- 
inch pipe, three sprinklers; 1%-inch 
pipe, five sprinklers; 2-inch pipe, 10 
sprinklers; 2%-inch pipe, 20 sprink- 
lers; 3-inch pipe, 36 sprinklers; 3i/^- 
inch pipe, 55 sprinklers; 4-inch pipe, 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



87 



80 sprinklers; S-incli pipe, 140 sprink- 
lers, and 6-inch, pipe, 200 sprinklers. 

Tiie requirements also add, "Wliere 
practical, it isi desirable to arrange 
the piping so that the nuimber ol 
sprinklers on a 'branch line will not 
exceed eight." 

At the time automatic sprinklers 
were first introduced, mill men would 
have complained greatly against tol- 
lowing out the ^minute details neces- 
sary to oibtain proper sprinkler instal- 
lations. These systems do introduce 
considerable initial expense, but this 
is nothing compared with the advan- 
tages they introduce. Sprinklers 
should not only be used, and placed 
where fires are liable to originate, but 
they should also be installed at every 
part of the mill where the fire is liable 
to spread. One sprinkler head applied 
immediately to a small blaze frequent- 
ly saves tremendous loss of property. 



Stairways and elevators should be 
separated from the main part of the 
mill by fireproof walls. This prac- 
tice was carried out 



Stair Towers 



considerably in our 



oldest mills. The 
oldest mills always 
contain a tower. It has been 
thought by some that outside appear- 
ance was the only reason for build- 
ing these null towers. They were, 
however, designed to contain the stair- 
ways, and the old-time stair tower is 
still in use. The old mills generally 
built the stair tower outside of the 
main mill. 

Modern mills are sometimes built 
with outside towers, but often one 
end of the building will be cut off by 
a fireproof wall, and this portion will 
contain an elevator well and stair 
tower. 



Improved methods of fire protection 
have done considerable toward the 
uniform development of mill construc- 
tion. The element of 
cost has its effect, but 
the mill engineers 
have generally consid- 
ered the total cost of keeping a naill 



Floor Beams 



in proper repair, rather than initial 
coat. When large heavy timbers were 
first used for fioor and roof beams, it 
was customary to use single beams for 
each support. These large beams fre- 
quently contained imperfections and 
were partially decayed without show- 
ing this on the outside. It is, there- 
fore, better to use two smaller beams 
bolted together. In this way, decayed 
matter which might be concealed with- 
in a large beam is shown up and 
thrown out when the beams are cut 
to size. 

Excessive vibration of flooring 
causes textile machinery to become 
out of adjustment, and a long driving 
shaft used in many of the machines 
becomes bent and out of line. Mod- 
ern construction methods have done 
much to stiffen the floors. The floor 
boarding is sometimes laid diagonally 
to increase this stiffness. Some com- 
paratively new textile mills have used 
timbers about two by flve inches for 
floor planks, and have placed them on 
edge. These are covered with the 
regular top maple flooring, and ex- 
ceedingly stiff floors have been ob- 
tained. 

Wood columns have given way in 
some instances to those of cast iron 
and wrought iron. Under some con- 
ditions,, it is advisable to use heavy 
cast-iron columns. Cast iron cannot 
be depended upon, however, j,nd its 
use for columns is often unadvisable. 
Wrought iron can frequently be used 
to advantage. 



Steel Beams 



Structural steel has to soime extent 
replaced the heavy slow-burning wood- 
en floor beams. Steel beams with 
iron columns and 
planik floors give a 
good solid building, 
but its flreproof 
qualities are not much better than 
with the heavy wooden floor beams. 
A fire which would be serious enough 
to burn the floor beams would, of 
course, bum the flooring, and a fire 
bad enough to bum the flooring will 
generally warp and twist the steel 
beams. The newest kind of mill build- 
ings are those of reinforced concrete 
or a combination of reinforced concrete 



8S 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



and brick. Much can be said in favor 
of a concrete mill building, and, under 
many conditions, the increased cost 
for building such a structure more 
than balances the advantages. 

At the present time, a combination 
of brick and concrete is perhaps the 
most popular type. Reinforced con- 
crete for mill buildings will be con- 
sidered more in detail in our future 
issues of the American Wool and Cot- 
ton Reporter. 



tracts. Figure 78 shows the two tow- 
ers used at Juowell and the car used 
for conveying concrete for the various 
parts of the structure. 



It is impossible to say what effect 
reinforced concrete may have in the 
near future. Fireproof mills have re- 
cently been built of 

Reinforced this material and with 
Concrete lumber constantly 

growing more expen- 
sive the fireproof concrete mill may 
soon become the common type. It is 
somewhat more expensive, in mosit 
localities, to build a mill of reinforced 
concrete than to erect one of the 
standard slow-burning construction. 
The methods of handling concrete are 
being constantly improved, and this 
one point has reduced the building 
cost considerably. 

As a new concrete mill progresses 
it is a problem to quickly and econom- 
icaily deliver the wet concrete to the 
upper stories. In building the con- 
crete storehouse at the Massachusetts 
Cotton Mills, two steel towers were 
used for elevators, and extra derrick 
beams were fastened at any desired 
position. Concrete mixers were set 
up at the base of these towers. Con- 
crete was raised to the required height 
and then emptied into industrial cars 
which were arranged to run to all 
parts of the particular story under 
construction. 

The steel towers were designed so 
that they could be quickly erected. 
When the building was completed, 
they were taken apart and were ready 
for use in connection with other con- 



A new concrete mill building is be- 
ing erected by a large New England 
textile mill corporation and when it is 

completed will giv6 

New Concrete this concern a large 

Mill amount of additional 

floor space. This will 
be a great help in changing 
over the machinery arrangement 
in many of th.e departments, and 
it is planned to take up this work 
systematically and thoroughly in the 
near future. Several of the older 
buildings have become crowded, and 
in a good many ir, stances, new equip- 
ment has had to be installed in tem- 
porary locations, that is, new machin- 
ery could not always be placed in the 
most desirable manner, on account 
of lack of room, and to rearrange a 
crowded department without serious- 
ly interfering with production is a 
difficult problem. 

This company obtains all of its 
power by water wheels. Some 
of these are belted to jack shafts 
and ithe power transmitted me- 
chanically, but a good deal of 
the machinery is now operj^ted Ijy 
electric motors, the electricity being 
generated by imits direct connected 
with water turbines. This company 
requires considerable steam for man- 
ufacturing purposes and during th.e 
last few years modern recording de- 
vices have been installed and in sev- 
eral instances records obtained by 
these have made it possible to intro- 
duce a considerable saving in the 
amount of coal burned. The power 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



8d 



problem has received much careful 
etudj' and many decided improve- 
ments have been introduced. An old 
mill used by the company for 
storage purposes is located at somie 
little distance from the main mirl and 
ha;s power privileges which are 
utilized, the power biping transmitted 
to the main mill electrically. The old 
mill is located upon the lower level 
canal, so that since the installation 
of the hydro-electric plant, tlie com- 



at the Hamilton Manufacturing Com- 
pany's plant in Lowell was recently 
commented upon, and some time ago 
the changes which were made at the 
Harmony mills, Cohoes, N. Y., weri? 
discussed. At the Harmony Mills a 
large part of the machinery had to 
be thrown out and new equipment in- 
stalled, and while a large amount of 
new machinery was purchased by the 
Hamilton Manufacturing Company, 
some of the most interesting savings 




n.^0 




Fig. 164. General View of New Concrete iVIiil Showing Floor Construction 

and Roof Frames. 



pany has been obtaining water power 
from both canals. 



As soon as the new building is 

completed, much of the electrical 

power will be centralized in a new 

station, and the tex- 

Power tile machinery will be 

Centralized moved so that the* 

stock can be handled 

with a minimum amount of trucking. 

Some of the advantages brought about 

hy a general alteration of machinery 



were brought about by the more sys- 
tematic arraingement of the same 
equipment. 

Not so very many years ago, both 
cotton and woolen manufacturers 
were able to make fair profits even 
when their mill equipment was more 
or less out of date and laid out in 
a rather haphazard manner. This was 
largely true because certain mills 
were able to secure sufficiently large 
orders on standard goods to keep 
them in operation at full capacity. 
Since that time there have been many 



ay) 



MlL,L CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



new mills constructed, the cotton in- 
dustry in the South has made rapid 
progress, and in every line the 
amount of competition has increased. 
With this increased competition new 
machinery has been developed, cap- 
able of larger production, new meth- 
ods liave been introduced with the 
same object in view, and in order to 
make use of these various m.ethods 
it is essential that the equipment be 
properly located. 



essary trucking processes were elim- 
inated, and although the change cost 
a considerable amount of money, the 
interest on this invefitm.ent was more 
than made up after a few months' 
operations, and the total expenditure 
has, undoubtedly, by this time been 
saved. 



The new concrete building above 
mentioned will be 648 feet 6 




Fig, 164A. General View Looking North. 



One Massachusietts mill had for 
many years received its raw material 
at one end of the mill, carried it 

through the picker 

An Expensive and card room, then 

Metliod brought it back 

to the first end 
of the mill, carried it through the 
finishing machinery and then trucked 
the finished product back to the ship- 
ping room which was at the same end 
of the plant as the receiving room 
for the raw material. About a year 
ago, the machinery layout v/as 
changed, so that both of these unnec- 



inches long on one side, 439 feet 
7 inches long on the 
Concrete other, and about 321 
Building feet 8 inches wide. 
This lot of land 
runs from the upper level canal 
to the railroad tracks, and is situated 
at the north end of the company's 
present plant. Two-thirds of the 
width of this building will be 
a one-story and basement struc- 
ture and the other one-third, due 
to the slope of the land, will be 
two stories high. The roof will bo 
of the saw-tooth ^^pe a^-^ the entire 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



91 



upper floor will be used for 
a weave room. The basement, under 
the upper half of the building, 
will be used for storage purposes. 
The present weaiing department will 
be moved to the new building, and 
the rest of the machinery layout will 
then be designed so as to bring about 
all possible saving in the handling of 
materials. 



Figure 164 shows a general view 

of the new structure in process of 

construction. The photograph was 

taltiein looking south 

Floor and shows the pres- 

Construction ent buildings of the 
company in the 
rear. The entire new building, 
including floors, columns, beams, 
roof, etc., is being made of re- 
inforced concrete. Some of the 
forms for the roof columns and saw- 
tooth frame work are shown by Fig- 
ure 164, and this illustration gives a 
good idea of the way in which the 
floors are constructed. 

The construction is known as the 
Beam and Tile construction. The 
diagram, Figure 169, shows the rela- 
tive position of the tiles reinforcing 
steel rods and the concrete. The 
tiles in the floor, shown by Figure 
164 are six inches thick, twelve 
inches square, and are placed in rows 
four inches apart. In these spaces, 
the reinforcing rods are placed as in- 
dicated by diagram. Figure 169, and 
the concrete is poured between the 
tiles and solid concrete 2 inches 
thick, is placed on top of the 
tiles. The usual sizes for tiles with 
this type of construction are four, 
eight, ten and twelve inches square. 
In erecting the wooden frame work 
for the floor, 2-inch by 8-inch planks 
were spaced eight inches apart, the 
twelve-inch tiles bridging these open- 
ings. The lower weave room has 
spans 24 feet 6 inches by 15 feet 9 
inches, while in the upper weave room 
ever3'^ other column is omitted, and 
by the use of steel beams imbedded 
in concrete, the spans are increased 
to 31 feet 6 inches by 24 feet 6 inches. 
The wide spaces between the 



floor tiles are for the main 
beams, and in these heavier re- 
inforcing rods are placed. After a sec- 
tion of the tile has been put in posi- 
tion, as shown by Figure 164, and the 
steel reinforcing bars placed, con- 
crete is poured and carefully tamped, 
making one solid slab of concrete re- 
inforced by tiles and specially de- 
signed steel rods. 



Figures 165 and 166 show two de- 
tailed drawings illustrating the type 
of roof construction. The concrete is 
laid similar to that for 
Roof Con- floors with the exoep- 
struction tion that larger tiles 
are used with only 
one inch of concrete over their tops. 
As in the tile and beam floor con- 
struction, these tiles do not carry any 
appreciable amount of load, but 
simply act as flllers and reduce the 
amount of concrete which is re- 
quired. The hollow tiles are placed 
so that tho concrete does not run in- 
to them and wherever an open end of 
a tile comes in contact with concrete, 
this is plugged before the concrete is 
poured in exactly the same way as 
in connection with the floor construc- 
tion. With a solid concrete roof, more 
cement would be required and there 
would be more or less trouble from 
condensation. By using the hollow 
tiles, there is an air space provided 
which prevents this trouble. Four- 
inch conducting pipes are p '^-vvided for 
drainage and the skylights of the 

steel sash type which gi^ -^xi- 

mum glass area. These si 
fitted with two thickness 
separated by a three-quar 
space to prevent condens' 
nailing strips are placed 
Crete and become an intej. 
the same when the cem.e 

On top of the concrete 
will be a flve-ply covering 
and felt laid according l 
speciflcations. 



The Industrial Engine 
pany of New York, has ' 



92 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



for the construction work and this 
concern and the Unit- 
Cost of Con- ed Fire Proofing 
Crete Mills Company are han- 
dling this jo'b to- 
gether. The Kahn system of rein- 



Ijuilt of reinforced concrete, and the 
owners of this new mill are exceed- 
ingly modest in any claims which they 
are willing to make for this type of 
building. The engineers in charge of 
the work and the constrnction com- 




View Taken About 10 Days Before Fig. 164 Showing Towers 
for Handling Concrete. 



Crete construction is em- 
ieinforcing steel and tile 

supplied by the Trussed 

teel Company. 

ive been few textile mills 



pany above noted have erected a 
large number of concrete factory 
buildings, especially throughout the 
West, and on a job large enough to 
warrant the handling of the work by 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



93 



large concerns, it is claimed that in 
all ordinary instances xhe reinforced 
concrete mill buildings can be erect- 
ed as cheaply, if not cheaper, than 
one of the heavy slow burning mill 
type. 



In putting up any kind of a rein- 
forced concrete building, a large 



itancy on the part of most manufac- 
turers. In several instances rein- 
forced concrete construction has re- 
ceived an unfair reputation, so far as 
appearances are concerned, on ac- 
count of work being handled and 
supervised by thiose unfamiliar with the 
methods M'hich bring about the best 
results. In this particular instance, 
the mill owners heisitated for some 




Fig. 168. The Concrete Mixer and Bucket for Unloading Broken Stone 

and Sand. 



amount of woodAvork must be used 
for forms and with 
Unfair even a fairly large 

Reputation building, it is impos- 
sible for a con- 
tractor, who does not have a great 
deal of this work, to do it as econom- 
ically as he could put up a mill of 
the standard brick and beam construc- 
tion. Many of the concerns who have 
had the widest experience in the 
economical handling of concrete work 
have not, until the present time, given 
enough attention to the textile mill 
business to overcome the natural hes- 



time before deciding to build a con- 
crete mill, on account of an uncer- 
tainty regarding the general appear- 
ance of the finished building. A con- 
crete mill building, when designed 
and built properly is most satisfac- 
tory from an architectural stand- 
point. ■ 

One of the principal arguments in 
favor of a concrete mill building is 
the elimination of vibration. With 
even the best mill type structures 
built of brick and wooden beams, a 
room full of textile machinery will 
frequently cause vibrations which will 



94 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



cause trouble with the machinery's 
adjustment, and interfere with otlier 
departments. The reinforced concrete 
building, when properly put up, 
will absolutely eliminate this disagree- 
able vibration. 



ceilings and columns, and while this 
will appear to some as a small point, 
it is. worthy of consideration. 



While all mill men a.gree that the 



Nailing Strip 



CofifierF/a^shin^ 
Nai/mq 6trifi 

Copfier c/rj/3 



(Station arcf 

Steel ^a^h 




C6f>fre> t^ashi/ig 
Noilinij Gfri/J 



7?oofitig 



Fig. 166. Detail of Roof Construction. 



There is always a certain amount 
of lint and dust in the card room of 
a textile mill and where ceilings, beams 
and columns are of wood, the cotton 
fibres will collect and require fre- 
quent attention. With the concrete 
building, there is not the same ten- 
dency for this lint to adhere to the 



reinforced concrete building is the 
most fireproof structure, many of 
them argue that by 
Fire providing certain fire 

Risks fighting equipments 

and following instruc- 
tions given by the most reliable mu- 
tual fire insurance companies, they 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



95 



are able to secure practically 
a& low a rate of insurance 
as they could obtain with their 
buiiding made of concrete. No doubt 
this is true, but the maintenance of 
fire protection apparatus costs a con- 
siderable amount of money, while 
with a concrete building, protection 
from fire is much simplified. If the 
sprinkler system should fail to oper- 
ate properly and a fire gained con- 
siderable headway, the damage would 
be confined largely to a single de- 
partment.. With the slow burning 
type of mill, and especially where 
mills are located in country districts, 
there is a possibility of the whole 
plant, being entirely wiped out. 

A certain manufacturer in one of 
our western cities had considered se- 
riously the erection of a reinforced 
concrete mill. The build ins: was not 



bcrs rigidly attached to the main bars, 
so that the tendency 
Reinforcing for the reinforced 
Rods members to be mis- 

placed during the 
pouring of the concrete, as would be 
the case with loose rods and stir- 
rups, is eliminated. 

The contract for the new mill has 
been placed on the lump sum basis, 
which has made it possible to take 
advantage of competition in letting 
out the work. A large amount of 
work among the textile mills has 
been handled on a cost plus a per- 
centage basis, which is frequently 
cost plus about 10 per cent. In a 
good many instances, this cost plus a 
percentage has worked out satisfac- 
torilj'-, but som-e of our most com- 
petent constraotion engineers hold 
that the cost plus a percentage is 



i 



I 



Fig. 169. Diagram Sliowing Tiles and Reinforcing Rods. 



a large one, and it was possible to put 
up a plow burning type of building 
for something like four or five thou- 
sand dollars - less than a concrete 
building would cost. To save this 
difference, the slow burning construc- 
tion was decided upon. This manufac- 
tuier built up a good business and at 
the end of about five or six years, a 
fire, started in the night, so damaged 
his entire layout that before new 
buildings could be provided, his com- 
petitors had obtained considerable 
business which he would have other- 
wise held without difficulty. This is 
only one example of where a desire 
to save a sm.all amount of money at 
the outset brought about the loss of 
a much larger sum, but it is interest- 
ing to note that this same manufac- 
turer replaced this building with one 
of reinforced concrete. 



generally more expensive and is no 
better, providing the work taken on 
the lump sum basis is properly fol- 
lowed and inspected by engineers 
representing the owners. 



The reinforcing rods used with the 
Kahn system have the shear niem- 



The roof of this weave shed, while 

of concrete, will have no tie rods. 

Part cf the building will have 

spans 24 feet 6 

Inserts for .^^^^,^ ^^ 3^ ^..^^ g 

Pipes, Hang- ^^^jj^gg^ ^^^ columns 

' ■ IS inches square. 
There will be 28 feet clear from the 
floor to the apex of the saw teeth, 
and it is estimated that the cost of 
this building will be less than 90 
cents a ,?quare foot. 

Special inserts have been placed in 
the concrete to allow for fastening 
the shafting for installing power and 
light wires and for the sprinkler 
pipes. The machinery arrangement 
has been planned with sufficient care, 
so that the engineer in charge of the 
work claims that it will not be nece& 



96 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



sary to drill more than ten or twelve 
holes at the verj"- most through the 
concrete. 

There will be a brick curtain wall 
and on top of this the steel sash win- 
dows will be placed, which eliminates 
the necessity of wide mullions. These 
steel sash windows will extend to the 
ceiling and will be equipped with piv- 
oted ventilators. 

It is interesting to note that the 
same system of piping which supplies 
water for the sprinkler system will 
also be utilized for heating purposes. 
Hot water will be circulated through 
the sprinkler pipes during the cold 
weather, so that the piping costs will 
be materially reduced. This system 
of mill heating has been used in one 
of the New Bedford mills for some- 
thing like two years, and has proved 
decidedly satisfactory. 



the sand, broken stone and cement 
from which the concrete is made, as 
well as the economical way in which 
this concrete is handled and poured. 
In Figure 168 an ordinary steam- 
operated derrick is shown at D having 
a large self-filling bucket marked C. 
At J and K there are two bins for 
holding broken stone and sand, re- 
spectively. Underneath these bins is 
the concrete mixer indicated by ar- 
row M. Sheds P, G and L are used 
for storing cement, there being a 
small industrial railway laid from the 
sheds G and F up the incline M and 
into the larger shed L. As is indicat- 
ed at A and B, the freight cars con- 
taining sand, broken stone or cement 
are brought opposite the derrick and 
are quickly unloaded with very little 
hand labor. The broken stone is tak- 




Fig,. 170. Enlarged View of One Reinforcing Rod. 



Figure 167 shows another view tak- 
en about ten days before Figure 164, 
and the central dividing wall between 
the twoHstory section and the one- 
story and basement section is marked 
W. The wooden forms for the verti- 
cal column and for the floor beams are 
also shown by Figure 167. The 
regular columrjis in this building are 
made up with vertical steel rods 
tied securely together and imbedded 
in solid concrete. I'he railroad 
tracks are at the extreme right 
of F'igure 164 and the upper level 
canal at the extreme left. The towers 
marked O and Q are temporary wood- 
en structures, built to facilitate the 
handling of the concrete. 



Figure 168 shows the concrete mix- 
er which is located at the extreme 
lower end of the lot. The freight sid- 

... . . ing of the railroad is 

Handlmg Con- ^^^^.^^^ ^^^ .^ .^ j^, 

^^^^^ teresting to follow 

the modern method of handling 



en with the bucket C and dumped into 
bin J. The sand handled with this 
same self-filling bucket is emptied into 
bin K. 

Underneath these bins there is a 
measuring device so that the proper 
proportions of sand and stone may be 
quickly determined, and the cement 
and water are added at the mixer M. 
From the mixer the concrete is pour- 
ed into a specially designed tip car 
at the foot of tower O. This car of 
concrete is then raised rapidly by 
power to the platform U near the top 
of tower O. A metal trough or chute 
runs from the unloading platform 11 
through tower Q to the distributing 
bin R. This chute is made of several 
sheet-iron sections supported by pul- 
ley blocks, as indicated, and can be 
shortened or lengthened as it be- 
comes necessary to change the deliv- 
ery bin R. The delivery end of the 
chute is placed in a central location 
for a certain section of the work, and 
from R the concrete is wheeled by 
hand on tip cars. A considerable 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



97 



amount of space upon one level can 
be ecnnomically covered with the 
hand cars, but the delivery end of 
the chute can readily be changed and 
can be raised or lowered as required. 
This type of construction gives a 
most substantial building, one which 
is fireproof, and by employing labor- 
eaving devices such as those just in- 
dicated for handling and pouring the 
cement, the cost can be kept low 



dressing machinery has now been 
moved to this floor, so that the prod- 
uct has but a short distance to travel 
from the dressing machinery to the 
looms. The new weave shed has been 
built with a temporary wooden end, 
as it will probably be necessary to 
extend thisi in the near future. This 
probable extension has been consid- 
ered in locating the dressing depart- 
ment so that after the weave shed 




Fig. 156. Interior View, Looking South, Weave Shed of the Chicopee IVlan- 

ufacturing Company. 



enough to make this type of building, 
often more desirable than the stand- 
aid mill type. 



About two years ago, the Chic- 
opee Manufacturing Company built 
a new saw-tooth roof weave shed 
and installed 648 forty-inch Northrop 
looms. One floor of 
A Modern the old mill near the 
Weave Shed new weave shed was 
until recently rented 
to an automobile concern, but the 



is completed the stock will be handled 
even more economically than it is at 
the present time. 

Mgure 156 is an interior view of the 
new weave room looking south. The 
roof windows admit the north light, 
and an exceptionally fine illumination 
is obtained. Saw-tooth roof construc- 
tion is far from new, but in the erec- 
tion of this particular weave shed a 
great many objectionable features 
were eliminated, and at the same time 
the cost of the building was kept 
low. 



98 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



The machinery layout was first set- 
tled upon and the looms arranged in 
groups of six. The bays were made 
•wide so that the six 

Machinery rows of looms might 
Layout be placed between 

the columns. Figure 
157 shows a crosis-section of one bay 
and lillustrates the type of roof con- 
struction employed in order to make 
it possible to have the distance be- 
tween the columns, that is, the width 
of the bays, twenty-seven feet. As 
shown by J^igure 157, the roof is sup- 
ported by steel trusses, w^hich in turn 
are carried on cast-iron columns, six 
inches in diameter. On these columns 
there are twenty-four-inch eighty- 
pound I-beams, which run lengthwise 
of the shed and have a span of thirty- 
four feet. The trusses are riveted to 
the side cf the I-beams, and this con- 
struction gives a stiff roof, and at the 
same time, brings the bottoim of the 
skylights near the cloth surface of the 
looims. 

Before constructing this shed, ex- 
periments were made which showed 
that the diffusion of light or the caus- 
ing of shadows on the cloth in looms 
was directly dependent upon the dis- 
tance between the bottom of the sky- 
lights and the cloth. Some weave 
sheds were found so high studded that 
shadows were produced by the hand 
when held approximately 12 inches 
above the cloth. With . the construc- 
tion illustrated by Figure 157 shadows 
are scarcely perceptible when- the 
hand is held four inches above the 
cloth. 



The walls of this building are of 
concrete blocks, and instead of build- 
ing pilasters, which would have re- 
quired a different 
Diagonal form of block, the 
Flooring wall was reinforced 
at each point where 
the girders are supported by the use 
of small columns built up of two 6x3i 
inch ell irons. The concrete blocks 
were made on the ground as required. 
As seen by Figure 157, there is a low 
basement, and this was provided for 
piping, shafting and electric motors. 
The walls of the basement are of solid 



concrete, with no windows, except 
where necessary for ventilation. The 
bays in the basement are 9 feet in 
width by approximately 12 feet span. 
Floor timbers are 10x12 inch Southern 
piue, and the floor consistsi of 4-inch 
planking, which is not spline d or 
tongued and grooved, but which is re- 
inforced by 1-inch rough intermediate 
flooring, running diagonally across the 
lower floor planking. Care was taken 
to have this diagonal floor securely 
spiked down to each floor plank. On 
top of this, there is a g-inch maple 
floor, made up of strips not exceed- 
ing 3 inches in width. This top 
flooring is not tongued and grooved, 
for in many sheds it has been found 
that the shrinking and swelling due to 
frequent washings cause much trou- 
ble, where the tongued and grooved 
boards are used. 

In order to prevent condensation on 
the overhead steel structure, no por- 
tion of the roof that is exposed to 
the cold air is allowed to touch the 
steel structure. The top of the nail- 
ing strips are raised almost one-half 
inch above the top of the trusses, and 
the valleys of the roof are about four 
inches away from the supporting I- 
beams. The roof itself is made up of 
3-inch splined sheathing fastened to 
spiking striips, which are bolted to the 
side of the top chord of each truss. 
On top of this sheathing there is a 
covering of seven-ply plastic slate. 

The ' temporary wooden end . of the 
shed shown at the left of Figure 156 
contains no windows, and no windows 
were provided at the other end. The 
wall on the north side contains six- 
teen or eighteen windows, and in the 
south wail there are two large ex- 
hausters, which draw the foul aar 
from the room and allow the fresh air 
to coime in from outside. These ex- 
hausters are shown in Figure 156. 



,Saw-tooth roof weave sheds, which 

have been built in the North have 

often given trouble by allowing the 

valleys to become 

Roof fllled with snow, 

Drainage which at times of a 

sudden thaw may 

cause serious leaks. The weave shed 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



99 




100 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



of the Chicopee Manufacturing Com- 
pany has a 3-inch wrought4roii pipe 
running from ithe roof to the baser 
ment at each of the posts. This gives 
a distance of 34 feet, 4 inches be- 
t^^een these pipes, and the valleys are 
built up so as to give a pitch of ap- 
proximately 14 inches in 17 feet. This 
design has given good results, and 
there have been no leaks. The ver- 
tical pipes are covered with strainers 
to prevent foreign matter clogging the 
drains. 

Ground was broken for this new 
building March 28, and toy July 1 the 
building was comipleted, with the ex- 
ception of about one-quarter of the 
top maple flooring. The work was 
performed on the "Cost Plus a Per- 
centage Basis," and cosit, Tvithout 
equipment, $47,628. This included 
engineering fee and contractor's 
profit. 



The above costs are based on the 
following unit prices for materials: 

structural steel and columns deliv- 
ered on the ground (per ton) $45.65 

Concrete for foundation wall, columns 
and footing, including forms (per 
cubic yard) 10.27 

Cost of labor for erecting steel work 

(per ton) 5.74 

Timber (rough) long leaf yellow pine 

(per 1,000 ft.) 29.75 

Floor plank, long leaf yellow pine (per 

1,000 ft.) 28.25 

Splined roof plank, leaf yellow pine 

(per 1,000 ft.) 29.00 

Siding and intermediate flooring (per 

1,000 ft.) 21.00 

Top maple flooring (per 1,000 ft.) 33.00 

Portland cement (per barrel) 1;23 

Broken stone, net (per ton) 1.20 

Skylights delivered and erected (per 

square foot) 41 



The building is 252 feet 10 inches 

long by 140 feet 10 inches wide, and 

has an addition for cloak and toilet 

rooms 25 feet 10 

Cost inches by 14 feet 8 

Figures inches. The shed is 

connected with the 

other mill buildings, so that the total 

floor area amounts to 36,010 square 

feet. The main room has 35,084 square 

feet of floor surface, of which 33,890 

square feet come under the skylights. 

The skylight area is 8,652 square feet, 

giving a ratio of one square foot of 

skylight for 3.92 square feet of floor 

surface. 

The cost per square foot of area, 
flguring on the Ijasis of 36,000 square 
feet, is as follows: 

fl.323 per square foot of area divided as 
foUows: 

Excavation $ .048 

Concrete footings and foundations 079 

Structural steel.... 180 

Posts and girders 079 

Flooring complete 274 

Concrete blocks (making and setting) .079 

Wood wall 034 

Roof complete 360 

Doors and windows 014 

Painting 045 

Engineering 076 

Superintendents, clerks, etc 045 

Construction, plant and tools 010 

Total cost $1,323 



The saw-tooth roof has shown itself 
to be of great value for mill build- 
ings and is now almost always used 

for the weaving de- 
Saw-Tooth partment. Looms are 
Roofs generally placed in 

a one-story building 
which is lighted from windows in the 
saw-tooth roof. Many weave sheds 
are one and a half or two stories high, 
but where this is true, the basement 
or lower floor is generally used for 
preparatory machinery or given up en- 
tirely to shafting which drives the 
looms. It is best where possible to 
give the windows a northern exposure, 
as this light is fairly uniform through- 
out the entire day. Windows which will 
get strong sunlight are objectionable, 
and some weave sheds are built with- 
out any side windows. The weave 
shed of the Maverick Mills is an il- 
lustration of this type of construc- 
tion, and excellent light is obtained 
from the roof alone. 



In developing a type of saw-tooth 
construction suitable for mills, many 
difficulties were met which had to be 
overcome. Condensa- 
tion, which forms up- 
Condensation on the inside of the 
windows, will run 
down the glass and unless some means 
are provided for collecting this, it will 
drop upon the machinery. Engineers 
have brought out many ways of avoid- 
ing this difficulty, some of them being 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



101 



complex and necessitating consider- 
able extra expense. In some cases 
double glass is used, but this has not 
always been satisfactory, and for a 
large building it has been rather ex- 
pensive. It is easy to build the saw- 
tooth roof with proper provision for 
collecting all condensation and con- 
veying it to the main roof, or to a 
sewer connection. By using small 
metal troughs and by doing away with 
all cross sashes which divided the win- 
dow glass horizontally, the condensa- 
tion can be prevented from dripping 
into the room. Where saw-tooth roofs 
are used, it is customary to provide 
metal ventilators at frequent inter- 
vals. These give rise to still further 
trouble from condensation, but man- 
ufacturers have designed special ar- 
rangements for carrying away this 
moisture and preventing it from doing 
damage. 



the building been constructed accord- 
ing to drawings, and had suitably sea- 
soned materials been used. 



Much of the trouble which spme 
have had with leaky saw-tooth roofs 
has been caused by insufficient flash- 
ing and other poor 
Poor construction details. 

Construction Unless a wide flash- 
ing is provided at all 
points, where the slope of a roof 
changes, there is sure to be trouble 
from rain and snow beating in. Many 
contractors have slighted this small 
point, and in consequence of this, mill 
men have sometimes been led to be- 
lieve that it is next to impossible to 
have one of these roofs made weather 
tight. This erroneous belief is grad- 
ually becoming a thing of the past, 
and the number of contractors who 
slight these matters is becoming less. 
The same kind of difficulties have 
been frequently met by Southern mills, 
which have had much trouble with 
leaky monitors. In the South, where 
the tendency to use partially seasoned 
tim'ber is even greater than it is in 
the North, there have been many 
mill monitors which have become so 
warped by the sun that rain would 
beat in at every storm. Some South- 
ern mills have been known to complain 
to the Northern mill architects about 
this trouble when in reality the de^ 
sign for the building was proper had 



Mill ventilation is overdone by 
some, but it is far more often that 
this question is sadly neglected. Tex- 
tile mills are general- 
ly better ventilated 
Ventilation than most other man- 
ufacturing establish- 
ments. This is partly due to the im- 
portant effect which humidity and at- 
mospheric conditions have upon the 
stock in process. At some plants, ex- 
pensive and complex air conditioning 
systems have given no better results 
than might be obtained from some of 
the simpler kinds of equipment. 

The maintenance and operating 
costs should be considered, but manu- 
facturers should not be satisfied with 
an efficient method of supplying mois- 
ture to the room, without proper provi- 
sion for supplying fresh pure air. With 
some humidifying systems outside air 
is moistened, heated or cooled to the 
desired temperature, and then forced 
to the various parts of the room. Some 
arrangements of this kind work out 
admirably, and with them it is easy 
to maintain uniform conditions 
throughout each room. Humidifying 
units which deliver moisture directly 
into the mill room work satisfactorily 
if sufficient attention is given to the 
matter of ventilation. There are also 
many departments in which no humidi- 
fiers are used, and the condition of 
the air in these rooms is frequently 
bad. Most of our modern mills are 
heated by steam or hot water, and 
where the direct heating method is 
employed, the condition of the air is 
sometimes neglected. . Our new mills 
generally have this detail properly 
cared for, but in many instances old 
buildings are remodelled and machin- 
ery rearranged without giving much 
attention to the problem of securing 
the proper ventilation. 

There are many styles of metal ven- 
tilators now upon the market. Figure 
131 shows one type of ventilator cut 
away so that the damper arrangement 
is clearly indicated. This illustration 
shows the apparatus with the damper 



102 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



open, and Figure 132 shows a similar 
ventilator with the damper closed. 
The mechanism illustrated for operat- 
ing the damper is simple, and es- 
pecially efficient. With some ventila- 
tors a simple swinging damper is pro- 
vided, and these sometimes become 
wedged and will not open properly. In 
cases of this kind, the ventilator is 
frequently neglected and becomes of 
no value. With the damper ilustra- 
ted by Figures 131, 132 and 133, it is 




Fig. 131. Mill Ventilator with Damper 
Open. 

not necessary to fasten the cord which 
operates the damper, as a locking de- 
vice is provided. The damper is 
closed by pulling a cord which releases 
a steel locking device. For certain 
classes of work, such as ventilating 
dyehouses, bleacheries, etc., where 
the light is none too good at the best, 
it is important to utilize light through 
the ventilator. By making the top of 
the ventilator of wire glass, and by 
having the damper of the same ma- 
terial, considerable light is supplied, 
regardless of whether the ventilator 
is open or closed. Figures 132 and 
133 illustrate these glass top ventila- 
tors. 



Several new textile mills have been 
arranged so that the spinning ma- 
chinery is placed on the top floor. 
By doing this and 
putting in large sky- 
Skylights lights, excellent illu- 
mination is obtained. 
The new Amory Mills at Clinton, 
Mass., is one illustration of this, and 
the room is especially well lighted. 
Where light can be obtained from a 
roof, the machinery can be arranged 



in any manner, regardless of whether 
light from the side windows is par- 
tially interfered with or ' not. Ma- 
chinery placed on other floors of the 
mill must be arranged with due con- 
sideration to this matter. Efficient 
and practical ventilators can easily 
be supplied in connection with each 
skylight. 



Many possible advantages of elec- 
trically driven textile mills are ne- 
glected. Some have introduced elec- 
tric drives without 

Economical knowing how to get 

Distribution the most out of the 
new arrangement, and 
have taken little trouble to determine 
whether or not their equipment is 
properly arranged. So long as the 
motors furnish power without giving 
trouble, the question of whether the 
most economical sizes are being used 
for each group of machinery is fre- 
quently forgotten. 

The motor builder wishes to give the 
mill an economical lay-out, but unless 
the mill man will do his own part, 
both sides are working more or less 
in the dark. It is true that an exten- 
sive change in equipment is generally 
made under the supervision of an 
engineer, but the most competent of 
these may recommend distribution 
systems which should be somewhat 
changed after the arrangement has 
had a fair tryout under actual man- 




Fig. 132. Glass Top Ventilator with 
Glass Damper Closed. 

ufacturing conditions. Where the ex- 
act amount of power required to op 
erate a certain group of machinery is 
not accurately known, before the mo 
tors are installed, a certain allowance 
must be made in order that none of 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



103 



the motors may be overloaded. The 
approximate amount of power required 
for the machinery is known in ad- 
vance, but the mills which have pre- 




Fig. 133. 



Glass Top Ventilator with 
Damper Open. 



viously been operated with mechani- 
cal transmission will naturally utilize 
some of the old lines of shafting, and 
the uncertain amounts of friction in- 



troduced together with many local 
points, such as the condition of the 
machinery itself, will have an impor- 
tant effect upon the total power re- 
quired for each group. The initial in- 
stallation should be designed accord- 
ing to results attained in other similar 
plants, and data should be used which 
is known to be accurate. After the 
outfit has been put in operation, it 
is up to the mill man to find out what 
he has gained by the change. 

Valuable data upon the amount of 
power used by textile machinery as 
well as that required for engine and 
friction losses has been obtained by 
dynamometer measurements. Results 
obtained from tests of this kind are 
important, but the dynamometer at 
best is none too accurate. It is in- 
convenient to handle, and many times 
the data obtained is of little value. 



Mill Heating 



When reading over a general ac- 
count of new mills and additions cov- 
ering a certain period of time, such as 
are published regularly by some of the 
textile, journals, one may well remark 
the different styles and types of equip- 
ment employed for the same nature of 
business, especially in regard to the 
heating facilities which all must have, 
and he often finds that two plants in 
close proximity to each other and sub- 
ject to the same atmospheric condi- 
tions, whose ^managers have, through 
knowledge acquired by previous ex- 
perience or advice given them by their 
engineers, adopted two entirely dif- 
ferent systems. 

Taken in a general way, 

THE THEORETICAL VALUES 

of all heating systems are the same, 
that is to say, a certain amount of 
heat imparted to a system from a 
given source will account for itself 
in some form or other, no matter 
what the type of distribution may be; 
and if, for instance, a million heat 



units are sent out, one million heat 
units, no more and no less, will be 
available for heating purposes. It is 
one of the fundamental natural laws 
that a warm body will impart heat 
to a cooler body until the temperature 
of both becomes the same, but it is 
impossible to return the heat by any 
means to the former warm body and 
restore the first condition without 
supplying new^ heat, as that which is 
once dissipated is lost forever. On 
this account any system of heating 
which is so arranged that the heat 
in its passage from the supply to the 
point of actual distribution and utiliza- 
tion is subjected to more influences 
which tend to absorb it than another 
system, it cannot give the same prac- 
tical results, although, theoretically, 
both may be of the same efficiency. 
To heat a room in regular winter 
weather the real medium by which 
the warmth is imparted to the room 
(whether it be a pipe or a volume of 
air heated before its entrance) must 
be a great deal warmer than the at- 



104 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



mosphere which it is supposed to 
heat, or it will be necessary to have 
the distributing systems altogether 
too expensive and cumbersome, and 
equipment which is adequate in mod- 
erate weather, carrying heat at a tem- 
perature slightly above the surround- 
ing air, will utterly fail when the 
weather begins to be severe. 

In textile mills the condition of the 
atmosphere in regard to 

MOISTURE OR HUMIDITY 
is an important feature, and in addi- 
tion to the necessary warmth, a cer- 
tain amount of water must be carried 
in suspension in order that the ma- 
terials in process may be in the 
proper condition, and for this reason, 
all rooms of a factory must, be made 
as independent as possible of outdoor 
atmospheric conditions. 

A successful heating system for a 
textile mill must be constructed of 
the best of material and well put to- 
gether. It must be elastic and easily 
controlled; have abundant reserve ca- 
pacity; be compact, durable and 
easily accessible for repaii's, and, in 
addition, must be efficient and eco- 
nomical in fuel consumption. 

A brief consideration of the differ- 
ent standard systems in relation to 
their ability for fulfilling the above 
conditions will perhaps bring to no- 
tice more plainly than any other way 
the principal characteristics of each 
type. 

The direct steam system which is 
so well known will be taken first. 
This arrangement consists of coils of 
pipe erected along the sides or ceil- 
ings of rooms, through which steam 
at a moderately high pressure is cir- 
culaited. As the temperature of the 
steam is quite high, only a small 
amount of radiating surface is re- 
quired, So that a few small pipes 
are usually sufficient for ordinary con- 
ditions, which take up little room and 
are not expensive to install or keep 
in repair. When a system of this 
kind is so situated that the conden- 
sation can be 

RUN TO TRAPS 
and from them returned to the boilers 
at a high temperature, very economi- 
cal results can be obtained. The high 



temperature of the pipes, of course, 
means a corresponding high tempera- 
ture of the atmosphere in their im- 
mediate vicinity, and unless some 
means are present for circulating the 
air, the rooms will be too warm near 
the coils and too cool at some dis- 
tance away from them. If the rooms 
contain revolving pulleys and shaft- 
ing', the circulating is performed with- 
out extra apparatus, but if not, a 
series of circulating fans will assist 
greatly in distributing the warm, air 
and equalizing the temperatiire. 

Where it is necessary to turn the 
condensed steam to waste, the ex- 
pense of operation (increases greatlj^ 
as the heat contained in the water is 
lost and a new supply has to be pro- 
vided from the boilers to replace it. 

If the boiler plant, however, furnish- 
es steam for power purposes and 
plenty of warm water can be had 
from the condensers, and subsequent- 
ly heated by economizers, etc., the 
loss is not so appreciable during run- 
ning hours, but at night and on holi- 
days (when the larger part of the 
heating is done) the condensation 
must be made up by water at atmos- 
pheric temperature or lower. 

This system, if supplied by steam 
through 

A REDUCING VALVE, 
with considerable excess pressure on 
the supply side, can be forced to a 
great extent by simply raising the 
pressure, an advantage often made 
use of in times of very severe weather 
and one which few of the other sys- 
tems possess. In some plants the 
heating lines are made larger than is 
the general custom for direct steam 
heating, and at times exhaust steam 
at a low pressure is used instead 
of that direct from the boilers. This 
seldom gives satisfaction, as the 
speed of circulation is so low that 
parts of the, system remote from the 
entering point are filled with water 
at a low temperature and of no use 
as a heating medium. 

If a system constructed as above 
and employing steam at a low pres- 
sure is provided v/ith some means 
for creating a constant circulation, re- 
gardless of the initial pressure, we 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



105 



have what is known as the "vacuum 
system," and one which possesses as 
many, if not more, advantages than 
any other type known. 

The idea of installing a pump to 
draw the water from the return lines 
of a system is seemingly a very sim- 
ple matter, and were this all that was 
required to accomplish successful re- 
sults, the vacuum system would have 
been in general use long ago. There 
is, however, a serious difficulty in the 
way of pumping the hot fluid, which is 
due to the presence of steam and 
vapor with the water and which im- 
pairs the vacuum produced hy the 
pump, and consequently prevents the 
proper circulation through the sys- 
tem. To remove this difficulty some 
means of 

SEPARATING THE STEAM 
and air from the water had to be pro- 
vided. These devices, which are 
known as "water seals," or "air 
valves," have been only moderately 
successful until within a few years. 
These appliances, while supposed to 
perform the same duty, are somewhat 
different in their principle and action. 

One itype depends upon some sub- 
stance which changes its form mate- 
rially at different temperatures, so that 
when in contact with the condensa- 
tion it acts upon the outlet valve and 
opens it, but allows it to close the 
moment steam with its much higher 
temperature begins to pass. One of 
these devices is attached to every 
section of heating coils, or every radi- 
ator, and by preventing any vapor 
from entering the return pipe the 
pump is able to maintain a vacuum 
and remove all water as fast as it col- 
lects. Another type of water seals, 
which is much more positive and re- 
liaJble, is that which is operated by 
the action of a float, which is buoyed 
up by the water when it enters the 
body of the appliance and thus opens 
the outlet valve. In ithis type a small 
outlet is also provided to allow the 
escape of air, and is always open when 
no water is present. This positively 
prevents any "air ibinding," and al- 
lows the coils to warm up immediately 
after the steam is turned on. 

In any system employing a vacuum 



it is necessary that the pipes supply- 
ing the steam, as well as the radiating 
pipes, be of ample size, so that the 
work may be done with steam at a 
low pressure, and also Avith a low 
vacuum, as too great a range between 
the two interferes with the proper 
working of the "water seals." 

THE VACUUM SYSTEM, 

when properly installed, is perhaps 
the best adapted of any for the utiliz- 
ation of waste steam, or cheap steam, 
as the exhaust from pumps or aux- 
iliary engines, as well as "receiver" 
steam from compound engines can be 
used alone or in conjunction with di- 
rect steam from the boilers (which 
has been reduced to the desired pres- 
sure through a reducing valve), and 
at all times without affecting the 
heating service. In connection with 
the question of the size and number 
of pipes required to do a given amount 
of heating it is interesting to note the 
difference sometimes seen between 
the theoretical and actual, a good 
illustration being presented in a mill 
bulilding recently erected. 

This building has four floors, and 
is heated 'by the vacuum system. The 
first floor is, on account of the loca- 
tion of the ibuilding, partly below the 
ground, while the second and third 
are exposed to the weather on all 
sides. The fourth, or top floor, is also 
exposed on all sides and has in addi- 
tion large skylights in the roof. 

The engineer In charge of the lay- 
ing out of the system (who was em- 
ployed by the contractor furnishing 
it) figured that the two intermediate 
floors should have the same amount 
of radiating pipes, the lower floor 
about 25 per cent more, and the top 
story 50 per cent more, taking into 
consideration probably that the heat 
from the lower floor would assist in 
heating the two above and that on 
account of the skylights in the roof 
much of the heat would escape through 
them. 

THE ACTUAL RESULTS 

for two seasons have been that the 
lower floor is heated too much, the 
second floor too little, the third near- 
ly right, and there is such a surplus 



106 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



of heating capacity in the upper story 
that the circulation is allowed to run 
only a few hours out of the twenty- 
four, even in the coldest weather. It 
follows, then, that had a few lengths 
of pipe been added to the second floor 
coils, and approximately half of those 
in the upper and lower rooms left out, 
there would have been a great saving 
in the cost of the installation, while at 
the same time, better results would 
have been obtained. 

Heating by means of pipes filled 
with hot water instead of steam is 
one of ithe best known methods, and 
every one is familiar with this sys- 
tem as applied to house heating, but 
when employed for large buildings the 
circulation of the water by means of 
the expansion caused by heat alone 
cannot be depended upon for distri- 
bution, and therefore some power has 
to be employed to perform the work. 
We then have the "forced circulation 
hot water system," which is used in 
many mills. This type requires, like 
the low-pressure steam systems, a- 
large amount of radiating surface, and, 
in addition, a much more complicated 
plant is necessary for pumping the 
water through the circuit from heater 
to coils and back again in continuous 
motion. 

The heaters for this system are 
generally placed so that steam can 
be taken directly from the boilers, and 
if possible, they are situated above 
them to allow for the use of 

A GRAVITY SYSTEM 
for returning the drip or condensation. 
If the whole or part of the heating 
coils are designed for the use of ex- 
haust steam, it must he remembered 
that in order to utilize the heat from 
such (if it is used at atmospheric pres- 
sure) the temperature of the water 
in the circulating system must be 
kept below 212 degrees, or no heat 
will be absorbed therefrom, and if in 
severe weather a temperature higher 
than this is desiired exhaust steam 
cannot be utilized. In case of acci- 
dent to the power for driving the cir- 
culating pump, the hot water system 
is seriously crippled, as any attempt 
to use siteam temporarily in pipes 
usually filled with water and contain- 



ing, as they do, numberless low 
places or "pockets," is almost sure to 
result in broken fittings and other 
damage caused by "water hammer." 
This exigency, when occurring with 
a steam or vacuum system, is taken 
care of without any particular risk 
or trouble, the only change needed in 
case of a break-down on the pump be- 
ing to raise the pressure enough to 
cause a circulation without a vacuum 
and discharge the condensation 
tlirough the "emergency drip" valve. 
In some places the hot water sys- 
tem is supplied with heat from heat- 
ers installed in the exhaust pipe of 
condemsing engines, and the amount 
of heat imparted to them regulated by 

CHANGING THE VACUUM 
with wnich the engines are working. 
This is feasible if all the steam ex- 
hausted can be utilized, but if any 
more is made and discharged at a re- 
duced vacuum the waste is consider- 
able, as vacuum applies to the engine 
throughout its entire stroke the same 
as "mean effective pressure," and the 
loss of a few poimds in a cylinder 
of large size means a great loss in 
the power generated from a given 
quantity of steam. 

The "indirect" or fan system of 
heating has been exploited most 
strenuously by its advocates for many 
years and is used to a consiiderable 
extent in textile plants, although the 
results Obtained have not always come 
up to the expectations of those inter- 
ested, and while it has been very suc- 
cessful in some lines of work, the 
impression seems to grow that it is 
comparatively expensive both in first 
cost and operation. This system, con- 
siists of a set of heating coils arranged 
in any convenieint place, through which 
fresh air is drawn by a circulating fan 
and then discharged into the rooms. 

As the entire volume of air in a 
room is renewed every few minutes 
its condition is under perfect control, 
and with proper manipulation, a com- 
bined ventilating and heating system 
may be obtained. This accounts for 
the great favor in which this sys- 
tem is held for heating public 
buildings, etc., where by the use of 
"mixing dampers" and other appli- 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



107 



ances an atmosphere may be secured 
which is not only comfortable taut 
wholesome. The feature of a con- 
stantly changing atmosphere, how- 
ever, is not desirable in textile 
manufacturing, as it is very dilficult 
to maintain a condition under which 
the materials in process may be 
worked to 

THE BEST ADVANTAGE 
with too free connections with the out- 
door air. 

The principle of introducing the air 
into a room by the fan method necessi- 
tates a continuous motion of the air, 
a fresh quantity entering and a cor- 
responding quantity leaving, which 
carries not only the impurities, but 
heat which must be made up by heat 
in the enitering volume, or the tem- 
perature cannot be kept constant. 
Therefore, an excessive amount of 
heat has to be supplied, as compared 
with oitiier systems, to give the same 
heating results, which proves that the 
impression alluded to in regard to ex- 
pensive operation is not altogether 
imaginary. 

In certain departments of a textile 
plant in which the processes of boil- 
ing or drying are carried on, and 
where a great amounlt of moisture is 
liberated, there is an excellent field 
for the fan system, and, in fact, it is 
the only one that can perform the 
duties of removing the vapors and 
moisture successfully. This may be 
used alone or in combination with 
permanent heating coils, the m.ain 
requisite being to build up a light 
pressure in the room sufficient to 
force out through any openings the 
vapor-laden air and supply in its place 

WARM DRY AIR, 
which, in turn, may absorb the mois- 
ture and pass out. 

When this idea is carried out to its 
fullest extent it is known as the 
"plenum" system, and in rooms so 
equipped, it is possible to carry on 
work involving processes which liber- 
ate poisonous gases or vapors, as 
well as moisture, Avithout injuring the 
interior of the building or causing dis- 
comfort (to the operatives. 

The question of quality of heat in 
regard to its being agreeable to the 



senses is one which has received lit- 
tle or no attention when considered 
in connection with textile mills, al- 
though it has been thought quite im- 
portant in selecting a system for pub- 
lic buildings and residences. 

As every one knows, the heat from 
a closed stove or open grate burning 
wood which imparts no disagreeable 
gases is much more comfortable than 
that from any system heated by 
steam. The reason, however, has not 
been clear, and at the present time, 
there is much difference of opinion 
and uncertainty in regard to it. 

The advocates of the fan or indirect 
system claim that the heat supplied 
by this arrangement is more com- 
fortable, the dry baking feature of 
high pressure direct heat being less 
in evidence. That this is a more or 
less fallacious argument was proven 
several years ago, in one instance 
where a wood manufacturing concern 
desired to equip a new addition with 
the most up-to-date appa,ratus and 
avoid, if possible, the dry uncomfort- 
able heat which was the cause of 
much complaint from the workmen 
in the original plant having the ordi- 
nary direct steam system. 

THE FAN SYSTEM 
was installed, but much to the sur- 
prise of every one, the rooms were 
much more "stufly" and uncomfort- 
able than in the rooms served by the 
old system. 

The theory that hot water heat is 
superior to steam in regard to quality 
is also advanced and quite generally 
believed, which, together with that in 
relation to other systems, is a mis- 
taken idea based on the belief that 
there is a possible difference in the 
heat imparted, when in reality the 
quality depends upon the condition of 
the atmosphere into which the heat is 
discharged and not on the heat itself. 

That heat of a certain kind when 
introduced into a room is the means 
of impoverishing the air and obstruct- 
ing ventilation cannot be true is at- 
tested by the fact that a room with- 
out heat or ventilation and unoccupied 
by anything will after being closed 
for a time have the same stuffy feel- 
ing which prevails when the sup- 



108 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



posed objectionable heating element 
is present. 

According to the results of exten- 
sive experiments carried on in Ger- 
many, it has been found that the 
quality of heat in a room is directly 
dependent upon the quantity and na- 
ture of the dust particles preseat, and 
which if they are of an organic nature 
will decompose into gas when in con- 
tact with heating surfaces from a tem- 
perature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit, or 
higher. The quantity of these Is sel- 
dom sufficient to really poison the air, 
but their presence as often noticeable 
by the disagreeable odor imparted. 

THE INVESTIGATIONS 
further showed that dust collected 
in certain parts of a room, being pre- 
cipitated on account of moisture con- 
tained or having greater specific 
gravity than the floating dry particles, 
would decompose with less heat than 
those in suspension, and gases from 
them would become noticeable at a 
temperature as low as 190 degrees. 
Thus we have here a solution of the 
puzzle in regard to the quality of heat 
obtained from different systems, for 
in carrying out this line of thought 
it is evident that in a system where 
the heated surfaces are directly in 
contact with the aitmosphere of the 
room, the lower the temperature car- 
ried in them the less dust decomposed 
and the less injurious gases liber- 
ated. This accounts for the superior- 
ity of the low pressure steam or hot 
water systems over the high pres- 
sure. 

With the indirect system another 
condition is present which offsets 
partly the advantage of having the 
heaited surfaces outside, as the atmos- 
phere is kept in a more agitated state, 
causing the dust particles to be de- 



posited where a moderate amount of 
heat will decompose them and also 
carry more in suspension than when 
the air is in a more quiet state, as 
with the direct system. 

In the case of the wood working 
plant mentioned the enhanced agi- 
tation not only caused more gases to 
form (as the system was installed for 
a high pressure steam supply for 
heating the coils), but, assisted by the 
agitation of revolving shafting and 
pulleys, carried an increased quantity 
of the wood dust always present in 
works of this kind in suspension and 
rendered the air almost unbearable. 

Had this system been installed in 
a public building, or where very little 
dust is present, and provided wlith 
mixing gates, etc., for conditioniag 
the air properly, most excellent re- 
sults v/ould have been obtained not 
on account of the . 

DIFFERENT QUALITY 
of the "heat," but because the ar- 
rangement of the system and the 
principle of its operation would in 
this case have assisted in reducing the 
amount of decomposed dust particles 
to the minimum. 

The custom, which is prevalent in 
many manufacturing plants using di- 
rect heating, of plading the coils upon 
the ceiling of the rooms (while being 
about the only practical way for sev- 
eral reasons) is one which tends to 
produce some discomfort on the part 
of the operatives who work under 
them, and although having no con- 
nection with the other causes for pro- 
ducing an uncomfortable atmosphere, 
it can be readily understood that the 
coils if heated by low pressure steam 
or hot water would be far less objec- 
tionable than those using high pres- 
sure steam and an accompanying high 
temperature. 



Design and Care of Mill Shafting 



The shafting system in the average 
mill is one of the most important ele- 
ments which enter into the successful 
operation of the plant, and is one 
wiiich Sihould, therefore, receive a 
large proportion of the tliought of 
those who have to do with either the 
initial installation of the power and 
transmission equipment or its subse- 
quent op-eration and upkeep. Improv- 
ed methods for the manufacture of 
shafting for power purposes have 
been introduced which have revolu- 
tionized the shafting business, and 
genuine wrought-iron shafting is little 
use-d, special steel having taken its 
place almost wholly, except for the 
very largest work, where we still see 
some of what is known as "hammered 
iron." 

STEEL SHAFTING. 

Steel shafting is seldom made by 
simply taking steel in the rough and 
turning to size in the 'Same manner 
as the original wrought-iron was work- 
ed, but it is produced by some special 
process which is, in a way, peculiar to 
the Individual company making it, al- 
though the methods employed resem- 
ble each other in principle. One of the 
best known is the "cold rolling" proc- 
ess, which is used by several of the 
very largest producers. 

In this process the steel is taken in 
the round bar as it comes from the 
hot rolls and turned to nearly the size 
desired on high-speed automatic ma- 
chines., which remove an immense 
amount of metal in a short time, and 
consist of two cutters placed in a 
revolving head, similar to a pipe ma- 
chine (in which the dies or cutters 
revolve), and the steel bar is slowly 
fed through them. By this method 
two heavy chips can be taken and the 
labor of "centering," which would be 
necessary in the case of turning in a 
lathe, is done away with. 

The homogeneous nature of steel 
allows this type of macliine to be used 
but in the case of wrought iron, with 
its laminations and hard streaks, it 



«i 



:5: 



''t 



.^ 



Q. 

ll CB 

^ X 

UJ 



Q. 



ui 



no 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



would be impossible to operate 
high-speed cutters /with any degree ol 
success. To prevent trouble from the 
hard places always present on the 
outside of the steel bars known as 
"roll scale," but which never extend 
into the body of the metal, the stock 
is passed through a "pickling vat," 
in which the scale is softened or re- 
moved entirely by the action of pow- 
erful acids. 

After the shafting barb have been 
machined within a small fraction of 
an inch to the desired diameter, it is 
put through the cold rolls, which are 
rolls placed in a revolving head in 
the same imanner as the cutters in the 
turning head and which are forced 
against the metal with sufficient power 
to 

SQUEEZE THE OUTSIDE 

into a compact and highly burnished 
skin of much greater density than 
the body of the bar (although a series 
of soientific experiments have shown 
that the increased density extends to 
the centre). By this process the 
shaft is made much stronger and elas- 
tic, the increase in strength being 
claimed by some investigators as high 
as 50 per cent. iSo-called "cold 
drawn" shafting is imade in much the 
same way as cold rolled, and is con- 
sidered by some as good as cold 
rolled. 

While the introduction of these spe- 
cial processes in making shafting has 
resulted in a practical revolution it 
must not be taken for granted that 
all shafting going by the name of 
"cold rolled" or "cold drawn" is re- 
lialble or desirable, and only a few 
makers have succeeded in turning out 
a reliable product. 

The process of 

COLD ROLLING 

has a tendency to set up internal 
strains in the metal, and is also lia- 
ble to "crystallize" the fibre and de- 
stroy its tensile strength, and in- 
stances are not unknown where shafts 
which have been broken have shown 
no grain at all and have failed in 
much the same way that a bock or 
clay pipe would break. Any variation 



in the tension of the rolls during the 
passage of a shaft through them will 
cause a slight change in diameter, 
which will result in bunches or hol- 
lows, seriously interfering with the fit 
of pulleys, if they are all bored to a 
uniform size 

Should a piece of this shaft be cut 
open for a key-way or "spline," the 
internal strains above mentioned, if 
any, are sure to assert themselves 
and produce a crook or bend, which 
will prevent its use for anything but 
very low speed. It is evident, then, 
from the above that it is not good 
policy to buy shafting from makers 
who are not well equipped with appa- 
ratus and skilled help for turning out 
the best work, and who are without 
reputation or experience in the manu- 
facture of suitable material for the 
purpose. 

STRENGTH OF SHAFTING. 

If anyone should take the trouble 
to go through the manufactories of 
the country for the expre'ss purpose 
of comparing the sizes, of shafts in 
use for different duties he would be 
surprised to find the diversity exist- 
ing among various industries, and, in 
connection therewith, that mills for 
the manufacture of cotton goods were 
running nearer to the limit of strength 
than any other, while those connected 
with other industries employ such 
large factors for safety that a shaft- 
ing failure is almost unknown. On 
account of so much difference, the 
impression is formed that the rules 
for strength given in the mechanical 
engineering text-books are unreliable 
and of little use, which might be true 
were it not for the fact that actual 
strength is not the only quality which 
is needed in a line of shafting to make 
it perform reliable service and run 
without excessive friction. 

THE TORSIONAL STRENGTH 

of a piece of shaft or strength to 
resist twisting strain is very great, 
and this property alone is used in 
nearly all the formulas for computing 
the proper sizes for certain duties. 
The transiverse strength or stiffness 
to resist springing is another property 
which is often overlooked altogether. 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



iU 



or covered only by some stipulation 
in regard to the distance which bear- 
ings should be apart and in which the 
estimates are always too low. 

If a shaft is employed to carry pul- 
leys as well as transmit power, the 
transverse strength to resist springing 
should be considered as important as 
the torsional strength, or the pull of 
the 'belts will create a dangerous 
"cranking" motion by springing the 
shaft to a certain extent, which wears 
the bearings and causes unnecessary 
Iriction. To fulfill this requirement a 
diameter somewhat larger than that 
called for in the ibooks is therefore 
needed, which adds slightly to the first 
cost, but pays in the end. 

Another important point in respect 
to small shafting figure-d for torsional 
strength alone is that with any means 
of coupling or fastening the lengths 
together in the line, splines or key- 
ways must he cut in the ends, and if 
a Simall diajmeter be used the size of 
the key must also be small, so small, 
indeed, that it will fail when called 
upon to stand a strain much less than 
the shaft itself is able to cope with 
An illustration of this kind is known 
to the writer where a shafting system 
operating several hundred loom.s. 
which was installed several years ago 
by an ardent advocate of small shaft- 
ing, has been a continual source of 
trouble and .expense ever since erect- 
ed, in the way of broken ends and 
keys, not to mention 

THE COSTLY DELAYS 
caused by stoppages. In connection 
with the above case, a comparison of 
two of the standard formulas for de- 
termining the proper size of shafting 
may serve to demonstrate the neces- 
sity for taking into consideration the 
transverse strength of shafts to re- 
sist deflection. 

Take, for an example, a line of cold 
rolled shaft, 100 feet long, carrying 
pulleys and transmitting 15-horse 
power at a speed of 250 revolutions 
per minute. According to the regular 
accepted formula, the diameter of this 
shaft should be the cube root of 55 
times the horse power divided by the 
revolutions per minute, which gives 
1.48 inches, or practically 1% inches. 



55 X H. . 

d = cube root of ■ — ■ — 

R. 

Assuming that the bearings for this 
shafting line acre 10 feet apart (which 
is a standard distance), and applying 
the rule for deflection, which allows 
for only one one-hundreth of an inch 
per foot of shaft length when with- 
standing a ^sj-pound pull per inch of 
width of the pulley face, the diameter 
required in the square root of the 
cube of the distance hetween bear- 
ings divided by 175, or 2.3 inches 
(d equals square root of L cubed di- 
vided hy 175). The great difference 
in the two results can better be real- 
ized when the fact is considered that 
the torsional strength of the shaft in- 
creases as the cube of its diameter. 

In the above case the shaft 2.3 
inches in diameter, if calculated ac- 
cording to the first formula, would 
be suitable to transmit 55.3 horae- 
power, or more than three times as 
much as was called for, or, to express 
it concisely, to comply with the regu- 
lar shafting formula a shaft would 
be nearly one inch less in diameter 
than would actually be required to 
obtain a properly arranged and satis^ 
factory installation. 

STANDARD MEASiURB'MENTS. 

Like almost everything manufac- 
tured, shafting is bought and sold ac- 
cording to a standard of its own, 
which is the outcome of long-estab- 
lished custom. 

When all shafting was produced 
from rough iron bars, these bars were 
either forged or rolled to exact diam- 
eters, oir as nearly as possible, but in 
order to finish them in a lathe a chip 
had to be removed, which reduced 
this diameter approximately 1-16 of an 
inch, and instead of calling a shaft 
by its actual diameter when finished, 
the full dimension of the rough stock 
was designated, so that a so-called 2- 
inch shaft was only 1 15-16 inches, a 
2i-inch only 2 7-16 inches, etc. This 
led by necessity to the designation of 
the actual sizes in order to fit pulleys 
and bearings to correspond, and the 
original custom hasi been entirely dis- 
carded, i'o add to the complication, 
many of the shafting makers who em- 



112 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 




H 



// 



\ ^ 



Hook Used for Leveling Shafting. 



ploy other methods than turning the 
material in the old way have adopted 
the system of exact size designation 
and prefer to furnish sizes by quar- 
ter inches from one exact inch up, 
although most of them will, if re- 
quested, supply the sixteenth sizes as 
usual. 

It is very important that those who 
have to do with the specifications for 
shafting should be conversant with 
this situation and also to realize the 
trouble which can be caused by at- 
tempting to introduce the new system 
when buying new shafting to be used 
with systems already in operation, 
having dimensions after the old six- 
teenth standard. 

This mistake is often made, and 
ttiany of the larger mills are reaping 
the results which cause much expense 
and delay in case of accident, or when 
the necessity presentsi itself for re- 
arrangement of any of the old work 
and the advantage of interchangeable 
sizes can be made use of. 

ERECTION OF SHAFTING. 

The larger part of new shafting is 
at the present time erected by con- 
tractors, especially if the mill be new 
and without a mechanical organiza- 
tion. 

In starting the erection of a system, 
the contractor is generally given a 
basic line to work from, which is taken 
from the driving units, if in position 
at the time. 

Upon the position and correctness 
of this line and the fidelity with which 
the erector follows it depends the 
satisfactory completion of the entire 
system, for if started wrong the first 
deviations are multiplied as every line 
is added until if the system be a large 
one the effects will become so serious 
that the whole equipment will have <to 
be readjusted before it can be oper- 
ated. 

In long lines of shafting which are 
driven from one end it is customary 
to reduce the diameters as they re- 
cede from the driving point, which 
gives an excellent opportunity for 
oversight in erection, for the reason 
that it is much easier for the erector 
to place the hangers in position on 
a line which he determines from the 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



113 



side of the first few sections in place 
than to fill in a correct centre line 
between the basic points given him, 
and if the decrease in size is slight, 
as it often is, he is liable to overlook 
the difference. 

AN ACTUAL OCCURRENCE. 

Figure 1 illustrates an instance of 
this nature which actually occurred 
in a new mill. 

The two sections of a large shaft 
were erected according to the correct 
line, and as no further guides were 
furnished hy the engineer in charge, 
the erector proceeded to make them 
by erecting line B on the line of two 



line, and the exact conditions were not 
discovered until it became necessary 
to realign, some time afterward, when 
it was found that after putting tlhe 
main line in the proper place the 
whole system of receiving shafts had 
to be moved to correspond with the 
change, to make the belts run properly 
on their pulleys. 

CARE OF SHAFTING. 
Taking it for granted that a new 
shafting system is installed correctly 
without any of the defects like that 
cited above, or other faults traceable 
to the erectors, the matter of retain- 
ing it in good running condition means 




Method of Using Hooks and Straight Edge. 



points measured from the side of the 
completed section AA, and using the 
same distance for locating the side of 
the new additions, which brought each 
succeeding section more and more 
away from the correct centre shown 
at C. The sketch shows the condition 
at the end of the first two drops when 
the deviation amount was sufiicient to 
bring the centre of the last and smaller 
section one-half its diameter out of the 
way, as shown. Consequently, when 
coupled together, the shaft followed a 
bent line, the "swing" increasing at 
every reduction in size. 

As this shaft drove other lines at 
different points in its length (some 
twenty in all), they were erected sub- 
sequently tc conform with the first 



a great deal. A great many false im- 
pressions are current in regard to the 
consequences of shafting being slight- 
ly out of alignment which were first 
formed when it was the practice to 
place all shafting when possible on 
rigid foundations and in solid immov- 
able boxes. The adoption of the ad- 
justable bearing, capalble of a great 
range of adjustment, as well as allow- 
ing a certain amount of elasticity 
when in operation, has reduced the 
detrimental results of increased fric- 
tion in a great imeasure and also di- 
minished the number of instances 
where shafting lines are found very 
badly out of proper position. 

Contrary to the general belief, a 
line of shaft seldom gets out of posi- 



114 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



tion transversely, except perhaps at 
local points where the pull of some 
belt may overcome the power of the 
bearings to hold it in place, and if 
once in line it is pretty sure to stay 
there indefinitely. In respect to ver- 
tical adjustment, however, this is not 
so, and from the time when first put 
up there are in the ordinary factory 
building causes at work which are in- 
strumental in throwing a shafting line 
out of level, and therefore the prin- 
cipal duty to be performed in keeping 
a system in order is to provide means 
whereby the lines can be gone over 
once a year (or more often if the 
equipment is new), with reasonable 
•dispatch and made as nearly level as 
possible. The best known and most 
commonly used devices for leveling 
is the "straight edge and hooks." 
The hooks, one of which is sliown in 
Figure 2, are 

MADE OF ROUND IRON, 

with one end shaped for hanging over 
the shaft and the other for holding 
e "straight edge." Pairs of hooks 
should be provided, having different 
lengths to suit each particular case, 
that they may reach down to clear 
any pulleys on the line and also be 
short enough to avoid hitting any ma- 
chinery on the floor below. 

In forming these hooks, great care 
should be taken that the apex of the 
upper hook is directly in line with 
the centre of the place formed at the 
bottom to receive the straight edge, 
and that all hooks are shaped exactly 
alike. The notch at the top should 
have straight sides, as shown, so that 
it will touch the shaft at only two 
pointSi. 

In use, these hooks are placed upon 
the shaft. Figure 3, at points which 
are free from pulleys or couplings and 
at intervals which may be covered by 
the straight edge, which should not 
be less than 10 feet long and care- 
fully made. When the hooksl \ia,nid 
straight edge are in place, a spirit 
level laid on top will show the 
amount the shaft is out of level in 
the length covered by the two hooks. 
After adjusting the hanger bearings 
to correct any deflections which may 
be found, one hook is moved along to 



another position and the straight edge 
passed through. The reading on the 
level in this position will show the 
amount the second division is at vari- 
ance with the first span, and after 
making the required adjustments, the 
hooks are moved forward as before, 
and the operation repeated until the 
entire line has been covered and 
leveled. 

If the shafts change in size as they 
extend away from the starting point, 
the difference can be easily provided 
for by placing a shim, or "liner," under 
the end of the straight edge in the 
hook on the smaller section having 
a thickness of one-half the difference 
in the two diameters. 

A stock of these shims 'having the 
different thicknesses required made 
of sheet steel should be carried along 
to 

OBVIATE ANY DELAY 

or mistakes on account of the change 
of shaft sizes, which are very numer- 
ous in some mills. If the line to be 
treated is long and driven from one 
end, it is sometimes found that in or- 
der to continue through the entire 
shaft from the driving point (which 
is the only proper place from which to 
start adjustments in any case), and 
preserve the line called for by the 
drive or head section that the bear- 
ings at the remote end do not have 
a sufficient range of adjustment. In 
this case to escape the labor and ex- 
pense of new bearings or extensive 
cutting and relocation it is 'sometimes 
feasible to change the level of the 
head line, or, in other words, throw 
it out of level at a slight distance in 
favor of the farther end. This slight 
change, which multiplies rapidly as 
we advance, will oftentimes be suffi- 
cient to accomplish the ohject, and 
aside from the extra time taken in 
going over the line no other expense 
is incurred. 

An immense amount of territory 
can be covered by two handy men 
with one of these simple appliances 
in a short time, and if the lag bolts 
in hangers are brought up before the 
adjusting is done and all other bolts 
in bearings and couplings tightened 
as well as the set screws in all pul- 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



115 



leys., one may feel reasonaiWy sure 
that little or no attention other than 
the regular routine of the oiling and 
cleaning need be given the shafting 
system in any plant. If it is neces- 
sary to realign as well as level at the 
time of general going over, the 
"caliperinig" imethod is very simple 
and will give correct results. This 
method has been referred to when 
speaking of errors in erecting new 
lines. 

The caliper may be made of wood, 
as shown in Figure 4, with a V-shaped 



a:::: 




A V\^ooden Caliper. 

notdh in the larger end. The other 
end, in the simplest forms, contains a 
screw with its shank pointed and pro- 
jecting about one-half an inch from 
the body of the caliper. A istrong line 
of hemp or linen is> strung up parallel 
to the shaft to be tested at a sufficient 
distance away to clear all the pulleys, 
and stretched perfectly tiglit. Tlie 
caliper, wliich must be the proper 
lengtli to approximately reach from 
shaft to line, 

IS ADJUSiJilD 

to a nicety by turning the screw at 
the Simall end either way to bring the 
length such that when the crotch or 
V-shaped end is placed against the 
side of the shaft, the screw end will 



swing by the line and barely touch 
it. After once setting, the caliper 
can be placed aiong the shaft at dif- 
ferent points, and any slight variance 
from the guide line readily detected. 
Should the shaft change in size, an- 
other caliper set to allow for the dif- 
ference in diameter may be used, or 
if, as in some of the more elaborate 
styles, a standard "inside caliper rod," 
with screw adjustment, is fitted to 
the wooden body, instead of the plain 
screw, the required change can be 
easily made and only one ^measure 
used for all sections. 

There are many engineers and mill- 
wrights who do not favor appliances 
of this kind, and claim that the shaft- 
ing alignment and leveling should be 
done with an engineer's transit or 
level. 

There are also made several very 
desirable appliances, for use with a 
transit or engineer's level, which have 
met a ready sale. Most of these in- 
clude a set of hooks, which are so 
arranged that they may be either sus- 
pended from a shaft or erected upon 
it, and are provided with a colored 
"target," which can be plainly seen 
through the instrument. A light is 
also furnished with some to provide 
for work in dark places and at night. 

While the transit is 

ESPECIALLY VAi^UABLE 
for locating new lines for shafting and 
other construction, as well as for de- 
termining amgles, etc., it is by no 
means certain that an operator, how- 
ever well experienced in the use of 
the instrument, can be depended upon 
to give exact readings for the hours 
of consecutive "sighting" which are 
necessary in using this method for 
adjusting shafting on account of ex- 
cessive strain upon the eyes, which is 
fatal to correct readings. 

Generally speaking, mistakes are 
fully as apt to occur when work is 
done with an expensive and delicate 
instrument as is the case when using 
the simple spirit level, which^ anyone 
can read intelligently and wlilch can 
cover the work enough faster to allow 
tours of adjustment more often than 
with the more refined methods and in- 
struments. There is, therefore, no 



116 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



valid reason why the condition of the 
shafting in a plant where the simpler 
appliances, are used by competent per- 
sons should not compare favorably 
with those where the more elaborate 
methods are employed. 

POWER REQUIRED. 

There is no proposition concerning 
mechaniics where theory differs from 
actual practice more than in regard 
to the amount of power required to 
drive shafting, or, in other words, the 
power used in simply turning a trans- 
mission system, as compared with the 
total amount of power expended. The 
shafting load of any collection of ma- 
chinery depends largely upon the ar- 
rangement of that madhinery and the 
amount of power required per ma- 
chine. If a certain class of machines 
using individually a large amount of 
power can be arranged closely to- 
gether it is evident that the percent- 
age of power used for shaftiug will be 
smaller than another class which con- 
sumes less power per unit, and are 
necessarily scattered so that long 
lines of shafting are required to carry 
the power to them. It is plain then 
the number of horse power required 
to operate a shafting system for a 
given set of machinery depends al- 
most wholly upon the amount of 
horse power consumed by these ma- 
chines per foot of floor space they 
occupy. In a textile plant this factor 
varies greatly, being much larger in 
the spinning an-d other departments 
than in the weaving rooms, and, conse- 
quently, we may expect to find a wide 
difference in the shafting load in com- 
paring the two. 
RESULTS RECi^^NTLY OBTAINED. 

To illustrate this point the results 
obtained from several actual testa 
made to determine the relative load 
conditions are given as follows: 

No 1— GROUP OF LOOMS DRIVEN BY 
SINGLE MOTOR. 

h. p. 
Power taken by motor and shaft- 
ing running Idle 41-6 

Power taken' shafting by shafting 

Power taken with full load 19 5 

Shafting load per cent 15.3 



No. 2 — GROUP OF LOOMS DRIVEN BY 
SINGLE MOTOR. 

h. p. 

Motor and shafting . 53 

Shafting 42 

Full load 212 

Shafting load, per cent 19 

Average shafting load for the two 
groups, per ceni 17.1 

No. 3 — GROUP OF RING SPINNING 
FRAMES DRIVEN BY SINGLE MOTOR. 

h. p. 

Motor and shafting 28.6 

Shafting 17.5 

Full load 237.5 

Shafting load per cent 11.6 

No. 4— GROUP OF RING SPINNING 
FRAMES DRIVEN BY SINGLE MOTOR. 

h. p. 

Motor and shafting 23.4 

Shafting 16 

Full load 154 

Shafting load per cent 10.3 

Average shafting load for the two 

groups 10.4 

No. 5 — GROUP OF PICKERS DRIVEN BY 
SINGLE MOTOR. 

h. p. 

Motor and shafting 13 

Shafting 8 

Full load 120 

Shafting load, per cent .066 

Average shafting load for the five 

tests 9.15 

If the above groups were driven by 
an entire shafting system instead of 
by motors, the maiin lines from the 
prime mover would consume addi- 
tional power that should not be over 
5 per cent, which, added to the 9.15 
per cent already obtained, would give 
14.15 per cent for the aggregate shaft- 
ing load. 

The 'much agitated subject which 
concerns the comparative merits of 
the mechanical and motor system of 
driiving will not be discussed, as the 
question is a very broad one. It is, 
however, certain that the aimount of 
power consumed iby a well-designed 
sihafting system, when kept in igood 
operating condition, is much less than 
many would have us believe, and, fur- 
thermiore, it is an open question which 
will have to be decided later when 
means for correct deductions may be 
available through the introduction of 
what is known as "individual motor 
driving," whether the value of shaft- 
ing and pulleys does not offset in a 
measure the expense for the power 
to operate them by serving as a bal- 
ance or power reservoir to even out 
the irregularities always present in 
working machinery. 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



117 



The several groups of shafting 
which are referred to in the fore- 
going tests were all equipped with the 
standard style of "ring oiling" bear- 
ing, which has heen generally consid- 
ered as good as anything made. 

Within the past few years, how- 
ever, several conipetitors have made 
their appearance, which in their con- 
struction employ the moving body 
principle instead of a stationary bear- 
ing of frictionless metal, as in the 
. gular style. The earliest of these 
were made up with two 'cages," con- 
taining steel balls, which carried the 
weight of the shaft and were enclosed 
in a case of about the same length 
as the ordinary bearing. This style 
of bearing has proved very efficient, 
and is used quite extensively, although 
rather expensive to install, on account 
of its complicated construction. 

Another type employs cylinders in- 
stead of balls for the carrying ele- 
ment, and to avoid injury to the shaft 
by direct contact with the hardened 
steel carriers, a steel sleeve, closely 
fitting the shaft and revolving with 
it, is provided to take the wear. 

By employing cylinders, a 

LARGE BEARING SURFACE 
is obtained with small cylinder diam- 
eters, and the mechanism can be 
placed in a case iwhich will readily go 
in the place of the ordinary station- 
ary bearing and thus enable a user 
to retain his old hangers or stands 
and realize the ibenefit of an improved 
bearing with little labor and expense 
when compared with an entire change 
of equipment, as is necessary with 
many of the other types. 

The amount of power saved by the 
installation of any of these high-grade 
bearings is no doubt considerable, and 



claims are made by those interested 
in their adoption ranginig from 30 to 
70 per cent. 

The advisability of adopting these 
bearings in any case depends upon 
several things, among which are the 
cost of power in the locality, tihe 
amount of power used as compared 
with the shafting load, the actual 
shafting load under existing condi- 
tions, the saving reasonably expected, 
and the cost of the new equipment. 
Applying these considerations to the 
shafting system referred to as No. 4 
in test reports we obtain the follow- 
ing: 

Number of bearings 28 

Shafting load 16 h. p. 

Assumed cost of power per horse power 
hour %c. 

Assumed number of hours operated per 
year 2,800 

Assumed cost of new equipment $300.00 

Assumed interest and depreciation on 

above cost (12%) $36.00 

Present cost of power to run shafting 

per year $336.00 

Saving in power required to offset ex- 
pense of change 10.71% 

APPLYING TO GROUP NO. 1. 

Number of bearings 130 

Shafting load 30 h. p. 

Proportionate cost of new equip- 
ment $1,000.00 

Interest and depreciation $120.00 

Present cost of power for shafting. . $630.00 
Necessary saving, per cent 19.04 

It should be borne in mind that 
these estimates 

ARE ONLY ASSUMFlIONS, 
which are not offered as correct, and 
that in most cases the actual facts 
concerning the cost of power, cost 
of new equipment and existing shaft- 
ing load may disagree with those cited 
to the extent that radically different 
deductions will result. It will behoove 
anyone, therefore, who considers go- 
ing to much expense in adopting any 
of the so-called frictionless bearings 
to go into the matter very carefully 
before making a decision. 



Mill Construction 

AND POWER 



It is absurd to keep records of coal 
burned, water evaporated in the boil- 
er, oil used and others of a similar 
Tests Made in ^^^^^r^' unless this is 
a Rhode Island i^^^^ accurately. It 
lyijll IS where these are 

made out largely toy 
guess and then carried out three or 
four decimal places in connection with 
subsequent cost calculation that they 
become worse than useless. 

We have at hand a detailed report 
of two tests made upon the steam 
plant of a Rhode Island textile mill 
engaged in the manufacture of both 
cotton and woolen dress goods. With- 
out considering all of the data which 
was obtained by these tests, we will 
outline some of the esisential points 
in order to call attention to the value 
of making such studies occasionally, 
and also as an example of actual eon- 
uitions found in a typical steam-driven 
mill which has been kept well up to 
date. 

The mill has over 31,000 worsted 
spindles, about 4,000 cotton spindles 
and. 2,500 looms. The boiler plant 
consists of three Babcock & Wilcox 
wacer tube boilers and two vertical, 
straight shell boilers. The water tube 
units have 108 four-inch tubes, 18 feet 
long, and two drums, each 42 inches 
in diameter. The water tube boilers 
have a grate surface of 134.6 square 
feet and the vertical units 66.36 
square feet, making a total grate sur- 
face of 201 square feet. The three 
Babcock & Wilcox boilers, are equip- 
ped with steam super heaters. 

'ihe engine room contains a Corliss 
cross compound engine, running at 
65 revolutions per minute, and the 
exhaust steam from this unit is used 
for driving a low-pressure steam tur- 
bine, and an auxiliary engine which 
is directly connected to a combined 
wet and dry air pump on one side and 
a centrifugal pump for circulating 
water on the other. The low-pressure 



turbine runs at 3,60'0 revolutions per 
minute and the small auxiliary en- 
gine is driven at 208 revolutions per 
minute. There is also a steam-driven 
air compressor, and the exhaust from 
these auxiliary units passes into the 
first receiver. 



The two tests were conducted along 
similar lines, the same number of 
readings being taken in each case. 

These readings were 

Average Steam taken continuously 

Pressures over a period of ten 

hours for each test. 
A summary of the first test is. given 
somewhat in detail, and a few of these 
results are compared with those ob- 
tained during the second test. 

The steam pressure was recorded 
at the boilers, at the engine, at the 
first receiver, second receiver (or tur- 
bine line), and at the inlet of the 
turbine. The vacuum in the conden- 
ser was recorded, also the chimney 
draft, the draft in the ash pit and 
the draft over the fire in the furnace. 
The following table gives, the average 
pressures at these various points dur- 
ing the first tests, which we will desig- 
nate as run number one. 

TABLE NO. 1— AVERAGE PRESSURES. 

Steam pressure a*: boiler by gauge. 121 lbs. 

Steam pressure at engine by 

gauge 119.13 lbs. 

Steam pressure i^t first receiver by 

gauge 17.6 lbs. 

Steam pressure at •;fcond receiver lbs. 

by gauge (or turbine line) .... ^-iq. Vac. 

Steam pressure at inlet of tur- 
bine 5.4 in. Vac. 

Vacuum in condenser 2S.3 in. 

Draft in chimney 3S in. of water 

Draft in ash-pit 382 in. of water 

Draft over the fire in furnace .175 in. of water 



Temperature readings were taken 
as follows: The steam leaving the 
boilers, the steam at throttle of en- 
gine, the outside at- 
Tempe nature mosphere, the circu- 
Readings lating water, the flue 
gases entering the 
economizer, the flue gases leaving the 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



119 



economizer, the steam and turbine 
line, and the feed water, both at en- 
trance and delivery of the econoimizer. 
The temperature due to steaim pres- 
sure was recorded and the degrees of 
superiieat at the throttle calculated. 
Table No 2 shows the averages for 
these various items: 

TABLE NO. 2. — AVERAGE TEMPERA- 
TURES. 

Temperature of steam leaving 

boilers 3S7.6 deg. F. 

Temperature of steam at throt- 

tla of engine 373.4 deg. F. 

Temperature due to steam pres- 
sure 350.8 deg. F. 

Degrees of superheat at throt- 
tle 22.6 deg. F. 

Degrees of outside atmosphere: 

Average during day 48.2 deg. F. 

Temperature of outside atmosphere: 
Average during the night: 

Temperature of circulating water 53.4 deg. F. 

Temperature of flue gases en- 
tering the economizer 523.4 deg. F. 

Temperature of flue gases leav- 
ing the economizer 307 deg. F. 

Temperature of feel water en- 
tering the economizer l(iS.5 deg. F. 

Temperature of feed water leav- 
ing the economizer and entei'- 
ing the boilers 226.7 deg. F, 

It will be seen from Table No. 2 that 
the test shows an average drop in 
steam temperature between the boil- 
ers and the engine of 14.2 degrees 
Fahrenheit, and it will also be no- 
ticed that the use of superheaters 
gave 22.6 degrees of superheat The 
feed water was raised from 168.5 de- 
grees 5'ahrenheit to 226.7, an increase 
of 58.2 degrees by the use of a fuel 
economizer. ' In heating thisi water, 
the flue gases were cooled from 523.4 
degrees Fahrenheit to 307 degrees 
Fahrenheit, a drop of 216.4. 



A mixture of buckwheat and soft 
coal was used, containing 37.85 per 
cent buckwheat and 62.15 soft. The 
fuel used during the 
Coal night for heating, 

Used • manufacturing, etc., 

was kept separate, 
and the amount fired during the day 
was 23,124 pounds of soft coal and 14,- 
071 pounds of buckwheat, making a 
total of 37,195 pounds. 'Ihe moisture 
tests showed IJ per cent for the soft 
coal and 2 per cent for the buckwheat, 
so that the total dry coal burned dur- 
ing the day was 36,577 pounds. 

The heat value of each grade of 



coal and also of the mixture was test- 
ed and found to be as follows: 

TABLE NO, 3. — SHOWING HEAT VALUE 
OF FUEL. 

Heat value in 
Fuel tested. British therinal units. 

Buckwheat coal 11,778 

Sott coal 14,373 

Mixture of above 13,391 

As the day test lasted ten hours, 
the amount of coal used per ihour as 
fired was 3,719.7 pounds. The dry 
coal used per hour was 3,657.7 pounds 
and the dry coal used per square foot 
of grate surface per hour was 18.19 
pounds. The ash and refuse removed 
weighed 4,630 pounds, so that the 
total pounds of dry combustible used 
was 31,94V or 3,194.7 per hour. 

TABLE NO. 4. — WATER. 

Total water evaporated, cor- 
rected lor leaks, inequal- 
ity of water level and 
steam pressure at begin- 
ning and end of test 360,195.725 lbs. 

Water evaporated actual per 

hour 36,019.57 lbs. 

Water evaporated actual per 
hour per pound oi 
per hour per pound of 
coal, as fired 9. 68 lbs. 

Factor of evaporation 1.0095 lbs. 

Total water evaporated, 
equivalent from and at 212 
deg. F 396,035.20 lbs. 

Total water evaporated, 
equivalent from and at 
212 deg. F. per hour 39,603.52 lbs. 

Water evaporated, equiva- 
lent from and at 212 deg. 
F. per pound of dry coal. 10.82 lbs. 

Water evaporated, equiva- 
lent from and at 212 deg. 
F. per pound of dry com- 
bustible 12.39 lbs. 

(Not corrected for the quality of steam.) 



Table No. 4 shovv^s the total water 

evaporated, water evaporated per 

hour and the equivalent from and at 

212 degrees Faihren- 

Water heit 'for the total wa- 

Evaporated ter, the water per 
hour, the water per 
pound of dry coal and the water per 
pound of dry coimbustible. The heat 
required to evaporate one pound of 
water depends upon the temperature 
of the feed water, the pressure of the 
steam and the quality of the steam, 
that is, the per cent of moisture. The 
figures in Table No. 4 have not been 
corrected for the quality of the steam. 

In order that evaporative tests may 
be satisfactorily compared, it is cus- 
tomary to calculate the equivalent 



120 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



evaporation fro-m and at 212 degrees 
Fahrenheit, as indicated in Table No. 
4, and this equivalent evaporation may 
be obtained by the use of the follow- 
ing formula: 



Equivalent evaporation 



w (x r 4- a ■ — b) 



where r represents the heat of vapor- 
ization at the pressure of the steam 
in the boiler, a the heat of the liquid 
at that pressure, b the heat of the 
liquid at the temperature at the feed 
water, w the pounds of water evap- 
orated per pound of coal, and x the 
part of a pound of steam which is 
dry steam. 



The botiler horse power developed 
per 34.5 pounds of water from and 
at 212 degrees Fahrenheit was 

1,147.92, and the boil- 
Boiler er horse power ac- 
Horse Power tually used by the 

engines was 619.76. 
The efficiency of the boiler was calcu- 
lated by dividing the "heat absorbed by 
the boiler per pound of combustible, 
by the heat value in one pound of 
comibustible, and the results of the 
first test gave an efficiency of 81.57 
per cent. The efficiency of the boiler 
and grate was determined by divid- 
ing the heat absorbed by the boiler 
per pound of dry coal by the heat in 
one pound of dry coal, and data taken 
during the first run gave this effi- 
ciency as 78.00. 

Ihe soft coal use-d by this mill 
costs, delivered in the boiler room, 
$4.02 per ton of 2,240 pounds. The 
buckwheat coal, delivered in the boil- 
er room, costs $2.65 per ton of 2,240 
pounds, thus making the mixture that 
was used cost $3.50 per long ton. Dur- 
ing run No. 1 the cost of fuel to 
evaporate 1,000 pounds of water was 
16.14 cents, and the equivalent from 
and at 212 degrees Fahrenheit figures 
14.43 cents. 



The cross compound engine has a 
high pressure cylinder 24^ inches in 



diameter and a low pressure cylinder 
52 inches in diameter. 
Load on The average output 

Engines of this unit, as ob- 

tained by indicatoi 
diagrams, was 1,113.40-horse power. 
The output of the low pressure steam 
turbine was obtained from a record- 
ing wattmeter connected with the 
electric generator driven by the tur- 
bine. The average combined output 
of the cross compound engine, the 
low pressure turbine, the small engine 
driving the wet and dry air pump, and 
the steam-driven air compressor was 
1,995.20-horse power. 

To determine the amount of water 
used by the engines, the total water 
from the condenser was measured in 
tanks, and the water from the separa- 
tor and that leaking from the stuffing 
boxes on the air pump was also col- 
lected and weighed. There was 210,- 
803.10 pounds of water collected in 
the measuring tanks from the con- 
denser, 3,356.32 pounds from the sep- 
arator tank, and 6,270 pounds of leak- 
age from stuiring iboxes. This gave 
as the total water used by the en- 
gines 220,429.42 pounds. To cover 
possible leakage into the condenser, 
an allowance of 3 per cent was made, 
bringing the amount of water actually 
used by the engine down to 21,381.65. 
Dividing this figure by the total indi- 
cated horse power of the engine 
(1,995.20) gave 10.71 pounds of steam 
used per indicated horse power per 
hour. 

Table No. 5 shows a few interesting 
comparisons of results obtained dur- 
ing the first day's test with those for 
the second run: 

TABLE NO. 5. — GIVING COMPARISONS 
OF THE TWO TESTS. 

Run Run 

No. 1. No. 2. 
Output of cross compound 

engine in indicated horse 

power 1,113.40 1,135.44 

Output of low pressure tur- 
bine in indicated horse 

power 810.00 818.00 

Steam used by engines per 

indicated horsi; pTwer per 

haur (pounds) 10.71 10.84 

Coals used per liour as fired 

(pounds) 3,719.7 4,024.2 

Dry coal used per hour 

(pounds) 3,657.7 3.838.4 

Dry coal used per square 

foot of grate surface per 

hour (pounds) 18.19 19.10 



Mill Repairs 



Repairing, or, strictly speaking, the 
matter of replacing parts of machin- 
ery and other construction which 
have been destroyed either by acci- 
dent or natural wear, while not being 
the only work which requires the at- 
tention of the mechanical department 
of a mill, constitutes one of the most 
important branches, and the applica- 
tion of good judgment and energy in 
connection therewith will make a 
very appreciable showing. 

In the textile industry, as well as all 
itidustries which depend upon machin- 
ery in motion for their production, any- 



reasonable margin of surplus strength, 
or a sudden change in the arrangie- 
ment of machinery may bring an 
abnormal load onto some certain sec- 
tions. With new material, further- 
more, there is always certain to be 
portions which have some internal 
defects. These oftentimes show up 
in the shape of breakdowns some 
months or longer after being put in- 
to opera^tion. 

The continual changing and grad- 
ual settlement of any building 

ARE A FREQUENT CAUSE 
for shaft troubles, either in the form 




n^<s,.l. 

Fig. 1. A Common Method of Arranging Shafting and One to be Avoided. 



thing which causes a stoppage of the 
machinery system in part or wholly 
during working hours means a seri- 
ous loss, and to forestall stoppage, 
or if such do occur to be able to get 
things into shape to operate again 
in the least possible time, is evident- 
ly a matter of great importance. Re- 
pair work in connection with the 
transmission systems or power de- 
partment becomes then 

"EMERGENCY" WORK, 

and, of course, must receive atten- 
tion above all the other mechanical 
duties about the plant. The principal 
causes for stoppage in a textile mill 
plant develop from the breakage or 
failure of some part of the transmis- 
sion system. 

Troubles with the shafting may be 
caused by several things. In new 
plants there may have beien errors 
made in providing shafts of sufficient 
size to do the work expected with a 



of breakages or hot and ruined bear- 
ings. In almost every shafting sys- 
tem the sizes of the differenit sections 
as they recede from the driving power 
are made smaller in diameter and in 
many partly new or remodeled mills 
these changes in size are consider- 
able, often as much as one-half an 
inch at a single drop. The common 
custom in these cases is to turn the 
end of the larger shaft down to fit 
a coupling corresponding to the 
smaller end, so that a coupling alike 
at both ends can be used, as shown 
in Figure 1. 

This operation creates an element 
of serious trouble, for if (as is sure 
to b^ the case) a hanger or bearing 
is placed reasonably close to the joinit 
on the' large side, and a smaller one 
on the small side, as shown in sketch, 
and any inequality should arise in 
the way of alignment or close ad- 
justment which would permit a crank- 



122 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



ing moition to develop, the greaiteist 
strain would come upon the cross 
SGctien of the larger shaft where it 
is abruptly reduced in &ize (at A iu 
sketch) on account of the gTeat ri- 
gidity of the larger section which 
would throw all the fibre movement 




Fig. 2. The Proper Method of Using 
Couplings. 

to this point. This strain, if exces- 
sive for any reason, is almost sure 
to bring about a failure sooner or 
later. To avoid liabildtieis of this 
kind, couplings should be provided 
which allow the full size of shaft at 
both ends, as sihcwn in Figure 2, 
where the hub is bored, to fit the full 
size of the larger shaft, makiing the 
whole 

CONSTRUCTION MORE ELASTIC, 
which will do away with 90 per 
cent of the shafting failures of this 
kind. 

If, in case of a breakage, it 
should be impossible or inadvisable 
to change the size of a coupling, as 
suggested, an improvement can be 
made by turning the shaft down grad- 
ually, or making a taper (Figure 3) 
as long as is possible, instead of the 
abrupt shoulder shown in Figure 1. 
This relieves the small end of much 
of the strain by distributing it back 
toward the body of the larger diam- 
eter, and thus increases the elasticilty 
of the whole section. 

Shafting failures which occur near 
eome pulley that is fastened on 
the shaft by a key are illustrations 
of the same principle. Figure 4 
■shows a pulley thus placed upon a 
shaft, where the weakening eifeot 
caused by the key way or spline com- 



bined with the rigid hold or "bite" of 
the pulley under a hri-avy belt strain 
tends to bring the maximum strain 
upon the point A, which is usually the 
place the shaft breaks. 

The practical way to eliminate hap- 
penings of this kind is to 

INCREASE THE SIZE 
of the shaft throughout its length, or 
to procure a shaft with, a large sec- 
tion or boss for carrying the pulley 
which can allow for the key way 
being cut, and leave a solid diameter 
equal to the regular size of shaft. 
(Figure 5.) 

Trouble from the standard flange 
couplings, as shown in the sketches. 
is seldom experienced if they ar<3 
fitted properly to the ishaft, and when 
made according to the standard prac- 
tice are usually the strongesit link in 
the chain of transmission. 

The extreme unhandiness of these 
couplings when it is necessary te re- 
move pulleys, or make other changes, 
and the expense of fitting them to 
each particular place has led to the 
adoption of various forms of so-called 
improved couplings, many of which 
are of positively little usie for the 
high duty required in a textile mill. 
The chief difficulty with mos.t of these 
couplings is that they cannot be de- 
pended upon to stay in place, the 
gripping power not being sufficient to 




Fig. 3. One Way of Avoiding the Ar- 
rangement Illustrated by Fig. 1. 

hold the shaft ends from working out 
entirely, or enough to cause them to 
run badly out of true. Figure 6 
shows one of the very few of these 
couplings which, by its peculiar con- 
struction, provides an opportunity to 
prevent any endwise movement of the 
shafts, and, on the whole, is a very 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



123 



reliable and satisfactory ap- 
pliance. The coupling consists 
of two halves (AA) which, when 
placed on the shaft, are held together 
by the collars (BB) and are screwed 
onto them, the key slots, both m 
the shafts and in the ^sleeve, being 
cut diagonally, as shown, so that the 
key when in place lies in a slanting 
position with the high point toward 
the joint in shafting. It ds evident 
that this position of the key absolute- 
ly prevents any pulling out, and when 
put together properlj', a permanent 
job is assured. Attention might be 
called to 'the fact that this method 
of placing keys cannot be followed 
with amy of the "patent"' couplings 
except those which split in halves, 
and therefore does not apply to those 
constructed v/ith solid expansive 
sleieves or cones, which must be 
slipped over the end of the shafts. 

Troubles serious enough to cause 
a stoppage 

SELDOM OCCUR 

in connection with hot bearings on 
a, shafting system unless some sud- 
■ den change or delinquency in the 
regular routine of lubrication may 
bring a bearing to the dangerous 
heating point before anything can be 
done to relieve it. 

For emerg'ency lubrication a mix- 
ture of graphite and Avater, which 
may be changed to graphite and 
heavy cylinder oil after the first in- 
tense heat is dispelled, will prove 
very efiicient and the writer has 
knowii of innumerable cases wherei a 
bearing nearly destroyed by melting 
has been held sufficiently cool to 
enable it being run until stopping time 
by the judicious and constant appli- 
cation of the above lubricants. 

The pulleys of a transmission sys- 
tem, perhaps, contribute as much to- 
ward trouble and difliculty as the 
■shafting itself. In many instances 
where cast-iron pulleys are used there 
are frequent cases of their breaking 
finam the shaft when running or 
"bursting." Such occurrences » not 
only cause the stoppage of some part 
of the system, but are also a serious 
menace to life and property. This 
fact is made iise of by all of the advo- 



cates of other styles of pulleys as a 
strong argument for the banishment 
of the cast-iron pulley from the mills 
entirely. 

There are, no doubt, many of the 
improved types of pulleys which are 
truly meritorious, and are giving sat- 
isfactory service where they are used, 
but from present indications, it will 
b© a long time before ithey can com- 
pletely supplant the cast-iron article 
which, if properly designed and made 
of good material by some concern 
who knows how to mould and cast 
them, are as reliable as any type 
yet presented, and considerably 
cheaper. 

In almost every instance where pul- 
ley breakage has been at all serious, 
the cause can be traced to an over- 
zealous engineer who designed them 
too light, or to some founder who, in 
moulding and casting, did not give 
proper attention to the shape of his 
paitterns or to the prei^'cntion of un- 
equal contraction when cooling. In 
a mill erected some years ago a case 
of poor design was forcibly illus- 
trated. 

A SYSTEM OB^ TRANSMISSION 
was erected to drive some three 
hundred looms which consisted of a 
head shaft at one end of the room, 
and twenty countershafts placed at 
regular intervals from the main, each 
driving about fifteen looms, and re- 
cei^ang its power through a pulley 
three feet in diameter. This plan of 
distribution necessitated exception- 
ally long belts, as the extreme dis- 
tance to which the pow^er was trans- 
mitted from, the head line was nearly 
three hundred feet. The pulleys used 
were designed by a Avell-known au- 
thority and advocate of light pulleys 
and belts, and, contrary to the wishes 
of the company making them, they 
were furnished with very thin rims 
according to specifications. 

After being put into service but a 
short time elapsed before the failures 
commenced, pieces of a rim, unable 
to withstand the hammer-like blows 
of the belt, W'Ould break without warn- 
ing, and the fragments fly in every 
direction. After this dangerous ex- 
perience had been repeated several 



124 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



times it was decided to change the 
whole equipmeint by placing pulleys 
from the same maker, but with rims 
nearly twice as thick, in place of 
thosie which bad not already broken, 
and no pulley troubles were encoun- 
tered afterward. 




Fig. 4. Pulley on Shaft Illustrating 
the Manner in Which the Key 
Way Weakens the Shaft Caus- 
ing a Break at A. 

In connectioTi with the subject of 
pulley making by different foundries, 
briefly alluded to above, it is doubt- 
ful if 

THE DIFFERENCE 

is generallj' known between a ma- 
chine moulded pulley made by a reg- 
ular company equipped for such, busi- 
ness and the product of a small 
local foundry. In the first-named 
case the equipment used is costly 
and com.plicated, but as large quanti- 
ties are made, sets of machine pat- 
terns for all the regular sizes caai 
be kept on hand, expert workmen 
who do nothing else can be kept 
steadily at work, and me'taJ espe^ 
fiially adapted to the purpose used. 



With the small foundry complete 
patterns of either iron or wood must 
be had for practically every indi- 
vidual pulley, and if a small shop is 
fortunate enough to have the size pat- 
terns desired the process of hand 
moulding, added to thie uncertain 
character of the material usually put 
into common castings, will tend to- 
ward producing, at best, a mach in- 
ferior article to that put out by a 
regular pulley manufacturer. Aside 
from the difF.culties arising from pul- 
leys breaking, many stoippages are 
caused by pulleys working loose on 
the shaft and either refusing to turn 
at all or moving endwise out of 
their proper position. 

Immunity from this trouble cannot 
be claimed for any pulley, and the 
so-called patent styles are certainly 

NOT THE MOST RELIABLE 
in this respect. The greater part, 
however, of the cases where pulleys 
of any kind do not stay in place are 
brought about by poor fltis upon the 
shaft, and no one not thoroughly 
realizing the immense twisting and 
jerking strains brought upon a pulley 
rapidly revolving under a heavy load 
can conceive how a pulle3'', however 
securely fa.stened with keys or set 
screws, or both, can get loose. Neither 
can they understand how important 
it is to have the bore of a pulley 
such that a contact of metal is 
had over the entire internal surface 
of the hub, all around the shaft, and 
not at one or two points only. 




/vc7. S . 
Figure 5. An Enlarged Section of the 
Shaft to Prevent the Weak Point 
Shown by Figure 4. 

Stoppages are caused frequently 
by the belts failing to do their duty 
in* either slipping or breaking, and 
there is no part cf the system which 
needs so much constant attention as 
that of the belting, for the reason 
that no element is undergoing the 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



125 



•=.ame rapid changes. So long as a 
belt is :.n use there is a constant 
stretch going on, that is, the belt 
IS growing longer and thinner, and 
although these changes are 

MUCH MORE APPARENT 
when the belt is new, they cannot 
be ignored at any time of the belt's 
lite, and if one wishes to avoid a 
?hut-do\vn on some morning when the 
load runs exceptionally hard, he will 
&ee to it that the belts are watched 
pjjd taken up when the first signs of 
slackness appear. Increejsing the 
nornial and regular load of a belt, by 
starting large groups of machinery 



In concluding the remarks con- 
cerning defects in tihe itraasmission 
iiystem, it may be in order to add 
that the difficulties 

OCCURRING IN ONE PLANT 
cannot be taken as a sample for what 
is bound to appear In some other, 
and if it happens that some mills 
have less trouble than their neigh- 
bors it is not always due to better 
equipment, but to the exercise of 
foresight and tact on the part of 
those in active charge, and cases are 
plenty where a poorly designed and 
complicated mill is gettiiLg along 
considerably better than a well laid 




Fjg.(>. 



Figure 6. A Good, Reliable Special Coupling for Mill Use. 



too suddenly may cause a belt to 
break or throw itself off the pulleys, 
a cause for delay in either case, and 
judgment should ibe exercised in 
":3hippii\g on" machines requiring 
considerable power, particularly upon 
cool or damp mornings, or after long 
periods of idleness, when they are 
sure to require an unusual amount 
of power. The mechanics who do 
the belt repairs should always have 
at hand, for instant use, rivets and 
fasteners of various kinds, so that 
emergency repairs may be made to 
broken or torn places with as little 
delay as possible, and should also s^e 
that the leather should be kept from 
getting into a dry condition by the 
frequent application of some good 
dressing. 



out and finely equipped plant, for the 
reason that the mechanical depart- 
ment of the one is constantly kept 
upon its mettle in order to run at all, 
while with the other, accidents are 
so infrequent that there is an oppor- 
tunity and Incentive for laxity in 
looking after matters, and when 
trouble does occur the men are in 
no shape to cope with it. 

Under the head of general repairs 
which are not in a sense emergency 
tasks, we may class the upkeep of 
the producing machinery, buildings 
and other mill property, although in 
the case of the machinery it is very 
important that the beist pos- 
sible time be made with all 
repairs which involve any liabil- 
ity of stoppage or delay in pro- 



126 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



duction. The quantity of duplicate ma- 
chine parts which should be carried 
ir. stock for the purpose of replacing 
the old or worn-out imembers with 
practically no stoppage depends up- 
on the class of machinery in question. 
and the amount of wear and tear or 
accidental breakage, ard a 

GOOD DEAL OF STUDY 
should be applied in respect to the 
proper point to draw the line, and 
determine whether it is advisable to 
make up a supply of certain parts, 
to buy ithem from the shop where 
made, how many to carry, or if they 
are too complicated and expensive 
to warrant carrying them at all. 

In mills where foreign machinery 
is used, a great deal of delay is 
nearly always experienced in getiling 
duplicate parts, and, of course, it 
would be better judgment to provide 
a larger stock lor these machines 
(unless they be something which can 
bo made at home equally as good) 
than for those machines made in the 
vicinity and for which parts can be 
procured easily. 

If the mill is a large one and con- 
tains a great number of individual 
machines which require frequent re- 
newal of parts, like the loom equip- 
ment of a cotton mill, it will gener- 
ally pay to fit up the mill machine 
s.hop in such a way that most of 
them can be produced there, as the 
machine companies usually calculate 
on a running expense and profit when 
m.aking the prices for repair parts. 
which a mill shop does not have to 
carry. Consequently, a saving cam 
be made over the manufacturer's 
price, which, added to the advantage 
of quicker service, makes an attrac- 
tive argument along economical 
lines. 

The repairs upon machinery not 
legitimate or caused by accidents are 
the 

MOST DIFFICULT TO HANDLE 
of all, and some chances must be 
taken in regard to them, for it would 
certainly be poor policy to endeavor 
to carry on hand parts which seldom 
break, except by accident, while, on 
the other hand, there is a "penny- 
wise and pound-foolish" proposition 



in allowing expenisive machinery to 
stand idle for weeks waitinig for parts, 
as is done by some mill managers to 
aA^oid tying up a few dollars in dupli- 
cates which may not be immediately 
required. 

In putting any new plants into op- 
eration many imperfections and weak- 
nesses are sure to appear in all 
branches of the equipment. In many 
cases these defects lead to delays, 
and other serious conditions which can 
only he met by prompt action on the 
part of the mechanical force. Upon 
these occasions for emergency work 
the only object which can be thought 
of for the time toeing is to get things 
going again as soon as possible, and 
there is generally no opportunity to 
improve the construction or arrange- 
ment at that time. This state of af- 
fairs should not, however, 

BE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE 
any longer than can be helped, for if 
a pjirt has broken or failed, and has 
been replaced by another of the 
same oti'ength, the breakage is liable 
to occur again at any moment, and 
no advance is made toward the goal 
of successful and continuous opera- 
tion. 

It therefore behooves the mechanic 
in charge of any plant, new or old, 
to constantly have in m.ind the idea 
that whenever a break of any 
description occurs it is caused 
by a defect somewhere, and that 
if repaired without some change for 
ihe better the same conditions 
exist as before the accident and 
no gain is made. Mills in which this 
progressive idea is ignored, may be 
cited where the troubles are as great 
and numerous as when the plant was 
passing through its first years of ex- 
istence, and, on the other hand, illus- 
trations are plenty of those where 
the causes leading to every break- 
down or accident have been studied 
out, and improvements made for their 
elimination, and which are now run- 
ning practically without any call for 
hurry or emergency work. The mat- 
ter of thoroughness in mechanical 
work pertaining to repairs is one con- 
cerning which there cannot be too 
much said. 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



127 



As a general rule the meclianical 
force of a manufacturing plant is 

NOT MADE UP OF MEN 
who are accustomed to accuracy or 
disposed to take much pains in doing 
a job. The result is that a great 
amount of inferior work is encoun- 
tered in all branches of industry, but 
more particularly with the textile 
trade. There seems to be no sensible 
reason for this, but the fact remains, 
nevertheless, and no one in charge 
can put his energy to better use than 
in continua.lly following the general 
run of repairs and see to it that 
proper attention is paid to thorough- 
ness, and that everything when fixed 
is fixed to stay beyond any "reason- 
able doubt." If this policy is pur- 
sued, every job done right is out of 
thet wsLj for all time, and the condi- 
tions of equipment advanced one step 
toward perfection, while the energies 
of the mechanical force can be de- 
voted to other duties tending toward 
further improvement. 

In the replacement of parts to 
machinery or in adding attachments 

IT IS JUST AS IMPORTANT, 
if satisfactory results are expected, 
that every fit be made accurate, as 
it was so deemed in the shop where 
the machinery was built, although it 
is not realized by the crew of the 
average mill machine shop, and any- 
thing that will come within bounds 
is allowed to go, with the result that 
repairs do not last, and breakages 
and delays increase in frequency. 

Lack of attention to simple details 
in the way of securely fastening the 
different parts of machines, or in 
properly assembling, is a very expen- 
sive feature in many mills. Among 
mechanics who are constantly at 
worfe on machinery and taking out or 



replacing bolts, pins, nuts,, set screws, 
€tc., there is a tendency to overlook 
the consequences of any of these 
parts getting loose, or any other fail- 
ure after the machine is put in op- 
eration and left in the care of some 
unskilled or careless person who has 
no conception of mechanics. Tbe 
idea should be corrected, and the 
men made to consider that, even 
though it appears absurd to them, 
such trivial things as nuts and screws 
working" loose or small parts getting 
ouit of adjustment may lead to ex- 
pensiA'^^e delays and much time wasted 
on the part of the operatives, and a 
lot of extra work and travel for thoss 
who do the repairing. 

There are to-day upon the market, 
and in successful operation, 

THOUSANDS OF MACHINES 
which are buiit for continuous serv- 
ice, that is, they are employed in 
lines of work where any stoppage or 
trouble means enormous expense in 
the way of wasted time and other in- 
conveniences. 

Engines for operating electric 
lights, hoisting and conveying ma- 
chinery, ventilating machinery and 
appliances for blowing and producing 
mechanical draft, are a few of this 
class, and the builders of such, realiz- 
ing the exacting conditions under 
which their machines have to work, 
have adopted distinctive methods of 
construction fcr insuring againsit oc- 
currences of the nature mentioned 
which might be well copied by those 
having to do with the manufacture 
and repairs of textile equipment. 
These improvements consist in part 
of larger bearing surfaces for the 
running parts, self-oiling boxes pro- 
teated from dirt by clcse fitting en- 
closures, removable ibushingis which 



128 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



take the wear and which can be re- 
placed at slight cost, holts and set 
screws pro'vided with locknuts or 
some fastener to prevent their becom- 



ing loose, adjustments made with 
iself-locking devices to prevent thedr 
being tampered with, and many oth- 
ers. 



Mill Construction 

AND POWER 



Power Cost Wanted. 

Winston-Salem, N. C, May 20, 1912. 
Ed. American Wool & Cotton Reporter: 

At one cent per kilowatt hour, what 
should our power cost amount to pei 
week of 60 hours, operating the follow- 
ing machinery: 



One 40" Opener 
" Breaker 

'" Intermediate 

" Finisher lapper j 



total 4 beaters. 



18 — 40" cards. 
36 — Heads drawing. 
120 — 12"x6" slubber spindles. 
400 — 10"x5" intermediate spindles. 
1,440 — 7"x3%" speeder spindles. 
7,680 — Medium gravity Whitin spindles, 
3%" gauge; no separators. 
400 — Spooler spindles, 4x6 spool. 
3 — Globe warpers. 
1 — -Lowell slasher, 7x5 cylinder. 
192 — 40" Stafford Ideal looms. 
1 — :Curtis & Marble stitcher. 
1 — Curtis & Marble brusher. 
1 — Folder. 
1 — 250 ton press — Bushnell. 

» 

We use 2,300-volt alternating current 
on one 100-horse power motor, one 75- 
horse power motor and 8 20-horse power 
motors, and 550-volt alternating current 
on 3 5-horse power motors, one T^/^-horse 
power motor and one 15-horse power 
motor. 

We make 64 x 60 38%-inch 5.35 prints. 
Our motors are installed under the spec- 
ifications of C. R. Makepeace & Com- 
pany, Providence, R. I., and should be 
of the proper power and efficiency, it 
this concern is up to date. They are 
made by the General Electric Company. 
Eight 20-horse power, 2,300-volt motors 
drive our 32 spinning frames, and on 
our pickers we have 5-horse power, 
550-volt individual motors. Our card 
room is driven by one 75-horse power, 
2,300-volt motor; our spooling, warping 
and elevator by one 15-horse power, 550- 
volt inotor and our slasher, weaving 
and cloth room by one 100-horse power, 
2,300-volt motor. There are 192 40-incn 
looms. Ideal. We are very much inter- 
ested, and feel that our power is cost- 
ing too much, as it is running about $570 
per month. No. 1852. 



We are soimewhat in doubt as to 
the type of opener you use, and you 
do not state the machinery that is 
■driven by the one 7i- 
Pickep horse power motor. 

Room If your opener is a 

combined machine, 
that is, an opener and breaker fas- 
tened together, it would require some- 
thing like 7 to 9 horse power, and we 
are taking it for granted that the 7^/^- 
horse power motor isi used for one 
of your machines in the picking and 
opening department. The opener and 
opener breaker will together require 
in the neighborhood of 9-horse power, 
the intermediate breaker about 4-horse 
power, and the finisher lapper 4-horse 
power. This makes a total of 17-horse 
power for tjhe picker room, and as 
the machines are driven by individ- 
ual motors, there is. no line shaft fric- 
tion to be considered. 

Where individual motors are used 
for pickers it is generally advisable 
to use units of 5-horse power each 
for the single beater, intermediates 
or finishers. For two-beater machines 
10-horse power motors may be used 
to advantage for some installations, 
but frequently a 71 or 8 horse power 
motor will give more economical re- 
sults, and is advisable, provided the 
initial cost for this size is not placed 
too high, and provided new parts can 
be obtaiined quickly in case of acci- 
dents. If a gauge box and condenser 
is comlbined with a single beater lap- 
per, about 72-ihorse power should be 
allowed for this machine. 



We note that your card room con- 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



129 



tains eighteen 40-inch, cards, thirty- 
six heads of drawing, one-hundred 
and twenty 12 by 6 
Card inch slubber spin- 

Room dies, and four hun- 

dred 10 by 5 inch 
intermediate spiudles. With a pro- 
duction of 480 pounds a week of six- 
ty hours, a revolving flat card mak- 
ing a forty-inch lap will use about 
three-fourths of one-horse power, and 
if the production be raised to about 
960 pounds per week, each machine 
will take from 1 to IJ horse power. 
Allowing 1-horse power per card will 
give 18-horse power for this group of 
machinery, exclusive of all friction 
losses in the counter shafts. 

In stating the number of heads per 
drawirug, you do not give us the num- 
ber of deliveries per head. We have 
assumed, however, that your frames 
consist of 36 heads^ 6 deliveries each, 
and as drawing frames with ordinary 
rolls require about one-sixth of one 
horse power per delivery, we have 
allowed 36-horse power for the draw- 
ing. Slubbers similar to those which 
you are operating require about 1- 
horse power for every 45 spindles, 
therefore, with 120 spindles this 
would fi.gure 2 7-10-horse power. We 
will neglect all friction losses until 
summing the entire power which you 
use, and will call the amount requir- 
ed for your slubbers 3-horse power. 
The intermediates will take about 1- 
horae power for every 55 spindles, 
and dividing 400 by 55 gives 7.3, 
which we will call 8-!horse power. This 
gives a total of 65-horse power re- 
quired to operate the machinery in 
your card room, and since it is all 
driven by one motor, we should say 
that the 75-hoTse power unit which 
you have is the best size. Allowing 
but 10 per cent for friction losses 
would give this madhine a load of 71- 
horse power, and we imagine that this 
motor is running at nearly full load. 



and the 3 warpers about 1-horse pow- 
er. We do not know 
Spooling and the size of the eleva- 
Warping tor which is driven 

from this same mo- 
tor, but imagine that 8-horse power 
is sufficient to cover this. For the 
elevator, S'pooling and warping you, 
therefore, need 12-horse power, and 
your 15-horse power motor is the best 
size. 

A Lowell slasher, with 7-foot and 5- 
foot cylinders requires 3-horse power, 
and your cloth room machinery, in- 
cluding one Clirtis & 'Marlble stitcher, 
one Curtis & Marble brusher and one 
folder can be operated with 5-horse 
power. Your 192 forty-inch Stafford 
looms will take about one-fourth of a 
horse power each, that is, 48-horse 
power would be required to operate 
all of them, neglecting shafting 
losses. 



four 400 spooler spindles will re- 
quire approximately S-horse power. 



It would seem as if a 100-horse 

power motor was too large a unit to 

operate this last group of machinery. 

'Fifty-eight horse 

Motor Too power will handle 
Large the slasher, looms 

and cloth room ma- 
chinery, and if we should allow 25 
per cent for friction loss., this would 
only bring the total up to 73-horse 
power. We should advise you to 
have this motor tested that you may 
determine just how much power it is 
delivering, and whether a 75-horse 
power unit would not answer your 
purposes more satisfactorily. The 
only way in which power costs in an 
electrically driven plant can be kept 
down to a minimum is by adopting 
some method of determining at fairly 
frequent intervals the exact amount of 
power being taken from each motor. 
Where several machines are upon one 
circuit, it is advisable for a mill to 
either buy or borrow portable testing 
apparatus for keeping track of just 
what each imotor is doing. 

Of course, with a high voltage, 
such as you are using on some of 
your motors, and, in fact, even with 
the 550-volt current, you would need 
to use portable transformers when 



130 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



measuring motor loads, and while this 
testing apiparatus will pay for itself 
many times over in a large mill, 
smaller concerns can often arrange to 
borrow necessary equipment from 
some central power station for a nom- 
inal cost. If you do not have in your 
employ a man who is familiar with 
the method of testing the output of 
motors upon higih voltage circuits, we 
would ,strongly advise you to hire 
some well-informed engineer who can 
readily obtain accurate data showing 
just how much power each group of 
machinery is taking. 



Spinning 



We judge that your spinning frames 
are connected according to the four- 
frame drive, that is, each one of your 
20'-horse power mo- 
tors operates four 
machines. This ar- 
rangement is a very 
satisfactory one and 20-horse power 
motors may be the best size. It is 
possible, however, that your frames 
may not require more than 15-horse 
power for each of the eight groups, 
and if 15-horse power motorsi fun- 
ning at about full loads will handle 
the equipment, it is hetter to use these 
tlhan to use 20-horse power motors and 
have them each underloaded. Here, 
again, we should advise having each 
one tested that you may know definite- 
ly just what you are doing. 

All of the figures which we have 
given are approximately correct for 
the different classes of machinery, but 
it is impossible to estimate exactly 
the power required for machinery in 
the mill, as so many local conditions 
alfect it. The motor sizes can be 
estimated pretty closely, but after the 
motors have been installed and the 
mill machinery has been operated for 
a certain length of time, each motor 
circuit should be measured. 

In determining the power required 
for driving 7,680 spindles, we have as- 
sumed that half of them are on filling 
yarn and half on warp. From the warp 
about 80 spindles can be driven by 1- 
horse power, and dividing 3,840 by 
80 gives us 48-horse power for the 
spindlesi making warp yarn. The fill- 
ing spindles will not require quite as 



much power, and we can count upon 
90 spindles per horse power for these 
frames. This would give 43-hoTse 
power for the frames at work upon 
filling yam, or la total of 91-horse 
power for all of the spinning spindles. 

To sum up, we have 17-horse power 
for the pickers, 65-horse power for 
the card room, 58-horse 'power for 

the looms, slasher 
The Total and cloth room ma- 
Power c h i n e r y, 12-horse 

power for the spool- 
ing, warping and elevator, and 91-horse 
power for the spinning. This gives 
a total of 2434iorse power which does 
not include the power to drive all lines 
and countershafts. If your spinning 
room is driven by the four-frame 
method, there are no countershafts to 
consider in that department, and as 
your picking machinery is driven by 
individual motors, the 'only depart- 
ments containing countershafts are 
your card room which is driven by one 
75-horse power motor, your spooling 
and warping which has the 15-horse 
power motor, and your weaving and 
cloth rooim which contains the 100- 
horse power motor. 

From the albove figures the card 
room machinery requires 65-horse 
power, the spooling and warping group 
12-horse power and the weaving and 
cloth room machinery 58-horse power. 
This is a total of 155-horse power, 
divided in such small groups that the 
friction losses should not be large. 
We will allow, however, 20 per cent 
for this, bringing a total for the three 
groups up to 162-horse power, and the 
total for the whole mill up to 270-ihorse 
power. 



Two hundred and seventy horse 

power is equivalent to 200 kilowatts, 

and if all of the machinery is driven 

60 hours a week it 

Cost of will require 60 times 

Power 200, or 12,000-kilo- 

watt hours. At one 

cent per kilowatt hour this will cost 

$120 per week, or $6,000 per year of 

50 weeks. This, you will note, is 

about $70 per month less than the av- 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



131 



erage cost which you give us, but we 
would call your attention to the fact 
that a price of one cent per kilowatt 
hour, without some other restriction, 
is somewhat unusual, and it is pos- 
sible that you may not have consid- 
ered some other fixed rate, such as 
a fixed charge covering the maximum 
amount of power which you are en- 
titled to use. 

We, of course, do not know wheth- 
er there is any such fixed charge or 
not, ibut many central power stations 
make up their bill from several dif- 
ferent rates, and sometimes confuse 
a purchaser by leading him to believe 
that he is paying only the price which 
is charged per kilowatt hour. We 
would not say that the central power 
stations endeavor purposely to anis- 
lead, but the kind of contracts which 
they issue are often complicated, and 
manufacturers do not give them suf- 
floient attention to realize that there 
are other charges in addition to the 
one for actual power used. 



One method which is common con- 
sists in charging a certain price per 
kilowatt hour, and also charging a 
lump price for the 
Cost for Elec- privilege of drawing 

trie Power a certain maximum 
amount of power 
should it be .desired. In other words, 
the central power station claims that 
if a manufacturer has the privilege 
of using 1,000-horse power, for exam- 
ple, it is necessary to maintain elec- 
tric generators capa'ble of furnishing 
this maximum amount whether the 
purchaser uses it or not. It is held, 
therefore, that the manufacturer 
should pay imore for the privilege of 
using 1,000-horse power than for only 
500, 'because more expensive equip- 
ment must be kept in readiness to 
supply this increased amount. 

On the other hand, the large user 
should be able to obtain a wholesale 
price, and should be able to purchase 
his power cheaper than the concern 
using but a small amount. These 
two arguments are directly opposed 
to each other, and one manner of get- 
ting around them is to give the large 
user a lower price per kilowatt hour 



and a higher charge for the privilege 
of using a greater amount of power. 
It is then a case of combining the 
two rates in order to determine just 
what the power is really costing per 
kilowatt or per horse power. Some 
contracts are made out so that a mill 
will pay one price per kilowatt hour 
if it uses any amount under a cer- 
tain fixed number of kilowatts, and 
another cheaper price if it goes over 
this fixed sum. Then again there is 
generally a clause naming a monthly 
charge which shall be made even if 
the consumer does not use any 
power. 



In using eight motors for driving 
your spinning frames, it will probably 
be impracticaJble for you to use motors 

whidh can always be 

Spinning driven at full load, 

Room iVIotors and as we did not 

add any percentage 
to our estimated power for covering 
this ipoint, it is quite possible that 
our total for the spinning room may 
be a trifie low. The only way for you 
to determine this fact will be 'by mak- 
ing the tests already mentioned and 
finding out whether a 15-horse power 
motor can handle your work for which 
you are now using the 20-horse power 
units. We think that your IQO-horse 
power machine which is driving the 
looms, cloth loom and slasher is a 
larger unit than you need, and if meas- 
urements of the actual load upon this 
motor show that it is fairly well up 
to its capacity, it will be well for you 
to go over all of your counter shaft- 
ing carefully and make sure that your 
hangers are properly in line. 

In some mills where part of the 
machinery is driven by individual mo- 
tors and by four-frame drives that 
eliminate countershafts, the machin- 
ery which does require shafting is not 
watched carefully enough, and is al- 
lowed to become wasteful in the use 
of power. With group drives similar 
to those you have in connection with 
your 10'0-horse power motor, 75-horse 
power motor and even the 15-horse 
power unit there are many chances 
for wasting power. With the number 
of heltsi used in even these small 



132 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



groups there are many opportunities 
for excess slippage, and slipping belts 
cost money. The shafting itself can 
readily get out of line even thoug'h the 
lengths are short, and it is well to 
have this checked up fairly often and 
all hangers properly adjusted. If you 
test each of your motors and find out 
just ho^w much power each set of ma- 
chinery is using, you will readily lo- 
cate any department in w'hich the 
shafting load is excessive. While the 
meter is attached to a motor the pow- 
er required to drive the shafting with- 



motors for each machine. The indi- 
vidual motor drive has been applied 
to the spinning frames in several 
mills, both in the North and South, 
and there has been considerable dis- 
cussion as to whether this system is 
as good a one as some modification 
of the group drive. 

About a year ago, a series of tests 
were made comparing spinning rooms 
using the individual drive with a spin- 
ning room of the Cannon Mills, of 
Concord, N. C, using the group drive. 
Figure 139 shows a few of the spin- 













Fig. 139. Spinning Frames Driven by Individual Motors, Kannapolis IVIIIIs, 

North Carolina. 



out miachinery should always ibe re- 
corded, and these readings will show 
up poor conditions immediately. 



Many of the Southern mills have 
installed electric motors, and manu- 
facturers are, in many instances, get- 
ting all of their pow- 
Individual er from the Southern 
Motors Power Company, in- 

stead of maintaining 
private plants. In the North, most 
of the mills which are driven elec- 
trically have their machinery ar- 
ranged for group drives, although 
some of the installations include 
departments equipped with individual 



ning frames at the Kannapolis Mills, 

at North Carolina, which are driven by 
the small individual motors. The 
tests made to compare the two sys- 
tems were carried on simultaneously, 
in order that the weather conditions 
might be the same. The time cov- 
ered by the test was one week, and 
both mills were using the same make 
of spinning frame, and producing yam 
of the same count from the same 
grade of cotton. The tests were 
made by a competent engineer, and 
every detail was checked by the op- 
erating forces of the mill. 



The frames which were driven by 
the direct connected individual mo- 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



13^ 



tors, as /Indicated by Figure 139,'sliowed 

a 12 per cent increase 

Production ini productvion over the 

Increased machines which were 

driven in groups. 

These Individually driven frames 

also showed an increase in 

power consumption per pound of 

yarn of ten per cent. These figures 



plants, where there is no old shaft- 
ing and hangers to be utilized, it is 
about as cheap to install the individ- 
ual drives as to arrange equipment 
for the group method. As a step be- 
tween the two systems, the four-frame 
arrangement has been perfected, 
which, in most instances, has given 
the best satisfaction in connection 
with spinning frames. With the four- 
frame arrangement, one motor hav- 




Fig. 140. Picker Room at Kesler IVlfg. Co., Salisbury, N. C. 



indicate that the power curve of a 
spinning frame rises faster than the 
production curve. Nevertheless, in 
this instance, the value of the in- 
creased production was greater than 
the extra cost of power. It has been 
stated by some that a large number 
of small motors would tend to heat 
the spinning room excessively. Care- 
ful tests were made as the two plants 
above mentioned, and it was found 
that there was a lower temperature 
rise with the individual drive than 
with the group system. For new 



ing a double pulley on each end op- 
erates four frames. This does away 
with the necessity of using the very 
small motors, and at the same time 
does not require the countershafts. 

There are several mills in the 
South under the general direction of 
J. W. Cannon, of Concord, N. C, 
which, while not being banded into a 
corporation, employ a common selling 
agency, and are essentially one con- 
cern from many standpoints. The fol- 
lowing table gives a list of these 
plants, showing their spindleage, the 



134 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND' POWER 



number of looms in operation and the 
respective motor capacities: 

Motor 
capa- 
city in 
horse 
power. Sp'dles. L'ms. 

Arp.azon Cotton Mills, 

Thomasville, N. C. . 668 5,500 

Cabarrus Cotton Mills, 

Concord, N. C 1,220 28,000 850 

Cannon Mfg. Co., Con- 
cord, N. C 1,580 30,000 1,000 

Cannon Mfg. Co., Kan- 

napolis, N. C 1,985 32,000 900 

Efird Mfg. Co., Albe- 
marle, N. C 302 25,000 

Franklin Cotton Mills, 

Concord, N. C 490 13,000 

Gibson Mfg. Co., Con- 
cord, N. C 803 37,000 500 

Imperial Cotton Mill, 

Batonton, Ga 6,500 150 

Kesler Mfg. Co., Salis- 
bury, N. C 950 26,000 606 

Patterson Mfg. Co., 

China Grove, N. C. . 558 10,000 175 

Patterson Mfg. Co., 

Kannapolis, N. C. 865 20,000 400 

Wiscasset Mills Co., 

• Albemarle, N. C 2,970 65,000 

Total 12,386 288,000 4,581 

At the Cannon Manufacturing Com- 
pany, Kannapolis, N. C, there are 125 
spinning frames operated by individ- 
ual electric motors and twelve individ- 
ual drives in the picking department. 
The Patterson Manufacturing Com- 
pany has 88 individually driven spin- 
ning frames, and eight individually 
operated pickers. Both of these mills 
were originally designed for electric 
drives. The Kesler Manufacturing 
Company, of Salisbury, N. C, contains 
motors with an aggregate capacity of 
about 1,000-horse power, and drives 
the pickers witli individual motors. 
Figure 140 is a view of the picker 
room in this mill, and shows the lo- 
cation of motors. The regular coun- 
tershaft, which is ordinarily a part of 
the picking machine's equipment, has 
been omitted, and each motor is 
placed at the coiling. 

In the Cabarrus and Wiscasset 
mills large low voltage motors are 
used in som,e of the departments. All 
motors above 15-horse power that 
have been installed since the service 
of the Southern Power Company has 
been available are designed to op- 
erate at 2,200 volts. All motors above 
20-horse power are of the wound rotor 
type, the squirrel cage winding being 
used only on the small motors. 



In a recent reply to an inquiry from 
one of our subscribers concerning the 
advisability of installing a gas or oil 

engine for driving a 
Purchasing cotton mill we called 
Equipment especial attention to 

the importance of 
purchasing both the gas producer and 
gas engine from one concern and ob- 
taining a sufficiently detailed guaran- 
tee from the builders to protect the 
purchaser and insure satisfactory re- 
suits. There are many firms which 
handle gas engines and do not manu- 
facture the gas producer, but any one 
of these engine builders will sign con- 
tracts covering satisfactory operations 
of the whole plant. In some instances 
the mill owner makes grave mistakes 
in purchasing machinery which must 
operate in conjunction with other 
equipment from several different 
builders. With a good many lines of 
machinery this is permissible and 
often advisable, but in a case like 
that of a gas producer and gas en- 
gine, the fact that the mill man buys 
each from a separate concern means 
that any trouble in either unit will be 
claimed by the prospective builders 
as being due to poor design on the 
part of the other manufacturer. 



We have in mind a certain mill 
where it was decided to install a 200- 
horse power gas engine, to be oper- 
ated by producer gas 
200- Horse Power manufactured with 
Gas Engine an anthracite coal 
producer. The pur- 
chaser spent a gooc deal of time send- 
ing one of his representatives to visit 
various installations of somewhat 
similar equipment, and got in touch 
with many builders of engines and 
gas producers. After studying the 
situation with considerable care, this 
party decided to purchase a gas pro- 
ducer made by a well-known and rep- 
utable concern in the West and the 
engine from one of the largest build 
ers of this kind of machinery in thfe 
country. The electric generator was 
purchased direct from still a third 
party. 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



135 



The first difficulty whicn arose con- 
sisted in determining the proper lo- 
cation for the gas producer building 
in relation to the 
Proper room in which the 

Location engine was to be in- 
stalled. The manu- 
facturer of the producer claimed that 
proper results had been obtained with 
the producer at such and such a dis- 
tance where a different kmd of en- 
gine had been used, and felt that no 
trouble would be met with if this sug- 
gested layout was followed. The en- 
gine builders stated that the location 
of the producer house was of no con- 
sequence to them, as all they required 
was a sufficient quantity and the 
proper quality of gas, regardless of 
where this came from. These com- 
ments were made after the contracts 
were signed, and it was, there- 
fore, impossible at the very start to 
pin down either one of these builders 
and make them guarantee the right 
kind of results in regard to the rela- 
tive location of the two units. 

As soon as the apparatus had been 
assembled and the plant started up 
troubles began. Some days the engine 
would run fairly satisfactory, some 
days it refused to go at- all, and at 
still other times about half-load for 
half a day was all that the mill could 
obtain, in spite of the fact that ex- 
perts representing both the engine 
builders and the producer builders 
were on the spot. At first this trou- 
ble was thought to be caused by poor 
valve settings, so the engine was shut 
down and the valves carefully ex- 
amined. Slight changes were made 
and once more the plant was tried 
out. The results were no better, al- 
though at times the engine would 
carry something like three-quarters of 
its rated capacity. 



After making . several other adjust- 
ments upon the engine, and in the 
meantime the producer people go- 
ing over their end 
Placing tlie of the installation in 
Blame search of anything 

which would tend to 
make the flow of gas uneven, the 
engine builders refused to admit that 



anything was wrong with the engine, 
and claimed that all the trouble was 
caused by poor gas. The producer 
people had made almost numberless 
tests of the gas and held that the pro- 
ducers of the same type were giving 
the best of satisfaction when used 
with other makes of engines, and that 
the trouble, therefore, must lie in the 
engine. 

Due to the fact that the mill owner 
had individual contracts guaranteeing 
certain results with each of these two 
builders, it was practically impossible 
to hold either one of them, as they 
both claimed that their equipment 
was all right and that the trouble was 
with the other company's apparatus. 
The engineer at the plant considered 
installing some kind of a gas regu- 
lator which would tend to insure a 
more even flow of gas. This plant was 
operated upon the suction principle 
without the use of any gasometer. 
The producer men seemed in favor 
of this change, and agreed to furnish 
one of their regulators without extra 
cost As soon as the engine builders 
heard this they refused to guarantee 
their engine when used in connection 
with this regulator unless one of their 
own was used near the engine. This 
finally led to the installation of two 
regulators, one in the producer room, 
about 100 feet away from the engine, 
and one in the engine room, within 
about 18 or 20 feet from the inlet valve. 
Undoubtedly both regulators were all 
right and properly designed for cer- 
tain requirements, but after going to 
the work of installing both of these, 
the engine could not be depended up- 
on any more than it could at the 
start. 



All these changes and experiments 
used up considerable time, and the 
steam engines were so badly over- 
loaded that trouble 
Many at that end was a 

Changes daily expectation. The 
regulator in the en- 
gine room was moved nearer to the 
engine, a section of the piping between 
the engine and producer was pulled 
out and a larger pipe installed, the 
regulator in the producer room was 



136 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



changed over and a small fan put in 
to help blow the gas over. Some of 
these changes showed improvements, 
but the expected economy of the plant 
was not obtained. It was still im- 
possible to carry much more than 
three-quarters of the rated load. 

The facts are not at hand to show 
just what arrangement was finally 
made in the way of paying for this 
apparatus, and in the end a larger pro- 
ducer was installed. This larger ma- 
chine helped matters considerably, but 
had the original order for both units 
been given either to the producer 
builders or the firm making the gas 
engines, there would probably have 
been little or no difficulty in getting 
the desired results at the start. 

It is not our intention to discourage 
the uses of gas engines in connection 
with producer plants. Although this 
trouble referred to occurred but two 
or three years ago, improvements have 
been brought out since that time, and, 
as above stated, we believe that the 
principal difficulty in this case was 
that the particular method for produc- 
ing the gas in the kind of producer 
used was not the best one for the 
style of engine which was purchased. 

There are plenty of concerns ready 
to sell engines and gas equipment 
with a guarantee that insures proper 
results. 



In commenting upon the subject of 
gas producers, it is well to consider 
briefly the care of this equipment. 
The producer design- 
Care of Gas ed for anthracite coal 
Producers does not need the at- 
tention of skilled la- 
bor, but it should be handled by a 
man who can be trusted and by one 
who has a generous supply of good 
coTQmon sense. Perhaps one of the 
most essential requirements, espe- 
cially with a suction producer, is that 
the machine be kept thoroughly clean- 
ed. Poke holes are provided for keep- 
ing the lining of the gas machine free 
from clinker, and unless this cleaning 
is performed regularly and thoroughly, 
clinker will become so hardened that 
it is impossible to remove it without 
breaking the lining and thus causing 



air leakage. Air leaks will allow the 
gas to become ignited in the generat- 
ing machine, thus burning the gas be- 
fore it has a chance to be taken over 
to the engine. This is not all the 
damage that may be caused by a 
leakage of air, for the producer is 
not designed to withstand the exces- 
sive heat caused when this gas be- 
comes ignited, and if this combustion 
is allowed for any length of time, the 
shell will become burned and weak- 
ened. There is also a chance for air 
leaks around the doors which are pro- 
vided for removing ashes. ' These 
doors are designed to be air tight, but 
unless they are handled with a fair 
amount of care they will become bent 
or warped and give trouble. 



Gas Valves 



There have been many improve- 
ments brought out in the construction 
of valves for the gas lines, but at best 
these are liable to 
give trouble unless 
handled carefully. In 
a recent visit at a gas 
plant where a gas producer was in- 
stalled, we found the mill operating 
its electrically driven machinery by 
city power, due to the fact that a new 
valve was required and there had 
been some difficulty in obtaining this 
promptly from the builders. A point 
worthy of note in this connection is 
that the concern always kept an extra 
valve on hand, knowing from experi- 
ence that these were liable to give out 
at any time. In this particular case 
both the regular and extra valves were 
out of commission, and the mill's ma- 
chinist was at work repairing one of 
these in order that the producer might 
be started up without waiting for the 
new one to arrive. On questioning 
the chief engineer regarding the way 
in which the valve had become 
broken, it was found that whenever 
the attendant had trouble in operat- 
ing it with the regular handle pro- 
vided, he was in the habit of putting 
on a piece of pipe, thus extending the 
handle some five or six feet and ob- 
taining enough leverage to do one of 
two things, namely, move the valve 
or smash it. 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



137 



No kind of machinery can be made 
absolutely "fool proof." and the chief 
engineer, master mechanic, or who- 
ever is in charge of 
Absurd the power department 

Methods of the mill, should 
make it a point to 
prevent these absurd methods which 
lead to nothing but unnecessary 
expense. The man who was operating 
this particular producer was absolute- 
ly reliable, was conscientious in his 
work, and could have readily been 
taught to use proper care had the 
chief engineer taken the trouble to 
give this matter the proper amount 
of consideration. 

There are few textile mills where 
all of the power is furnished by eith- 
er gas or oil engines. This is largely 
due to the fact that the textile mill 
requires large quantities of steam for 
various manufacturing purposes, and 
must, therefore, install a boiler plant 
of considerable size, even if the pow- 
er is obtained in some other way than 
froim steam engines or turbines. 
There are a good many plants, how- 
ever, where increased business makes 
it necessary to provide additional 
power, and where this power can be 
economically obtained by installing a 
good gas or oil unit. With a machine 
large enough to develop 200-horse 
power or more, the speed is sufficient- 
ly uniform to drive the mill mechan- 
ically. In most cases, however, better 



results are obtained by connecting the 
gas or oil engine directly to an al- 
ternating current electric generator, 
and then distributing the power elec- 
trically to the various mill depart- 
ments. 



In purchasing mill motors, it is un- 
wise to use any one type of motor to 
the exclusion of all other makes, 
without first making 
Purchasing sure that the kind 
Motors used is the best that 

can be obtained. It 
is equally unwise, however, to install 
a lot of different styles, for this com- 
plicates matters in taaking repairs. 
These statements might seem rather 
contradictory, but at the present time 
it is possible to secure reliable en- 
gineering advice concerning the ac- 
tion of motors of standard type and 
thus determine with a large degree of 
certainty which style is best suited to 
meet the individual requirements. 

Some classes of textile machinery 
should be driven in fairly large groups 
some in small groups and some by 
individual motors. This makes it 
necessary to use several different 
sizes, but it is a distinct advantage 
to keep the number of these sizes as 
small as possible. By doing this the 
number of extra machines which 
should be kept on hand may be small 
and the expense for repairs kept low. 



Some Uses of Compressed Air in the Textile Mill 



It can undoubtedly be said with 
truth that the introduction of the elec- 
tric motor into the textile mill also 
marked the introduction to any great 
extent of compressed air. 

When motors were first used in the 
mills, it was customary to clean them 
by what was termed "blowing out" 
with hand bellows. This consisted 
simply of blowing air through the gap 
between the stator and rotor of the 
motor, so as to clean out all dirt and 



foreign substances which had collect- 
ed there. 
It was found, however, 

THAT THE PRESSURE OP AIR 

which could be obtained by the use 
of the bellows was not sufficient to 
give a good, thorough cleaning, and it 
was also found difficult for an employe 
to stand on a ladder and use both 
hands to operate the bellows when the 
motor was suspended from the ceiling. 
This led to the installation of small 
air compressors of sufficient capacity 



138 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



to give a good pressure when the mo- 
tor was being blown out. 

The humidifying of the mills, which 
has been taken up to such an extent 
within the last few years, may be at- 
tributed as the second reason for the 
installation of the air compressor. 
There are a great many types of 
humidifiers on the market to-day, 
some of which require compressed air 
for their operation. While the writer 
does not intend 

TO DISCUSS THE MERITS 
of the different types of humidifiers, 
still he feels inclined to state that he 
considers the man who has a humidi- 
fier operated by compressed air as 
having the advantage over the one 
whose humidifier is operated by me- 
chanical means for the following rea- 
sons: 

Where there are air pipe lines run- 
ning through the rooms to operate 
humidifiers, it is an easy matter to 
tap them at intervals and make con- 
nections for hose pipes which can be 
used for blowing out motors, cleaning 
off frames or operating pneumatic air 
tools. 

In cleaning frames with compressed 
air the pressure maintained varies 
usually for different kinds of ma- 
chinery. Spinning frames and looms 
are the frames most commonly clean- 
ed by compressed air, as these two 
rooms and the card room are the ones 
in which 

HUMIDIFIERS ARE MOST NEEDED. 
Compressed air is not so commonly 
used for cleaning in the card room, as 
it is liable to break down the sliver 
web on the cards or the ends of the 
roving frames if not handled very 
carefully. For another reason, it is 
liable to blow lint onto the roving, 
which would cause slubs in the yarn 
when being spun. 



For cleaning the spinning frames a 
pressure of 30 pounds has been found 
sufficient. When cleaning the frames 
care should be taken to hold the noz- 
zle of the hose downward, so that the 
lint blown off the frame will fall down- 
ward and not be blown onto the bob- 
bins on the opposite side of the 
frame. It will be found that gears 
on a spinning frame which would be 
hard to get at to clean with a brush 
can be easily cleaned by means of the 
air. 

A pressure of from 50 to 60 pounds 
has been 

FOUND MORE SATISFACTORY 

for the cleaning of looms. Underneath 
the looms a great many of the parts 
are more or less oily. The lint from 
the yarn collects on these parts and 
unless a good pressure of air is used 
it will be found difficult to give the 
looms a thorough cleaning. 

In order to give an idea of the uses 
to which pneumatic tools can be put 
in the mill the writer will give a few 
specific instances that have come un- 
der his observation. The company 
built a new weave shed in which they 
installed humidifiers operated by com- 
pressed air. There was to be an in- 
stallation of over 600 looms in this 
shed, all looms being driven through 
the floor by shafting in the basement. 
This meant that over 600 belt holes 
had to be cut in the floor, which was 
composed of three layers amounting 
to 5g inches in thickness. A set of 
pneumatic tools had recently been 
purchased, consisting of a wood bor- 
ing machine, two sizes of air drills, 
and an air hammer. 

TO CUT THESE BELT HOLES 
the wood boring machine was brought 
into use. Bearings were made for it 
and it was supported by a framework 
'on which it slid up and down and 
which could be swung backward or 
forward in the arc of a circle, so that 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



139 



the desired angle of the belt hole 
could be obtained. The lines for the 
front legs of the looms were first 
struck on the floor. Then at one end 
of each line a quarter-inch hole was 
bored through the floor. By going into 
the basement of the shed the distance 
was found from the line to the centre 
of the driving shaft. A drawing was 
then made accurate to scale, showing 
the loom pulley in relation to its driv- 
ing pulley on the shaft below when 
the loom was in position. By drawing 
lines representing the belt connecting 
the two pulleys it was found where 
the belt would go through the floor 
and at what degree of angle. In this 
way the position of the belt holes 
was determined. 

Holes were then bored with the ma- 
chine, using a two-inch ship auger at 
the four corners of each belt hole 
where the belt was crossed and at 
each end of the belt hole where the 
belt was a straight one. This left 
only a little 

STOCK FOR THE CARPENTER 

to cut away with small saws and 
chisels to finish the holes. 

One has only to see a hole bored 
at an angle through a 5%-inch thick 
floor by hand, and then see the same 
process done with a wood-boring ma- 
chine, to realize the great saving in 
labor and time that can be accom- 
plished. In the same shed, holes had 
to be drilled in the loom arches in 
order to attach brackets for holding 
filling boxes. These holes were all 
drilled by means of an air drill. 

Another instance can be men- 
tioned, where a shaft which was driv- 
en direct from the engine became 
broken. In order to remove the brok- 
en shaft and replace with a new one, 
it was necessary to loosen the bolts on 



a split iron shieve six feet in diameter, 
and about the same in width of face. 
When it came to loosening the 2i/^- 
inch diameter hub bolts it was found 
that 

IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE 

to move the nuts, as they had been 
put on when the bolts were hot. This 
shieve was supported by an iron 
framework 50 feet above the floor and 
working space was limited. As there 
was a generator on the floor below 
there was an air pipe for blowing it 
out. Temporary piping was run from 
there to the shieve. Holes were flrst 
drilled through the nuts and then the 
air chisel was used to cut between 
the holes. In this way the nuts were 
split so that they were readily re- 
moved. 

In another case an • installation of 
new shafting was made. This required 
timbers 8 inches by 10 inches, 6 inches 
by 6 inches, and 3 inches by 8 inches. 
All of these timbers were bored with 
the wood boring machine. The holes 
for the hanger bolts were also bored 
in the overhead timbers with the ma- 
chine. 

Numerous other instances 

CAN ALSO BE GIVEN 

of uses of the air which were made 
in the mill. Horizontal tubular boilers 
were cleaned, using a tube cleaner 
operated by air; repairs were made 
in the boiler room with the air drill 
and chisel; repairs were made with 
the air drill on pickers, when it was 
impossible to take the broken parts 
to the shop to be repaired. In fact, 
it was demonstrated that compressed 
air could be used in almost every de- 
partment of a textile mill and effect 
a great saving in time and labor on 
repair work outside of the benefits 
derived from the humidifier. 



The Belt and Roll Shop 



It is undoubtedly a fact that there 
are few mills to-day but that main- 
tain their own shop for covering roll- 
ers and repairing belting. There are 
so many ways in which such a shop 
can be used to advantage that any 
mill will find the installation of such 
an economical asset. 




i 


C- 


t 




i 


B 


h 


. 



iSVc- .ar >-->7- 7—^ iyy\y' 



|E^ 



Fig. A-1. The Calender Rolls. 

The chief use to which the shop 
is put is naturally the covering of 
spinning and card room rollers and 
maintenance of belting. It is neces- 
sary, if it is desired to produce good 
work, to have all rollers in good oon- 
dition, and when a bad one is found 
it should be ta'ken from the frame 
£i,nd a newly-covered one substituted. 
The overseer should see that too 
many bad rolls are not collected be- 
fore being sent down to the roll shop 
to be recovered, so that there will 
not have to be any spindles idle on 
accovmt of waiting for rollers. 



In starting to recover rollers, the 
first thing to do is to cut off the old 
skins from the rollers. The rollers 
are then put into a bath of hot water. 
For this purpose an ordinary iron sink 
can be used. The water can be run 
in and heated by having a jet of 
steam injected into it. After soaking 
a little while it will be found that the 
old roller cloth can be removed easily. 
The rollers should then be scoured 
well to clean oft' all the old paste. 
After drying they are ready for 
covering with the roller cloth. 

THE ROLLER CLOTHS 

used by mills vary a great deal, and 
the mills usually determine what 
grade they will purchase by the kinds 
of yam being spun. In mills spin- 
ning fine yarns a cloth is generally 
used which is manufactured from good 
wool and weighs from 16 to 20 ounces 
for a yard, 27 inches wide, the 16- 
ounce being used for the spinning 
rollers, and the 20-ounce for the card 
room rollers. In a mill using as good 
a grade of cloth as this it is custom- 
ary for the roller coverer to examine 
each roller sent down for recovering 
and determine whether or not the roll- 
er cloth has to be removed. This 
cloth should have a good cushion ef- 
fect and should outlast several 
leather coverings or cots before being 
discarded. 



^ 



czzn^ 



-^ 



Fig. A. Stand Used When Applying 
Paste. 

In a mill spinning coarse numbers 
a cloth weighing from 12 to 14 ounces is 
used, the 12-ounce for the spihnlng 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



141 






j^j_ £:f^jr rv o^s/ 




^-? 



^^i^JTAV 



7! 



FiS. B. Sciving or Scarfing Machine. 



142 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



rollers and the 14ounce for the card 
room rollers. The cloth is usually 
composed of 

A SHODDY MIXTURE, 
and its cushion effect is so slight that 
it is very rarely fit to use after the 
leather covering has to be discarded. 
The best way to do is not to take any 
chances and remove all cloth of this 
kind from the rollers before recover- 
ing. This cloth, however, is all right 
for use on this kind of work, as the 




Fig. C. Cementing or Piecing Bar. 



spinning of coarse numbers is very 
wearing on rollers, and it would not 
be economical to use any better 
grade. 

The cloth is first cut into long strips 
the width of the roller to be recov- 
ered. It is then cut into lengths just 
long enough to lap around the roller. 
In doing this the edges should be cut 
at a slight bevel, so that they will 
overlap when put on the rollers, thus 
avoiding a square joint which would 
be hard to close up tight and would 
tend to make an uneven surface. 
The roller is then inserted in a stand 
which holds it stationary while the 
paste is being applied. One of the 
uprights has a hinge attached so that 
it may be moved out a little when 
the roller is being inserted. 
THE PASTE. 

A sketch of this is shown in Figure 
A. The spring exerts only enough ten- 
sion to keep the roller from revolving 
when being pasted. A paste which 
gives good satisfaction is composed of 



one quart of common glue with one- 
half pint of Venice turpentine added. 
The turpentine keeps the glue from 
becoming brittle and cracking when 
dry. After pasting, the cloth is put 
around the roller and the roller is 
then calendered between iron rolls. 
The calender consists of two iron 
rolls lying parallel to one another. On 
ihe end of each is a gear, these two 
gears meshing together. One of the 
rolls has a pulley on the end, which is 
belted to a countershaft above by 
means of which the calender receives 
its motion. A third iron roll is sit- 
uated so that its centre comes di- 
rectly over the centre of the space 
between the two rolls. 

This roll is actuated by a foot lever 
so that it can be raised or lowered. 
The sketch designated as Figure A-1 
illustrates this. A is the stand with 
bearings supporting the rolls B, and 
E designates the gears on the ends 
of B. F is the pulley on the front 
roll B. C is the third roll and is 
raised or lowered by the rope D, 
which is attached to the foot lever. 

THE THIRD ROLL 
is raised and the roller with the cloth 
on it is dropped in the space betv/een 
the two bottom rolls and resting on 
them. The third roll is then lowered 
and its weight is allowed to rest on 
the roller, and the two bottom rolls 
being in motion the roller naturally 
starts to revolve. In this way the 
cloth and paste are rolled so as to 
lie evenly and all lumps and thick' 
nesses in the paste are evened out. 

Care should be taken to see that 
the roller is placed in the calender 
so that it will revolve in the direction 
of the cloth cap. The calender should 
be able to hold six or seven rollers 
at a time. As soon as a roller is 
covered with cloth it should be put 
in the calender and one taken from 
the calender to make room for it. 
This is usually done systematically by 
taking out a roller at the right hand 
end of the machine and inserting one 
at the left hand end. In this way each 
roller is sure of being calendered a 
sui^ficient length of time. The calen 
del' rolls do not have to be heated. 
After calendering, the rollers are 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



143 



placed on a rack to dry, which usually 
takes about two or three hours. 
SHEEPSKIN COT. 

The rollers are then ready for cov- 
ering with the cot which is made ot 
sheepskin or calfskin. Some card- 
ers believe that calfskin is the best 
for card room rollers, but it has been 
found thait sheepskin does as well. 
There are all kinds and qualities of 
skins, varying in price from seven dol- 
lars a dozen up to fourteen or even 
higher. Manufacturers of fine yarns 
usually buy the higher priced skins, 
whereas the coarse yarn manufactur- 
ers pay about eight or nine dollars. 

The manufacturers should have in 
charge of this department a man who 
is honest and a good judge of skins. 



to pieces of right length for cover- 
ing the rollers and in cutting them on 
an angle so that an eiven bevelled 
edge will be obtained for cementing. 
The sciving or scarfing is done on a 
machine, a rough sketch of which is 
given in Figure B. It consists of the 
main iron base marked (1). On the 
top of the base is the gauge (2). This 
gauge can be moved backward or 
forward, so that the required size cot 
may be obtained. Number (5) is 

THE SCARPING KNIFE. 

As can be seen, it is supported on a 
rod by the uprights (4). Num'ber (3) 
is the clamp which holds the skin 
during the cutting. It is attached by 
two rods (6) to a foot lever. When 




Fig. D, Pushing-on Machine. 



He should get his opinion on the 
skins that are bought as to whether 
they are up to standard. A good 
skin should be soft and pliable and 
free from cracks and not too uneven 
in regard to thickness. It should also 
be noted how much waste there is 
in the cutting-up process and how 
many cots can be cut from one dozen 
skins against another dozen from a 
different dealer. 

CLOSE OBSERVATION 

of skins will show quite a variation 
in this line. The thickest and strongest 
part of the skins is along the centre 
of the back from neck to tail. These 
parts should be used for the card 
room rollers and the skin from the 
sides for the spinning room rollers. 
In cutting the skins up into strips, 
it should be cut the length of the 
skin from the neck to the tail. The 
strips are then ready for sciving. 
This consists in cutting the strips in- 



the foot presses the lever, (No. 3) 
bears down and holds the skin, 
when the pressure is released, it 
rises enough to let th© skin pass un- 
der easily. The method of op- 
eration is this: The strip of sheepskin 
is passed over the top surface of the 
base under (3) until it comes to the 
gauge. The foot now presses the foot 
lever and (3) presses down on the 
strip. The operator then takes the 
knife and with a firm pressure draws 
it from right to left. As can be seen, 
the knife is sharpened on an angle. 
The point just extends over the hol- 
low in the base. By this method an 
accurate angle is obtained for every 
piece of leather cut. This process is 
continued until the necessary pieces 
for cots are cut, the operator merely 
easing up on the foot pressure when 
pushing the strip to the gauge. 
Pieces for double boss rollers should 
be cut and cemented as one and then 
cut almost in two. This insures the 



144 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



roller against having cots of uneven 
thickness on either roll. 

CEMENTING OR PIECING. 
The pieces are now ready for ce- 
menting or piecing and forming svhat 
are called cots. This is done on a ce- 
menting or piecing bar, as shown in 
Figure C. It consists of the straight 
bar A, fastened to the stand B. The 
bar C is also fastened to the stand 
B, and pivoted on a stud, as shown. 
The bar C carries the small bar D; 
D is connected to C by means of the 
thumb screw E, which allows I) to 



of the top surface of A. He then press- 
es the clamp G down, which holds the 
piece firmly on A, by means of the 
pressure exerted by the spring J. The 
lap is then coated with a thin layer 
of cement composed of gelatine dis- 
solved in water. Enough gelatine is 
put in so that the cement will be 
neither too thick nor too thin. 

The pot containing the cement 
should be kept in hot water so that 
the cement will not harden. Some 
coverers prefer alcohol to water, as it 
tends to make the cement dry more 



A 



w 



=n: 



% 



Fig. E. Burning Down Lathe. 



be raised or lowered. D is connected 
to the semi-circular piece of Iron 
which is fastened ito the end of the 
screw E, and is thus allowed to 
swing in a semi-circle. The handle i^' 
is attached to the end of C. As shown, 
the part attached to C is curved in 
a half circle and has a rounded piece 
attached to the other end. G is the 
iron clamp hinged on an eccentric to 
the rod I, which is supported by the 
uprights H. J is a piece of spring 
steel. One end is fastened to the 
same stand that B is fastened to. The 
other end bears against the eccentric 
on the end of G. The operator takes 
the piece which he is going to make 
into a cot, brings it up to the left side 
of the bar A, and lays it with the 
glazed or hair side of the skin up, 
so that the bevel lies in the centre 



quickly, and others use acetic acid, as 
it cuts the gelatine better than water 
does. The other bevel is now brought 
from under the bar A, up the right 
hand side and laid on the cemented 
lap. The operator then pulls on the 
handle F, bringing down the bar u. 
This causes D to press down on the 
cemented lap. The rounded piece on 
the handle F catches in the notch 
directly under the end of A, as shown. 
This allows D to exert pressure on 
the lap without necessitating holding 
down on the handle. The pressure is 
maintained for a few seconds and 
then the handle is raised and the 
piece is drawn from A in the shape 
of a tube. This tube "is called the 
"cot." 

IT IS A GOOD IDEA 
for the operator to have two of these 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



145 



machines, so that wtien a cot is being 
pressed on one of them he can be 
making a cot on the other machine. 

It is now ready for placing on the 
roller, which is done either by draw- 
ing the cot onto the roller or pushing 
the roller into the cot. Figure D 
gives an idea of a pushing-on ma- 
chine. It consists of the base A, which 
supports B. B is a brass groove or 
shell, on the end of which are thin 
wires in the form of a cone, as shown. 
C is a casting resting in a groove cut 
in the top of A. On the end near 13 
is the spindle D, which is fastened to 
the end of C. On the top of C is a 



( -- ( 



X 



Fig. F. Ending Tool. 
Fig. G. Trimming Tool. 

row of teeth, as shown. These teeth 
mesh into a gear which is on a stud, 
to which the handle E is connected. 
By turning the handle to right or 
left the casting C, and consequently 
the spindle D, can be moved backward 
and forward. The machine is operated 
as follows: The cot is drawn over the 
wires about three-fourths of its length. 
The roller, which has been covered 
with cloth, is placed in the shell B. 
The shell B, with its wire cone, is 
interchangeable for different sized 
rollers. The handle E is now turned 
to the right. This causes the spindle 
to come in contact with the roller, thus 
forcing it into and out through the 
end of the cone of wires. As the roll- 
er starts to come from the cone the 
operator grasps the end of the cot 
where it begins to cover the roller. 
Holding this firmly he continues turn- 
ing the handle E until the roller has 
been pushed through the cone. In 
this manner the roller is pushed into 
the cot. This process should be done 
with a firm pressure and not too fast 
so as not to stretch 'the coit unevenly 
or split the cemented lap. The draw- 
ing-on process is the reverse of this, 



the cot being drawn onto the roller 
by means of ^ihe wires. 

The rollers are now ready for end- 
ing or burning down. This consists 
in turning over the ends of the cot 
which protrude so as to keep it from 
slipping when running in the spinning 
frame. This process is done in the 
burning down lathe. The principal 
portion of one is illustrated by Fig- 
ure E. In this sketch A designates 
the two lags of the machine. At- 
tached to these lags or sides are the 
rods B. There are three of these 
rods designated as B, the third one not 
being shown, as it lies parallel to the 
lower rod B, and about 6 inches from 
it. These rods support the castings 
C, which act as bearings for the 
pulleys D. The pulleys D are belted 
to a countershaft above by means ot 
the belts E, The pulleys have hollow 
centres, into which the spindles F 
are inserted, being a taper flt. The 
casting €, at the right of the illus- 
itration, has the 

SMALL HOOK I ATTACHED 
to it. A chain is fastened and holds 
the weight G. Another chain runs to 
the right over a pulley and down- 
to a foot lever not shown. 

The operator starts the countar- 
ishaft moving, which causes the pul- 
leys D to revolve at a speed of about 
3,000 revolutions per minute. He 
then presses down on the foot lever, 
which causes C to move to the right. 
He then places one end of the roller 
to be turned down on the spindle at 
the left and then releases the pres- 
sure on the foot lever gradually. The 
weight G causes C to move to the 
left until the spindle F comes in con- 
tact with the other end of the roller. 
The roller is noAv revolving at the 
same speed as the pulleys. The op- 
erator then takes the ending tool and 
turns do\\Ti the cot at each end. End- 
ing tools are made of various sub- 
stances, but a very good one can be 
made from a piece of a cigar box. 
F'igure F gives a view of an ending 
tool. The wood is curved in at one 
end to fit the roller. The operator 
should apply the tool just over the 
edge of the cloth and should push it 
downward and outward with a firm 



146 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



pressure, in order to avoid creasing 
the end. The spare leather at the ends 
of the cot should be trimmed off. This 
is done with the 'tool shown in Figure 
G, which consists of an old file sharp- 
ened and beveled or tapered at the 
end. The tool is held against the leath- 
er and then pushed away from the 
cot, thus cutting away a small ring 
of leather. The operator takes his 
ending tool and inserting it in the ring 
of leather exerts ^jressure and thus 
breaks it away from the roller. The 
roller is then removed from the lathe 
by pushing on the foot lever as before 
and is laid on a rack. When the rack 
is full the. rollers should be marked 
with ink, ishowing the direction in 
which the lap runs. This will en- 



of A is the casting C, which supports 
the spindle D. C is movable along 
the bed A to accommodate different 
length rollers. At the other end the 
casting E supports the spindle F, 
which has a face plate attached for 
holding a small lathe dog. On the 
end of P is the gear G, which meshes 
into the gear H, of about one-quarter 
the number of teeth. The handle 1 
is attached to the gear H. On one 
end of the roller a small dog is fas- 
tened. The roller is then placed in 
the lathe, one end on D and the end 
with the dog attached on F, thus al- 
lowing the dog to come in contact with 
the face plate. The end of the fillet 
leather is then glued and wound once 
around the left end of the roller, al- 



M 



.A^ 




Fig. H. Winding Machine. 



able the spinner to put the roller in 
the frame so that it will not run 
against the lap. After counting the 
rollers, to find the numbers which have 
been covered, they are ready to go 
back to the spinning and card rooms. 
The drawing frame rollers are cov- 
ered in a little different manner. Up 
through the covering of the roller 
with cloth the 

PROCESS IS THE SAME 

as for the card and spinning rollers 
but the covering with leather is dif- 
ferent. In the first place, sheepskin 
is not used for covering these 
rollers. For this purpose fillet 
winding leather is generally used. 
This leather is about one-eighth of an 
inch in thickness and comes in dif- 
ferent widths. Is inches being a good 
width to use. This leather is not 
made into a cot but is wound onto the 
roller in a spiral fashion with the aid 
of the machine shown in Figure H. 
This' machine consists of the bed A, 
supported by the legs B. At one end 



lowing the end of the leather to ex- 
tend a little over the end of the cloth. 
It is then tied securely to the roller 
with a string. A portion of the 
leather is then glued and it is wound 
on the roller, the operator turning the 
handle I wiitih his right hand, and 
guiding on the fillet with his left. In 
this way the fillet is wound on spi- 
rally from left to right. When the 
operator reaches the end at the right 
he should tie this with string as at 
the left. The roller is then removed 
from the lathe and stood on end to 
dry. The gears G and H should have 
a locking arrangement, so that they 
will not tend to revolve, when the 
operator removes his hand from thf 
handle, at any time during the process 
of winding. When dry, the 

ROLLER IS BURNED DOWN 

or ended, the same as the spinning 
rollers. 

It is then ready for bufiing. This 
is done to even the leather so that 
the roller will be of an even diameter 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



147 



throughout. Figure I shows a buffing 
machine. It consists of the bed A, 
supported on legs as shown. At the 
left end is the casting B, which sup- 
ports the bearings for the pulleys C 
and D and also the spindle F. The 
spindle F has a face plate as shown. 



O passes around the left end of the 
bed A, and is attached to a collar on 
the rod M, as shown by the letter Q. 
One of the pulleys, C, is belted with 
a straight belt to its opposite pulley 
N, and the other pulley C is belted 
with a cross belt to the other pulley 




t \l ^M 

1 m^^w^\u^v^^w^^vw^^^vv^\u\v| i 




Fig. I, Buffing Machine. 



At the right end is the casting G, sup- 
porting the spindle H. The plate I, 
in the centre, rests upon the bed A 
and supports the bearings for the pul- 
.ley K and the emery wheel L. In 
front of the machine is the rod O 
with the collars P. At the back of 
the lathe is the rod M, a portion of 
which is threaded, and to which the 
plate I is attached. At the left end 
the rod has the pulleys N. The rod 



N. The pulley D is belted to a coun- 
tershaft above. The pulley K is belt- 
ed to a drum pulley on the same coun- 
tershaft. This drum pulley is wide 
enough to accommodate the greatest 
distance ithat can be obtained between 
the spindles F and H. The pulley K 
is belted so that the emery wheel L 
will revolve in the opposite direction 
from the spindle F. 

The operator fa.stens a small dog 
to one end of the roller to be buffed 



148 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



and places that end on the spindle 
F so that the 

DOG WILL COMB IN CONTACT 

with the fao:e plate. The spindle H is 
then brought up to the other end of 
the roller. Ihe belt on the counter 
shaft is then shifted to the tight 
pulley, causing the roller and the 
emery wheel to revolve, but in op- 
posite directions. By turning the 
handle X, the plate I is brought for- 
ward until the emery wheel just 
comes in contact with the roller. We 



shaft O. The two collars P are set 
so that each is just beyond either end 
of the roller in the lathe. There is 
a small dog projecting down from the 
plate I. When this dog comes in con- 
tact with one of the collars it causes 
the shaft O to move either to the 
right or left, according to which col- 
lar it comes in contact with. As the 
shaft O is attached to Q and as Q 
works the clutch between the pulleys 
N, it will be seen that the moving 
direction of the plate I is reversed 
every time the dog comes in contact 



^ 

^ 



JETuC- js: y~fr ~r-/ oy^ 



l±k 



:::*. 



fe 



J^jUJfj^r 



Fig. J. Stripping Gauge. 



will now refer to the pulleys C and 
N. When the pulley D starts to re- 
volve the pulleys C, being on the 
same shaft, naturally revolve also. As 
they are belted to N, the pulleys N 
will also revolve. Between the pulleys 
N there is a small clutch; this clutch 
is worked bj' means of Q, Avhich is 
attached to the shaft M. It is, there- 
fore, evident that when the clutch is 
engaged with one of the pulleys N, 
the shaft M will revolve in one direc- 
tion and when the clutch is engaged 
with the other pulley N the shaft M 
will revolve in the opposite direction. 
As the plate I is attached to the shaft 
M, it will be carried to the left or 
right according to the direction in 
which M is revolving. As the emery 
wheel L is on the plate I, it will 
*lso move. We will now look at ths 



with one of the collars P. In this way 
the emery wheel is caused to move 
back and forth across the surface of 
the roller. This is done until the 
leather has been bufCed, so that the 
surface is even all the way across the 
roller. 

The roller is then taken from the 
lathe and Is 

READY FOR VARNISHING. 

The writer will give only one formula 
for making a varnish, to give an idea 
of the constituents of a roller var- 
nish. Dissolve one pound pulverized 
glue in two quarts of good vinegar; 
then add one-half ounce oil of cloves or 
oil of origanum and 8 to 10 ounces 
of coloring. The iglue, vlinegar and 
oil can be boiled for 15 minutes be- 
fore adding color, The coloring may 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



149 



be obtained by using any of the fol- 
lowing in the powder: Vermilion, 
Venetian red, chrome green, chrome 
yellow, chrome red, lamp black, or 
ordinary blueing may be used, the 
object being to give body to the var- 
nish. If, after applying, the varnish 
should commence to crack, it may be 
advisable to use a little less glue in 
the next mixing, or if not very bad, 



33 



i R I 
A 



Fig. K. Splitting Knife. 

a little more oil of cloves or origanum 
may be used. If the varnish wears 
off too quickly, a little more glue may 
be added. 

Having taken up the process of cov- 
ering rollers, it might be mentioned 
that there should be a system used 
in covering the rollers, so that they 
may be covered as efficiently as pos- 
sible. A good way to do is, late in the 
afternoon, to cut off the old leather 
cots and soak the rollers in hot water 
and scour well. At the same time 
the roller cloth should be cut into 
pieces for covering the rollers. The 
rollers should then be left all night 
in racks so that they will be dry in 
the morning. In the morning the roll- 
ers should be covered with the roller 
cloth and at the same time the sheep- 
skins should be cut and made into 
Gots for the rollers. After the rollers 
are all 

COVERED WITH CLOTH, 

the first ones covered should be taken 
and pushed into the cots and so on, 
until all the rollers are covered with 
them. The burning down or ending 
should then be done until finished, or 
it is time to start in cutting off the 
old roller cots. 

The making of single belting is 
another use to which the belt and 
roll shop can be put. If the mills 
knew the saving that could be effected 
by making their own small belting 
it is probable that a great many more 



would do so than at present. When 
a batch of hide's or slabs are received 
at the mill they should be examined 
carefully. Hides are bought by the 
pound. If a batch of hides are too 
thick they can not be cut up into 
as much belting as a batch that are 
thinner but weagh the same. If the 
hides are very uneven in thickness 
it means that there wiil be a lot of 
loss in the evening process. If the 
hides are too thin it means that the 
belting will stretch too easily. It 
should also be noticed whether the 
skiins seem to have been stretched 
sufficiently when being cured. In 
other words, it should be attempted to 
get hides or slabs to which there will 
be as little loss as possible when 
being made into belting. The more 
belting obtained per pound of hide 
the more saving made by the mill. 

FIRST PROCESS. 

The first process in making the 
slabs into belting is the cutting up 
into the desired widths. This is done 
with the aid of the stripping gauge, 
shown in Figure J. A is the stand 
to which 'B is fastened. The gauge C 
slides on B, and when at any desired 
position, is made statiomary by means 
of the set screw E. The top surface of 
C is marked in inches and fractions of 
inches. D at the left end of C is 
the cutting knife. F is a straight eidge 
for guiding the leather when being 
cut. If it Is desired ito make a 2-inch 
belting the gauge is set so that the 2- 
inch mark on C coincides with the 



/^ 




Fig. L, The Plane Shave. 

straight edge of F. The slab or hide 
is cut from neck to tail. 

The cutting-up is done best by us- 
ing two men. One man stands at the 
back of the stripping gauge and holds 
the edge of the slab against the 



150 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



slraight edge while the other takes 
hold and pulls the slab toward him, 
the slab being cut bj^ the knife as it 
is being pulled. The edge of a new 
elab should be trimmed so as to pre- 
sent a straight edge to 1-'. This can 
be done by moving the knife up close 
to F and cutting a thin strip from the 
slab, or the gauge ca,n be set a little 
Mdder than the desired width of belt- 
ing required. The first strip cut off 
is then taken, the gauge set to the 
desired width and the strip is then 
trimmed off, the straight edge of the 
strip being held against F. After the 
hides have been cut up into the de- 
sired width of strips the strips are 
ready for evening. 
This is done by 

USING A SPLITTING KNIFE, 
shown in Figure K. A is the stand 
supporting the roll B, above which is 
the knife C. The knife C can be 
raised or lowered by the screws D. 
The knife C is set above the roll B, 
so as to give the required thickness of 
leather, 3-16 of an inch being about 
right for 2-inch to 4-inch belting. The 
stiips are then pulled between B and 
C, the knife shaving off the places 
thicker than that desired. The even- 
ing is all done on the flesh side of 
the hide. 

The strips are then ready for 
solving or scarfing, that is, bev- 
eling the ends so as to make 
laps, in order to cement the 
strips together. Figure M gives a 
view of about the simplest form of 
lap sci-vers. All others are made on 
this principle. The one illustrajted is 
all right for narrow belts. It con- 
sists of the stand A. On the top is 
the knife B, which can be raised or 
lowered, according to the thickness of 
the leather. C is a curved piece of 
wood pivoted at D, whose radius 
grows greater as it nears the end 
farthest from the knife B. The oper- 
a,tor marks off on the end of the 
strip the length of lap which he de- 
sires to make. For a narrow belt a 
lap twice the width of the belt should 
be used. He then inserts this end 
under the knife B, and with the han- 
dle E raises C until the knife comes 
in contact with the mark on the 



leather. He should then continue 
raising on the handle E, at the same 
time pulling back gently on the 
strip of leather. As the handle E 
is raised the surface of C comes closer 
to the knife, B thus forcing the knife 
farther into the leather. In this way 
the end of the strip is gradually tap- 
ei'ed off. The strip should be scived 
at both ends, one on the flesh side 
of the leather and the other on the 




Fig. M. A Simple Form of Sciver. 

hair side. The strips are then ready 
for the cementing of laps. To finish the 
lap to a fine edge a plane shave should 
be used. This is shown in Figure L. 
It consists of the casting with the 
handles A to which the cutter B is 
fastened. B can be moved up or 
down. The plane is applied to the 
lap and pulled toward the operator, 
shaving off the leather until the lap 
has been betveled to a fine edge. 
A good cement 

TO USE FOR THIS PURPOSE 

is composed of 2 pounds of glue to 
one pound of Venice turpentine. The 
laps are cemented, placed together, 
and then pressed in a screw press. 
Figure N shows one form of screw 
press. A is the stand having the 
bottom plate, B is the pressing plate 
and is raised or lowered by means 
of the screw C. After remaining in 
the press for a short time the lap is 
removed and a new one substituted. 
When the pieces have all been cei- 
mented they should be measured, and 
a record of the number of feet of each 
width of belting kept. What waste 
has been made in the process of mak- 
ing the slabs into belting should be 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



161 



looked over and all that is available 
should he made into loom strapping. 
In this way it will be found that with 
grood, even hides there will be very 
little of what would be called dead or 
unusable waste. Some figures are 
gliven here to show what has been 
obtained from two different batches 
of hides. The writer wishes to cal) 
attention to the fact that in the first 
batch of 17 hides the weight is 103 
pounds, and in the second of 16 hides 



s 



^ 



Fig. N. The Screw Press. 

the weight is 154 pounds. From batch 
No. 1 approximately 89 square feet 
of belting was obtained and from 
batch No. 2 approximately 9u square 
feet was obtained. This shows that 
the difference in the weight of the 
hides was due to the thickness and 
not to the size of the hides. 

BATCH NO. 1. 

Number hides, 17. Lbs. weight, 103. 
199 ft. 1" belting = 5 hours' labor. 
194 ft. 1%" belting, = i^ hours' labor. 
154 ft. 1^" belting = 4 hours' labor. 
199 ft. 2" belting = 4% hours' labor. 

746 ft. 18 total hours' labor. 

At, per hour $ .21 



Cost of labor $3.78 

The price of the hides was 47 cents 
per pound, or a total of $48.41. Add 
to this the cost of labor and the total 
cost of the belting comes to $52.19. 

BATCH NO. 2. 

Number hides, 16. Lbs. weight, 154. 
173 ft. 6 in. IVa" belting = 4% hours' labor. 
132 ft. 1%" belting = 2% hours' labor. 

158 ft. 2" belting = 4 hours' labor. 

106 ft. 2% " belting .= 3% hours' labor. 

98 ft. 2%" belting = 3 hours' labor. 



667 ft. 



At, per hour $ .21 



17% total h'rs' labor. 



Cost of labor $3.67 

The price of the hides was the 
SAME AS BATCH NO. 1, 
making a cost of $72.38. Adding to 
this the cost of labor, the total 



cost of the belting comes to $76.0?. 
Taking into consideration the fact 
that there was some loom strapping 
made from the waste of the two 
batches means a saving there also. 
From an observation of No. 1 and 
No. 2 it will be seen that No. 2 was 
the costlier belting, due to the dif- 
ference in weight between the two 
batches. 

Taking the standard list price 
adopted in 1906 and referring to No. 
1, we have: 

199 ft. 1" belting @ 24c c= $47.76 

194 ft. IVi" belting @ 30c i= 58.20 

154 ft. IVfe" belting @ 36c = 55.44 

199 ft. 2" belting @ 48c = 95.52 

Total $256.92 

The discount is about 70 per cent, 
10 days, which gives a cost of $77.07. 
Subtracting $52.19, the cost of mak- 
ing the belting, from $77.07, the cost 
of buying the belting, and the result 
is $24.88 saved. 

Referring to No. 2 we have: 

173 ft. 6in. 1%" belting @ 36c = $62.46 

132 ft. 1%" belting @ 42c = 55.44 

158 ft. 2" belting @ 48c = 75.84 

106 ft. 2ir" belting @ 54c = 57.24 

98 ft. 2%" belting @ 60c = 58.80 

Total $309.78 

Taking a discount of 70 per cent 
gives a total of $92.93. Subtracting 
$76.05, the cost of making No. 2, from 
$92.93, gives a saving of $16.88. 

It can thus be seen from the above 
figures that it would pay a mill to 
go to the expense of installing the 
necessary machinery and making its 
own narrow belting. 

In addition to recovering rollers and 
making belting, the shop is required 
to keep all the main driving belts in 
good condition. There should be a 
certain 

PERIODICAL INSPECTION 
of the belts and at the same time 
dressing should be applied. Before 
the dressing is put on, however, the 
belt should be cleaned on both sides, 
to remove all dirt and gummy sub- 
stances. The dressing should then be 
applied in moderate quantity. Too 
much dressing is as bad as none at 
all, as it will cause the belt to slip 
on the pulley. For a dressing that 
will soften a belt and make it pliable, 



152 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



castor or neait's foot oil is as good as 
can be used. One oil is preferred 
about as much as ttie other. 

For a dressing that will give a sur- 
face to the belt so that it will adhere 
better to the pulleys there are a great 
many different brands on the market. 
Some put rosin in the castor or neat's- 
foot oil for this purpose, but this is 
rot considered a good thing to do, as 
it has been found that rosin has an 
injurious effect on the surface of the 
belt, causing it to become lumpy and 
crack. A dressing of this kind which 
will give adhesive qualities to. the belt 
should be one which, if the belt should 
happen to slip a little, will not tend 
to roll up in lumps on the belt. The 
writer has known of some dressings 
that have done this and the noise of 
the lumps coming in contact with the 
pulleys could be heard. 

Before a dressing of this kind is 
applied to a belt it should first be 
treated with castor or neat's-foot oil 
until it has become soft and pliable. 
The surface dressing should then be 
applied, which will tend to bind in 
the softening oils. The back of the 
belt should be treated with a soften- 
ing oil so that it will be kept pliable 
and not tend to crack. 

When belts are found to be running 
too slack they should have a piece 
taken out. This is termed taking up a 
belt. For small frame belts the belt 
is thrown off the pulley and a piece 
cut out. The small frame belts are 
mostly held together by means of belt 
hooks. After the piece is cut out the 
belt is clamped together and run on 
the pulley again. 

To take up large belts, 
BELT CLAMPS HAVE TO BE USED. 
The writer will not go into details, as 
they are familiar to all mill men. Care 



should be taken in drawing up the 
belt not to get it too tight. If this 
is done it will cause the shafts 
to be pulled out of line and 
the bearings will heat up. A 
new belt can be drawn up tighter than 
an old one, as it will stretch after 
running a little time, while an old belt 
has had most of the stretch taken out 
of it if it has been carrying a load 
equal to. its capacity. Belts nowadays 
are connected chiefly by making laps 
and cementing, forming what is called 
an endless belt, or by connecting with 
belt hooks. Conditions must deter- 
mine just what to use. For a belt 
running over small pulleys a lap belt 
should be used, as the belt has to bend 
quite a little in going around the pul- 
leys. When practical, however, the 
writer advocates the use of belt hooks. 
In taking up a lap belt, the process 
takes some time, as a new lap has 
to be made after the piece has been 
cut from the belt and what old part 
of the lap is left has to be scraped to 
remove all the old cement. After the 
cement has been applied, and the belt 
pieced again, it has to stand for some 
hours to dry before the belt can be 
used. On the other hand, with a 
hooked belt the clamps can be ap- 
plied, a piece of the belt cut out, the 
belt hooked together again and the 
clamps removed. The belt is then 
ready for running. A hook belt can 
be taken up during the noon hour, 
whereas a lap belt has either to be 
taken up during the night or week 
end. 

The writer has now given the chief 
uses of the belt and roller shop. 
There are a great many minor uses 
to which it is put. Looms require a 
great deal of strapping, which is usual- 
ly made at spare moments. Small 
pulleys are lagged with leather, which 
is done by the belt shop. Old belts 
are patched up and put in as good 
condition as possible. In fact, when 
one stops to consider the different 
uses to which this department can be 
put, it becomes more apparent how 
important the belt and roller shop 
is to the mill. 



Notes on the Steam Boiler 



The numerous radical changes in 
power plant practice within the 
last few years has added many com- 
plications to former simple situa- 
tions, and we find the power house 
of to-day containing a great variety 
of machinery and equipment. The 
introduction of electric lighting and 
transmission has probably had more 
to do with making these changes 
than any other one thing, and it is 
now indeed a primitive affair which 
has not at least a lighting generator 
or two, and possibly some few motors. 



be said about them further than that 
they are both excellent boilers. 
HORIZONTAL TUBULAR BOILER. 
The horizontal tubular boiler (Fig- 
ure 1), up to within a few years, was 
considered the standard American 
boiler, and was almost universally 
used in all industries. These boilers are 
reasonably low in first cost, simple 
in construction, and under favorable 
conditions are extremely economical. 
For many years, and until quite re- 
cently, a period which coders prac- 
tically all the time that this boiler 
enjoyed its high reputation, there was 




Fig. 1. Horizontal Tubular Boiler. 



The boiler section of the plaint 
which is the heart and foundation of 
the whole fabric is the most impor- 
tant branch of all, as it is here where 
the fuel is converted into heat and 
here where the opportunities for good 
or poor results are the most in evi- 
dence. The boilers in general usie 
in textile power plants may be 
classed under three heads, horizontal 
fire tube externally fired, upright fire 
tube internally fired and the inclined 
water tube. There are cases where 
the horizontal internally fired, or 
"Scotch" boiler is used, and also the 
water tube type with vertical tubes, 
but they are so few that little need 



a general opinion among boiler users 
and engineers that to burn fuel 
economically and get the most out of 
it the rate of combustion must 
be quite low, that is, the temperature 
of the fire should never be excessive 
and the amount of fuel consumed per 
square foot of grate should not ex- 
ceed 10 or 12 pounds per hour. 

On account of the difficulty in mak- 
ing material having the requisite 
strength for handling steam at high 
pressures, and the lack of knowledge 
in regard to the relative values of 
high and low pressure steam, the ma- 
jority of boilers were constructed to 
carrj-- pressure of 100 pounds, or 



154 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



less. While these conditions con- 
tinued, the 

RETURN TUBULAR BOILER 
held its own against all competition, 
but, however, as soon as higher pres- 




One Type of Vertical Boiler. 



sures and high rates of combustion 
began to be called for, many good 
authorities had serious doubts as to 
whether an externally fired boiler 
could be operated safely over a fur- 
nace fire at a temperature up to 2.-000 



degrees for auy length of time, or 
that a boiler shell as thick would be 
required to withstand the higher 
pressures could be exposed to the 
fire at all without deterioraiting rap- 
idly. These doubts added to the real- 
ization of the advantages gained by 
using steam with some degree of 
superheat created a demand for a 
type of boiler which would be better 
able to stand the' high pressures and 
higher duty, and meet other re- 
quirements as well. From this 
period on, the fire tube horizon- 
tal boiler has seldom been 
selected when erecting new equip- 
ment, except in a few cases where 
the old methods are still believed in 
and followed, or where separate 
superheaters are used to bring the 
steam temperature up to a pi'oper 
point for operating engines and tur- 
bines. 

The vertical fire tube boiler, al- 
though but very little known' outside 
of the eastern states, has been well 
and favorably known for manj' years, 
particularly in connection with tex- 
tile mills. This type is now built in 
various forms and sizes, one style 
(Figure 2) in which the body or 
waist is made smaller than the base 
around the firebox or "water leg" and 
connected to it by a pair of ogee 
flanges, has been in successful use for 
some twents'^-five or thirty years. A 
later and simpler style is one in 
which the shell is of the same size 
throughout (Figure 3), and is termed 

A "STRAIGHT UPRIGHT," 
the furnace being precisely the 
same as in the first style. It 
is comparatively new in the 
field, but has given good satisfaction 
generally. The inventor of the ogee 
flange boiler first mentioned claim- 
ed, in advocating his design, 
that the contraction and expansion of 
the outer shell in a boiler made 
straight had a tendency to impart a 
working motion to the heads at top 
and bottom, and thus brought a great 
strain upon the tubes, which, if not 
loosened to a dangerous point, could 
not be kept tightly in place and thus 
cause incurable leakage. This disad- 
vantage he entirely overcame by 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



155 



adopting the ogee flanges, which are 
of such shape that they take the 
strain instead of the heads and tubes. 

The theory of elasticity wus con- 
sidered seriously for a long time un- 
til some boiler manufacturers who 
were preventea by law from building 
the ogee flange style, and being de- 
sirous of supplying their patrons 
with some sort of vertical boiler, if so 
requested, brought out the straight 
upright type similar in shape to the 
well-itnown portable upright, but 
made in large units and of exceeding- 
ly heavy material. The satisfactory 
service which these boilers have 
given has, in a way, exploded the 
theory of elasticity, and a change of 
opinion in regard to it may, perhaps, 
be illustrated by quoting the remark 
made by a prominent boilermaker, 
who said, "We used to think that the 
more flexible we could make a boiler 
the better, but now we strive to make 
it as rigid as if it were made of a 
solid piece." 

One of the greatest objections ever 
experienced with upright boilers has 
been their inaccessibility, nearly all 
of the older styles being oonstructed 
so that there was no possible chance 
for a person to enter them for the 
purpose of examination or cleaning, 
and especially in localities where the 
water is full of scale-forming matter 
this feature has been a serious objec- 
tion to their use. 

MODIFICATIONS IN THE DESIGN 

have, at different times, appeared, but 
not until a boilermaking firm in New 
Jersiey, after several attempts to de- 
sign a vertical boiler adapted for 
economically burning the cheaper 
grades of coal, attained their object by 
Increasiing the diameter of the bottom 
or water leg section to provide for a 
larger grate area and joining this 
section to the waist or body by a 
conical or tapering section, was the 
problem of accessibility practically 
solved. This style of steam generator 
(Figure 4) met with favor from the 
start, and although at first controlled 
and built by only one company', it at- 
tracted sufficient attention to cause 
other boiler makers to adopt the de- 
sign. 



The three types of vertical fire tube 
boilers just described include practi- 
cally all the patterns in use and are 
the only ones considered for new in- 
stallation. The superiority of an "in- 



M 



WE 




Fig. 3. The "Straight Upright" Boiler. 

ternally fired" boiler (which all of the 
verticals are) over the type with the 
fire outside tlie boiler structure is 
quite marked, as the furnace is sur- 
rounded by metal sheets covered with 



156 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



water ready to absorb every unit of 
heat, so that none can escape, as is 
the case when the fire is enclosecl in 
a brick furnace. The matter of great- 



for furnishing superheat there is 
some difference and while all will 
produce steam superheated to a mod- 
erate degree, it is claimed that the 




Fig. 4. Vertical Boiler with Diameter of Lower Portion Increased. 



er safety is also a feature, there being 
no surface exposed to the flames 
which cannot be stayed to withstand 
safely any reasonable pressure. In 



two styles which have small bodies 
compared with their bases lead the 
straight type quite considerably, for 
the reason that in these the steam 



regard to the capacity of these boilers or superheating space is larger in 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



157 



comparison to the water space than 
in the other. 
The gain made by nsing 

SUPERHEATED STEAM 

for other purposes than pov/er, 
such as heating and manufac- 
turing processes, is not appreciated or 
realized among those who are i3up- 
posed to know all about such mat- 
ters, and; although the fact is accept- 
ed that superheat is of vital impor- 



ding on the contract, and one who 
had had a large experience in building 
both horizontal and upright types 
proposed that they put in a battery 
of vertical units, claiming that, while 
they coiild not be expected to show 
any more economy in operation, the 
superior quality of the steam would 
work a great sa\ing in condensation 
bound to occur in a long sinuous pip- 
ing system, when moist steam at a 
moderated pressure is employed. His 




Fig. 5. The Water Tube Boiler. 



tance in connection Avith power 
practice, there is little conception of 
the advantages gained by applying the 
same principle to the service steam. 

An instructive proof of this was 
furnished in a plant which was con- 
sidering additional boilers to gener- 
ate steam for a new dyehouse. The 
original boiler equipment consisted of 
several of the standard return tubu- 
lar type, and no reason was conceived 
why the new units should not be of 
the same class, as they had always 
given satisfaction. One of the com- 
peting boiler makers who were bid- 



argument was so attractive that his 
firm was given the contract, and a 
battery of uprights of the most ap- 
proved type was installed. As the 
equipmemt at this plant was so ar- 
ranged that the dyehouse system could 
be supplied with steam power, from 
either the new or old boiler plant, no 
time was lost in improving the op- 
portunity by running a week from one 
set and the next week from the 
other for a term of two months or 
more. 

THE AMOUNT OF FUEL 
burned in each battery was compare^ 



158 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



and showed a saving of 15 x>er cent 
for ibe vertical boilers over the older 
type. Notwithstanding this in subse- 
quent evaporative tests the horizon- 
tals showed a gTeater effifnency by 
some ten per cent, which indicates 
conclusively that the saving was real- 
ized by sendin?: dry superheated 
steam into the system which pre- 
vented excessive condensation and ar- 
riAed at the point where required in 
a condition to do the most efficient 
work. 

The water tube type of boiler (Fig- 
ure 5) was invented some forty years 
ago, and since that time, until recent- 
ly, has been so changed and modified 
in form and design of constructdon that 
really no standard could be deter- 
mined upon. At the present time, 
however, the situation has simplified 
sufficiently to enable them to be 
classed under three heads, the in- 
clined straight tube, the crooked 
tube (also inclined) and the vertical 
straight tube, and probably ninety per 
cent of the water tube boilers in usp 
belong to one of the above varieties. 
The advantages claimed from the first 
were chiefly on the line of safety and 
quick steaming qualities. These. fea- 
tures have been probably more in- 
strumental in bringing them into 
general use than all others, although 
they haA'^e 

SEVERAIi ADDITIONAL POINTS 
in their favor, such as lightness of parts 
(which makes the matter of transpor- 
tation and erection a simple affair 
compared with the handling of those of 
the fire tube type), accessibility for 
cleaning, durability and many others. 
The arrangement of tubes in this 
boiler is such that the entire amount 
of water is confined in small sections, 
and consequently there are no large 
surfaces to fortify against the internal 
pressures and in place of metal of 
great thickness with its necessarj- 
weight tind uncertainty in regard to 
its soundness (as is required in the 
other typeis), lighter and more ductile 
material is allowable, even for the 
veiy highesi pressures carriied by 
the modern steam plant. This separ- 
ation of the water into small bodies 
which are nearly surrounded by the 



hot flames and gases from the fur- 
nace is pi airily conducive to the quick 
generation of steam as the water is 
attacked by the heat from all sides. 
It is also evident that the powers 
for holding quantities of heat are 
somewhat less than in the horizontal 
fire tube style where there is a larger 
body of water kept in reserve under 
pressure. In othei- words the water 
tube may be 

TERMED MORE -'FLASHY" 

in its action than the return tubular 
unless there be provision made for 
water storage, as is the case with 
some makes. 

Theoretically, the two t5'^pes of boil- 
ers, fire and water tube, should show 
the same, or nearly the same, econ- 
omy or evaporative eflioiiency. 
The practical results, however, sel- 
dom confirm this and, as a general rule, 
in actual practice, the fire tube will 
stand ahead in water evaporation per 
pound of coal. This is admitted by 
many of the water tube advocates 
who are willing to allow a superiority 
of from 5 to 10 per cent for the fire 
tube when the twc are tested to- 
gether. They claim, notwithstanding, 
that, when the question of repairs, 
safety and adaptability to improved 
furnace conditions and the other ad- 
vantages are taken into consideration, 
the water tube is by far the more 
satisfactory piece of equipment. 

The cause for the better showing 
in general evaporation of the fire tube 
may, perhaps, be explained by consiid- 
ering the action of the heated gases 
after leaving the furnace grate. As 
every one. knows, the greater part of 
the heat in the fire tube boiler is 
absorbed by the heating surfaces of 
the tubes which, if properly arranged, 
will reduce the temperature of the 
gases from that of the fire at the 
grate to as low as 400 degrees at 
the chimney end of the boiler. This 
result is brought about by the great 
capacity of the 

WATER-COVERED TUBES 
for carrying off the heat from the 
gases which impinge upon the con- 
cave surfaces with m.uch the same 
intensity as the flames strike the 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



159 



arch of a brick oven. That this is 
not the case with the water tube is 
evident for the reason that the tube 
surfaces presented to the gases are 
convex instead of concave, and do not 
absorb the heat as efficiently. This 
fact has been substantiated by tests 
made with water and fire tubes of 
the same given area of heat absorb- 
ing surface and further proven by the 
invariably high temperatures of the 
escaping flue gases from a water tube 
when compared with the other va- 
riety. 

Between the different types of 
water tube boilers there is little to 



of brick, and also to the now adknowl- 
©dged advantages of maintaining a 

HIGH RATE OF COMBUSTION 

and high furnace temperatures. 
To obtain tliis ideal high duty 
in an internally fired boiler 
furnace has been found very dif- 
ficult on account of the lack of room 
for the grate surface required, and 
also space for the proper mixture of 
the gases to ci'eate perfect combus- 
tion, and any attempt made to force 
the fires in such boilers generally re- 
sults in a great amount of smoke and 
lower efficiency. This trouble is more 




Fig. 6. The "Dutcii Oven" Furnace. 



choose, their performance under 
duty being about the same. The ver- 
tical type has the same relative ad- 
vantage over the horizontal (or in- 
clined) in respect to the delivery of 
dry steam that the vertical fire tube 
has over the horizontal fire tube. An- 
other advantage possessed by the 
vertical water tube and one in which 
it excels all others is its capacity for 
handling muddy or scale-forming 
water, the scale and impurities falling 
directly into the lower drum (which is 
comparatively cool), where they can 
remain in suspension until blown out 
or mechanically removed. 

In the first part of this article at- 
tention was called to the superiority 
of the internally fired boiler over one 
in which there is charce for much 
heat to escape through furnace walls 



evident when coal containing much 
volatile matter, like the Western prod- 
ucts, is used, the combustion being 
so restricted that most of the volatile 
matter escapes in the form, of smotoe 
and soot. To meet this condition the 
form of furnace known as the rever- 
beratory or Dutch oven (Figure 6) has 
been introduced and is fast gaining 
favor. 

This furnace is constructed along 
the lines of the ordinary furnace used 
under the horizontal tubular boiler, 
the only addition being an arched 
roof made of fire brick, generally 
about four feet above the grates. In 
operation this refractory roof is heat- 
ed to a very high temperature, and 
as fresh coal is introduced, the oily 
or volatile matter is immediately 
formed into gas and instantly ig- 



160 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



nited by the heat from the incandes- 
cent brick and joining with the 
flame from the solid I'art of the fuel 
produces a clear fire of great in- 
tensity. In this way the volatile mat- 
ter becomes a valuable addition to 
the heating capacity of the fuel, 
whereas in furnaces of the ordinary 
pattern the process of ignition is so 
low that most of the valuable in- 
gredients pass off nnburned in the 
form of smoke and are of no value 
for generating steam. 

It is necessary with this furnace 
that some considerable space be pro- 
vided between the grate and the heat- 
ing surfaces in order to give the 
gases a chance to mix and create 
what is called "perfect combustion." 
For this reason, then, the furnace is 
generally placed outside the boiler 
setting, and being, so to speak, an 
independent element of itself, it can 
be placed before any type, and if 
properly arranged can be made to 

GIVE EXCELLENT RESULTS. 

The principle of the reverberatory 
arch is carried out in the construction 
of many of the "mechanical stokers," 
and, in fact, is the foundation for 
their wonderful success, for by no 
other means could the smokeless and 
uniform combustion of the fuel be 
obtained and at such a rapid rate. 
In this case it seems, therefore, that 
notwithstanding the evident oppor- 
tunity for the escape of heat through 
the side walls and roof of a Dutch 
oven, or reverberatory furnace, which 
would apparently be a serious handi- 
cap v/hen compared with the inter- 
nally fired boiler furnace, that they, 
by their much greater ability for ex- 
tracting the heating value of the or- 
dinary kinds of fuel, outclass every 
other form in ultimate efliciency and 
capacity for overload. 

THE EXTERNAL CLEANING 
of a boiler is a very simple but dis- 
agreeable process, and particularly in 
the smaller plants, where the man in 
charge considers the boilers are a 
necessary evil anyhow, do we find 
that the work of cleaning is sadly 
neglected. It is very hard to believe 
that anyone will neglect a duty 



which by so doing will add to his 
woirk as a whole, but it seems to be 
the situation in this case, for in a 
one-man boiler plant, where any extra 
diligence on the fireman's part in 
cleaning the soot from the heating 
surfaces will act directly toward the 
lessening of his labor of firing, we 
often find the worst conditions of all. 
A fire tube boiler, either horizontal 
or upright, should be provided with 
some means for blowing the soot 
from the tubes, either with air or 
steam at a very high pressure. The 
blowing operation should be per- 
formed as often as is required to 
keep the tubes free from soot, and 
no definite rule can be laid down on 
account of different conditions pre- 
vailing in each particular place, such 
as draft, quality of coal, light or 
heavy duty, etc. To ascertain as 
nearly as possible the amount of blow- 
ing necessary to keep up to the point 
of economical operation, an experi- 
ment was tried by the writer upon 
a battery of three upright 

FIRE TUBE BOILERS. 

It had been the custom to 
blow the tubes every Saturday, and, 
to commence with, the temperature 
of the gas in the uptake was taken 
at 9 o'clock Monday forenoon when 
the fires were at the regular working 
stage. The temperature was then 
taken at the same point on Saturday 
at the same time with the fires, in as 
near the same condition as could be 
secured and an increase shown of ap- 
proximately ir;0 deigrees. The in- 
terval between Saturday of one week 
and Saturday of the next week was 
then divided and a blowing given on 
Wednesday. This brought the tem- 
perature on Saturday morning diown 
to only 70 degrees in excess of the 
minimum. The interval between 
blowings was again shortened by 
blowing on Tuesday and Thursday, 
as well as Saturday, making three 
cleanings a week. 

The reisult in this case showed so 
little gain that after repeating the 
different schedules for several weeks 
it was decided that the gain realized 
from the third application of the 
blower did not warrant the extra ^x- 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



161 



pense incurred. A continuous test 
with the same object in view was 
made in a power station in New ifork 
some time ago. On this occasion a 
recordins: thermometer was used up- 
on a boiler working under practically 
constant load night and day, and com- 
mencing with clean flues, 

THE TEST 

was run for several days until the usual 
time for cleaning came around, when 
a chart was obtained which indicated 
an almost continual increase of tem- 
perature of the escaping gases from 
tb© start. Both of the above tests 
serve to show that the matter of 
cleaning boiler flues is one which re- 
quires a good deal of attention on 
someone's part, in order that the most 
efficient service may be maintained. 
In addition to blowing the tubes theiy 
should be scraped at regular inter- 
vals, which would seiem to some quite 
unnecessary. There are, however, in- 
fluences present at all times which 
bend to harden the soot and fasten it 
upon the heating surfaces in the form 
of a crust, which no blowing, however 
powerful, is capable of removing, but 
which can be easily dislodged by the 
mechanical action of a good scraper 
vigorously applied. 

The problem of keeping the tube 
surfaces of a waiter tube boiler free 
from soot is very easily solved by 
blowing, but the work must be dili- 
gently attended to or the heating ef- 
ficiency Will drop off at a much faster 
rate than with the fire tube, on ac- 
count of there being a greater num- 
ber of recesses and nooks where the 
heat-resisting material can be deposit- 
fd. To keep the inside or water side 
of boilers clean is a greater, and often- 
times more difficult, task than the re- 
moval of soot and ash, and the dam- 
aging effects resulting from the pres- 
ence of any substance like mud or 
scale which prevents the water from 
reaching the metal surfaces are fully 
as pronounced as those from un- 
cleanliness on the outside. 

No definite or detailed methods 
can be prescribed for reducing and 
removing boiler scale, as conditions 
are never the same in two different 
localities, which may require strenuous 



work in one case to prevent the forma- 
tion of scale in large quantities, while 
in another the quality of the water 
may be such that little attention is 
required. It is, thenefore, only proper 
to say that in every instance the 
boilers should be kept clean at any 
cost and methods should be adopted 
which are necessary to attain the re- 
sults, whatever they may 'be. 

In the early days it was not con- 
sidered advisable to throw a boiler 
away so long as any part of it re- 
mained intact, and, as a consequence, 
the business of renewing tubes, sheets 
and braces was quite a feature of the 
boiler maker's work. The workman- 
ship and material of the time were 
much inferior to those of the pres- 
ent, which added also to the neces- 
sity for more or less of these 

REPAIRS. 
Of late, however, since the high pres 
sure and high duties have come into 
vogue, the insurance companies, and 
others who are responsible for the 
satisfactory and safe conditions 
around the boiler plant, are refusing 
to allow any of the old-time patch- 
work to be done, and when leaks and 
fractures do occur (which is very 
seldom now, on account of the better 
quality of material and the substitu- 
tion of machine work for hand opera- 
tion) the boiler Is either returned to 
the shop to be rebuilt or thrown out 
altogether. This improvement in 
practice has eliminated about 90 per 
cent of the work generally considered 
as "boiler repairs," so that aside from 
an occasional instance (where, hj the 
use of the portable welding systems 
now coming into use, some jobs can 
be done in a more efficient manner 
than has been heretofore known) the 
repair work on the boilers proper 
consists mainly in replacing tubes. In 
the upright type of fire tube boiler 
(Figures 2. 3 and 4) there is always 
more or less trouble experienced from 
tubes leaking at the crown sheet di- 
rectly over the fire. The cause for 
this is quite evident when taking in- 
to account the intense heat to which 
the tube ends are subjected, and the 
effect that this heat would naturally 
have upon a thin pieoei of unprotected 



162 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWEE 



ductile metal like the section of a 
charcoal iron tube. 

It follows, then, that if any sedi- 
ment is allowed to collect upon the 
crown sheet, which in any way pre- 
vents the water from covering these 
tubes where they are expanded into 
the sheet, and thus protect them from 
the fire, leakage and possibly 
other serious results are inevitable. 
As the crown sheet in this design 
of boiler is the natural repository for 
all scale which forms upon the tubes 
above and then wb.en loosened falls 
down upon it, nnd also more or less 
mud and sediment, it is plain that un- 
less the boilers are kept exceptionally 
clean the tube ends are liable 
to become partially covered in a short 
time, particularly if the water used 
contains much matter tending to form 
scale or mud. 

DEPOSIT OF SEDIMENT. 

If the deposit of siediment is al- 
lowed to increase until it cannot be 
removed either by the water hose 
or by some mechanical cleaning rod, 
the only method by which the trouble 
can be stopped is by taking out one 
or more of the tubes, thus . making 
sufficient room, to get at the ob- 
jectionable mass. The tasik of re- 
moving and replacing tubes in a 
boiler is one which is usually consid- 
ered beyond the scope and ability of 
the mill mechanics, and a force from 
the boiler shop is usually summoned 
for any emergency of this kind. Un- 
less the requirements are greatly out 
of the ordinary, this work can be 
done by any handy man at a much 
less expense and usually in as satis- 
factory a manner as by the average 
run of boiler makers. 

In any event, the -suhject is an im- 
portant one, and one worthy of con- 



sideration, as the greater part of the 
repair work necessary in connection 
with the internally fired fire tube boil- 
er and a considerable portion of that re- 
quired in all other types lie along 
this line. Repairs to the masonry 
or brick work of all boilers which are 
set in brick or have furnaces of this 
material are one of the chief items 
of expense in the 

MAINTENANCP; ACCOUNT 
of the power plant. 

The comparative amount charge- 
able to each particular type of boiler 
or furnace depends mostly upon the 
individual design and the duty re- 
quired, and it is reasonable to expect 
that there would be a great difference 
in this respect between the boiler 
doing moderate duty and one in 
which the fires are pushed to the ut- 
most. The item of repairs on fur- 
naces and masonry is given much 
weight by the people who usually 
nave the power in deciding upon the 
type of boiler to install for a given 
purpose, and the matter of running 
expense receives much more notice 
in the circles where the bills are paid 
than the savings and benefits that 
are derived by operating a high duty 
furnace with its necessarily many re- 
pair bills. On this account maoiy 
times a really desirable boiler has 
been rejected when considering ad- 
ditional equipment and one which is 
inferior in every respect is installed 
simply because the former type is 
known to require more frequent and 
expensive repairs to its furnace. This 
applies particularly to the reverbera- 
tory furnace, which, like all other 
highly efficient apparatuses, deterio- 
rates most rapidly and even with the 
most durable material at present 
known is bound to show a large re- 
pair expense. 

MECHANICAL, SUPERINTENDENT. 



ill Construction 

AND POWER 



Figure 40 shows a portion of tlie 
cooling pond in use at J. & P. Coats, 
Ltd., Pawtucltet, R. I. The illustra- 
tion shows the spray 
Cooling nozzles in operation. 

Ponds Some conditions are 

more favorable than 
others for employing cooling ponds, 



nozzles of a cooling pond. Cooling 
ponds which have no spray nozzles re- 
quire little or no extra power for cir- 
culating the warm water. This type 
of pond is often of value, but its cool- 
ing capacity cannot be compared with 
the kind illustrated in Figure 40. 




Fig. 40. A Typical Cooling Pond. 




Fig. 41. View of Nozzles in Operation. 



some engineers preferring them to 
cooling towers and some favoring the 
tower. A certain amount of power is 
required to pump the hot water to the 
top of a cooling tower, but this is 
about equal to that required to main- 
tain the desired pressure at the spray 



Many obstacles have been encoun- 
tered in designing practical spray 
nozzles. It is necessary to obtain 
a nozzle which will 
Spray Noz- not easily become 
zies clogged. At the same 

time, the spray should 
be uniform and fine. The orifice of 



164 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



a nozzle must be well made. If it 
becomes worn, the nature of the spray 
will be altered and generally cause a 
decreased evaporation. It is desir- 
able to have nozzles constructed so 
that their capacity will be large with 
the water under low pressure. It is 
readily seen that it is difficult to com- 
bine all of the above requirements. 

Nozzles are upon the market, how- 
ever, which give good results. Those 
used at the mill of J. & P. Coats, 
Ltd., have a clear opening at the ori- 
fice which is eleven-sixteenths of an 
inch in diameter. They are connected 
to 2-inch pipes. Figure 41 is a nearer 
view of several nozzles and illustrates 
more clearly the shape of each spray. 



spillway. This corner is shown by 
Figure 42. There is 
nutlet ^ large drain pipe 

""^'®^ with a shut-off valve 

connected to the bot- 
tom of the pond near the spillway. 
By opening this valve, the entire pond 
may be quickly drained. The walls 
and bottom of the cooling basin are 
all of concrete. 

Cooling ponds require considerable 
room. Some textile mills have plenty 
of land, and do not consider this of 
great importance. Others would find 
it almost impossible to use so much 
ground space. Cooling ponds are val- 
uable to some plants on account of 
the available water supply in case of 




Fig. 42. The Spillway. 



Capacity 



The cooling apparatus at the Coats 
Mill is designed to furnish condens- 
ing water for 7,000-horse power. Five 
main spray lines sup- 
ply hot water to 360 
2-inch spray nozzles. 
The pond itself is 
170 feet long, 160 feet wide and 6 feet 
deep. When filled to the top of the 
overflow, it holds about 900,000 gal- 
lons. 

One end of the pond is separated 
from the remainder by a concrete par- 
tition. At the bottom of this wall 
there are openings which allow the 
cold water at the bottom of the pond 
. to flow into the enclosure, from which 
the water flows to the condensers. 



fire. Fire pumps can be installed, 
with their suction pipes drawing from 
the cooling basin. 



Before the nozzles were all installed 
at the cooling pond for the Coats Mill, 
several tests were made to ascertain 
the cooling capacity 
Cooling of the system. With 

Capacity an average load of 
2,700-horse power up- 
on the condensing power units, the fol- 
lowing results were obtained: 

TEST UPON COOLING POND. 



At the opposite end of the pond, one 
corner is fitted with an overflow or 







Tem- 










pera- 


Tempera 






Atmos- 


ture of 


ture of 


Rel- 




pheric 


water to 


water 


ative 


Date 


tem- 


cooling 


to con- 


humid 


1910. 


perature. 


basin. 


denser. 


ity. 


Apr. 


11. ..SO 


77.5 


62.5 




May 


4 49 


89 


70 




June 


15. ..83 


105 


86 


63 


July 


9 91 


106 


88.5 


48 


Aug. 


25.. .83 


104 


89 


71 


Sept. 


19.. .54 


89 


70 


66 


Oct. 


8 54 


88 


70 


. . 



Proper Size of a Cotton Mill 



[Article Number One] 



What is the most convenient size for 
a cotton mill, and please state why you 
decided upon this size, both respecting 
the proper location for machinery, the 
work of overseering and all other fea- 
tures which go to make up the conclu- 
sion. 

It has been stated that the increased 
size of cotton mills approaches the non- 
economical point when they reach 85,- 
000 spindles. 

One of the most economical and 
convenient sizes for a cotton mill to 
manufacture the most common cotton 
cloths would be one of about 82,800 
filling ring spindles and 80,000 warp. 
What we mean by the most common 
cloths are such as grey goods, sheet- 
ings, shade cloths, etc., the counts be- 
ing 28s warp and 45s filling. To put 
in one building the amount of ma- 
chinery that the above organization 
calls for demands a building of large 
dimensions. 

To eliminate as far as possible the 
use of artificial light it is seldom ad- 
visable to erect tnills much wider 
than 90 feet. At one time picker 
rooms were frequently built in separ- 
ate buildings, placed near the end of 
the main mill. These buildings dark- 
ened the main mill building, and were 
objectionable. It is, therefore, better 
to place the 

PICKING MACHINERY 
at the end of the main mill, separat- 
ed from it, however, by a substantial 
fire wall. 

The square mill built large enough 
to accommodate the required machin- 
ery would have large areas so dark 
that artificial light would have to be 
used during the entire day. This 
makes it advisable to build mills long 
and comparatively narrow. 

Formerly, a long mill was objection- 
able on account of the excessive 
lengths of line shaftings, and long line 
shafts use large amounts of power. 
Long lengths of small shafting be- 
come twisted and out of line, while 
larger shafting is much heavier, and 



for this reason, increases the friction 
losses. 

The objection to long mills on ac- 
count of shafting losses is no longer 
important. The changes introduced 
by modern electrical apparatus 
make it possible to limit the length 
of line shafting as much as desired. 
Some of the machines can be individ- 
ually operated by small motors, and 
the remainder should be divided into 
many groups. Machinery can be 
placed in the locations best suited to 
reduce the labor cost, irrespective of 
the location of the driving pulleys. 
Mill buildings should be constructed 
with dimensions suitable for proper 
spacing of the machinery, and should 
be designed to admit as much evenly 
distributed daylight as possible. 

It has been stated that the increase 
in size of a cotton mill approaches the 
non-economical point when designed 
for 85,000 spindles. 

Now, is the above statement true? 
If it is not true, why was such a 
statement made? 

It is not true, and the only reason 
that can be advanced by mill men 
who conceive such an idea is by claim- 
ing that the departments are made 
too large for the overseers, and the 

MACHINERY SUFFERS 
through neglect. It is pointed out that 
they are unable to give their personal 
supervision which they otherwise 
could if the department was smaller, 
and so they make 85,000 spindles the 
maximum gauge point. 

The writer is willing to admit that 
the above is true for some men, but 
we would like to ask those very men 
why it is that the same deplorable 
conditions often exist in mills where 
the departments are small. It is a 
fact that many mills having a large 
corps of overseers turn out poor work 
and waste money. 

Poor supervision is caused by em- 
ploying poor overseers rather than by 



166 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 













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MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



167 



the inability of good men to keep in 
personal touch with the important de- 
tails. A certain class of mill men are 
too reticent about changing their meth- 
ods in operating their plant. The tnan 
who has for years been connected 
with a certain mill knows its needs 
as no other person can, but with com- 
petition as it exists to-day, he must 
keep in touch with the others and 
must be willing to make changes 
which at first often seem expensive 
and unnecessary. 

THE GENERAL DESIGN 

and details for a new mill should 
be worked out by a competent mill 
engineer. He should be familiar not 
only with mill construction, but with 
textile machinery. The new mill 
agent should be held largely respon- 
sible for the size of the mill, arrange- 
ment of departments and many details 
of construction. He should take 
these matters up with the mill engi- 
neers and no controversies which 
arise should be settled hastily. 

The mill agent should have a gener- 
al knowledge of all local operating 
conditions which vary with the class 
of goods manufactured. He should 
obtain the advice and opinions of his 
future overseers, so far as it is pos- 
sible and practical. 

There is not a subject pertaining to 
a cotton mill that requires more spe- 
cial treatment than the arrangement 
of the drafts in the various machines. 
This should be dealt with prior to 
even dealing with the constructive de- 
tails. Does not the amount of draft 
on each machine determine the size 
of the mill? To make the above point 
clear, let us assume that two men are 
building a mill, and one man believes 
in short drafts throughout the mill, 
while the other man believes in long; 
the latter would equip his mill with 
six slubbers running .50 hank slubber 
roving, while the other man, who un- 
derstands his business and believes 
in short -drafts, would run .75 hank 
slubber roving. He would be obliged 
to equip his mill with nine slubbers 
for the same number of yarn and pro- 
duction. 



The above is simply given to show 
that the atnount of drafting does de- 
termine the size of the mill. It is 

OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE 

that in building a mill due regard is 
paid to the proper drafting of the 
machines. The range of counts and 
the desired production should be con- 
sidered and the proper equipment in- 
stalled for obtaining maximum effi- 
ciency. 

Let us assume that we build a large 
mill of 85,000 spindles, and in order 
to save in the initial cost, the proper 
number of machines preceding the 
spindles is reduced and their draft 
made long. With such a hang-up the 
mill would run fairly well just as long 
as the same or a better stock was 
used. If the price of cotton is greatly 
increased, does the buyer before pur- 
chasing a cheaper grade carefully 
consider the effect of this change 
upon the operating end of his mill? 
Some do, but many do not. This is 
not because they do not know better, 
but their mind is so centred on sav- 
ing a few dollars on the price of cot- 
ton that they seem to lose sight of 
the fact that the machines are lim- 
ited. What happens? 

When the poor stock hits the card 
room the carder, no matter how care- 
less he may be, will have his atten- 
tion called to the soft roving by the 
speeder tenders. This is plain to all 
practical men, because the poor stock 
will not stand 

THE LONG DRAFTS, 
and the staple of this cotton, which 
is altogether too weak in the first 
place, will not have that tendency to 
hold together, but instead it becomes 
more fluffy, with a tendency to fly, 
which, of course, makes the strand 
lighter and the bobbins softer. A cer- 
tain amount of twist must be insert- 
ed, which, of course, lessens the pro- 
duction. 

It is only natural for such men to 
say that they are sorry that such a 
large mill was built. They do not 
even conceive the idea that they are 
really to blame for existing conditions. 
Is it not also true that when you visit 
most mills the superintendent or some 



168 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



of the overseers will tell you that 
they have a poor hang-up, but that 
they cannot help it on account of a 
shortage of machinery? 

Again, is it not a fact that in some 
of our cotton mills the production in 
the card room falls off fifteen to twen- 
ty per cent in the summer months, 
while in others you will find very 
little difference? What is the cause? 
The only answer that can be made is 
that the trouble is in the equipment, 
the management or both. Is it not 
true that in many concerns composed 
of from two to seven mills you will 
find that one overseer with the same 
equipment will turn off a better and 
larger production than others? How 
is it that this can be done? The 
only answer is that one man under- 
stands cotton and knows when to 
take out and when to insert twist, 
and for this very reason he is able 
to run his room no matter how large 
it is, while, on the other hand, no 
matter how small the room is, it is too 
large for a man who does not under- 
stand the peculiarities of the cotton 
staple. Is it not a fact that such con- 
ditions are now existing in 

SOME OP OUR MILLS? 

Often you find a good carder in a 
small mill who has his heart and 
soul in his room and will make his 
rounds now and then and examine 
the strippings, waste, etc., and when 
he lands a similar position in a large 
mill and carries on the same practice, 
he is quickly told by the overseers 
to let the second hand do that; even 
the superintendent will stop him. 

Now we do not wish to be misun- 
derstood and have the reader take it 
for granted that an overseer should 
do a second hand's work, for we are 
quite opposed to it. We are also op- 
posed to a man not giving the best of 
his knowledge to the mill for which he 
works, simply because he has, per- 
haps, a couple of assistants to help 
him 

Let us assume, on the other hand, 
that when a sample of cotton is re- 
ceived at the office, the agent or over- 
seer is sent for, and the question put to 
him whether, if such stock is bought, 
there will be a loss or gain? Surely 



no reader can argue that the above 
would be a bad plan. 
Now let us assume that an 

85,000-SPINDLE MILL 

is built and that the amount of ma- 
chinery installed is slightly more than 
that which would supply the number 
of spindles. What is the result? In 
the winter time, when the work is 
running better than in the summer, 
the carder can make a lighter hank 
roving without injuring the stock, and 
this benefits the spinner; on the 
other hand, in the summer time, 
when the work does not run so well 
and a slight decrease in the carding 
production taikes place, the hank 
roving can be made slightly heavier 
and the draft in the spinning increases. 
The work can thus be balanced. It 
must be understood that in order to 
accomplish the above due regard 
must be paid to the proper drafting 
of the machines; that is, a mill should 
be equipped with enough machinery 
to prevent making the draft excessive 
no matter what kind of stock is used. 

A scheme of drafts which would be 
suitable for long stock would be ut- 
terly unsuitable for short. The mis- 
take of overdrafting a mill is too 
often made. Many spinners in both 
large and small mills are running 
their rooms with a draft of fourteen 
on their frames when running double 
and as high as eight when running 
single. Again, carders in both large 
and small mills have drafts on their 
cards from 80 to 110, no matter what 
kind of stock is used. Drafts are 
also frequently excessive on the draw- 
ing frames, slubbers, intermediates 
and fine speeders. 

Let us next consider 

THE DISADVANTAGES 

of a small mill: (1) The small mill 
cannot pay as much for an overseer 
as the large mill can, and for this 
reason, the chances are that the small 
mill is more liable to have an in- 
ferior man. Again, we do not wish to 
be misunderstood, as there are many 
good men working as overseers in 
small mills. 

It must be admitted, however, that 
the larger mills have the advantage 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



169 



of picking the best men, simply be- 
cause they are able to pay a higher 
wage. (2) In a small mill it is very 
difficult to run a variety of yarns, sim- 
ply because you have perhaps only 
one or two feeders, and as these have 
to be stopped and cleaned every time 
the stock is changed, this amount of 
stopping in such a small mill is often 
the cause of turning what would other- 
wise be a gain into a loss. 

In a small mill, it often happens 
that an important man is obliged to 
be away from the mill, and the over- 
seer must then put much of his time 
in handling this work. 

In a large mill, it is different. As- 
suming that it requires three men to 
supply the feeders with cotton, and that 
one man is unable to work, the over- 
seer can then double the two men up 
for a day or two, and the extra pay 
can be divided between them. The 
above is a practice that is adopted to 
advantage in many large plants. 

In all departments of a large mill, 
extra help is always available by tem- 
porarily doubling the work and pay- 
ing for the same in proportion. 

Let us now 

COMPARE THE COST 

for overseers, superintendents and 
treasurers of a small mill with that of 
the same officials in a large mill. As 
a rule, the overseer of a mill consist- 
ing of 10,000 spindles gets about $2.50 
per day, the superintendent $5 per 
day and the treasurer $5,000 per year. 
But in a mill with the organization 
quoted above, the overseer would get 
about $30 per week, the superinten- 
dent $5,000 per year, and the treasurer 
$10,000 per year. Five overseers at 
$15 per week equals $75. The super- 
intendent at $5 per day equals $30 
per week, and the treasurer at $5,000 
per year equals $96.15 So we have 
$75 plus $30 plus $96.15 equals $201.15 
per week. Assuming that a pound 
per spindle is produced, we have 
$201.15 divided by 10,000 equals $.0201, 
cost per pound for the managers of 
a small mill. 

Five overseers at $30 per week 
equals $150. The superintendent at 



$5,000 per year equals $96.15 per week, 
and the treasurer at $10,000 per year 
equals $192.30 per week. So we have 
$150 plus $96.15 plus $192.30 equals 
$438.45 per week. Assuming that a 
pound per spindle is produced as in 
the first case, we have $438.45 divided 
by 162,800 equals .00269 cost per 
pound for administration of a large 
mill. 

We think we have placed each 
wage 

ON A FAIR BASIS, 

and from the above figures, there is 
a difference of over 1% cents per 
pound in favor of the large mill. 

We will now calculate the number 
of machines and their size to supply 
162,800 spindles. A warp frame run- 
ning 28s yarn should turn off 1.3 
pounds per spindle, and a filling frame 
running 45s yarn should turn off .70 
pound per spindle. This averages one 
pound per spindle or 162,800 pounds. 

As stated, it is not good policy to 
drive the machines to their limit. As 
10,500 pounds is a fair week's work 
for a picker, it will be necessary to 
have 12 breakers, 16 intermediates and 
16 finisher pickers. This gives a pro- 
duction of about 168,000 pounds, which 
is necessary so that the picker room 
can be stopped part of Saturday to 
clean and scour the machines. 

A card running a 50 to 55 grain sliv- 
er should turn off 700 pounds per 
week. 168,000 divided by 700 equals 
240 cards. Running one card to each 
delivery, with three processes of 
drav/ings, six deliveries to each head 
would give 240 divided by 6 equals 
40x3 equals 120 heads or 720 total 
deliveries. A slubber spindle running 
62.5 average roving should turn off 
90 pounds per spindle. 168,000 di- 
vided by 90 equals- 1,866 spindles. 
Eighty spindles to a slubber is about 
the right number, so that the tender 
can run a pair and do justice to the 
work. Above this number has proven 
poor economy. 1,866 divided by 80 
equals nearly 24 slubbers. 

We are taking the full production 
without a loss in the above calcula- 
tions, although there is a loss of 4% 
per cent on the cards alone. 



170 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



The reason for this is, as stated, 
that with such a hang-up, the carder 
can manipulate his drafts at all times 
so that all 

PROCESSES WILL BALANCE 
each other without injuring the staple. 
When there is plenty of slubber rov- 
ing, the drawing sliver should be 
made lighter, and. when there is a 
shortage of slubber roving the draw- 
ing sliver should be heavier and the 
draft increased on the intermediates. 

Similar changes can be made in the 
slubber drafts to regulate the produc- 
tion between the drawing and slub- 
bers. The same can be done between 
the fine 

SPEEDERS AND INTERMEDIATES. 
No machine should be pushed to its 
limit at the start. 

An intermediate spindle running 
1.80 hank roving should turn off 35 
pounds per week. 168,000 divided by 
35 equals 4,800 spindles. 102 spindles 
to each intermediate is about the 
proper number. 4,800 divided by 102 
equals 48 intermediates. 

A fine speeder spindle running 4.50 
hank roving should turn off about ten 
pounds per spindle per week. We 
now must separate the warp spindles 
from the total spindles; 80,000x1.3 
equals 104,000 pounds, 104,000 divided 
by 10 equals 10,400 spindles. Having 
180 to a frame gives 10,400 divided 
by 180, equals nearly 57 speeders. We 
call it 58, so as to give one spare 
speeder to enable the carder to ma- 
nipulate his drafts, and regulate the 
work between the fine speeders and 
intermediates, and to also accommo- 
date the spinner in the winter time by 
allowing him to shorten his drafts 
and thus improve the work by remov- 
ing a great amount of friction from 
the front rolls which makes the yarn 
uneven. 

During a certain part of the year, 
especially in the month of October, 
the spinning runs badly. This 
is the time that the spinner and 
carder should get together and ar- 
range the drafts in each room so as 
to remove friction from the spinning 
top front rolls as much as possible. 
This is accomplished by shortening 
the drafts. 



No doubt, many readers will not 
agree with us, because to those who 
have not given the above point due 
consideration, it may at first seem a 
matter of little importance. 

To prove the above, figure the draft 
of a frame when it is excessive, and 
you will find that the strand in front 
of the machine should be lighter. In 
some cases, it proves much heavier 
than the calculated draft. 

The reason for this is that the front 
roll has so much work to do, owing 
to an excessive draft, that it lags be- 
hind the speed of the bottom steel 
roll, which, of course, shortens the 
strand, or in other words, if the fig- 
ure draft is seven, it stands to reason 
that by the front top roll lagging be- 
hind the bottom steel roll, a draft 
of seven is not attained and the work 
is heavier. 

On the other hand, if the draft is 
short, it will be found that the draft 
will very nearly prove itself by divid- 
ing the hank fed into the hank pro- 
duced. 

Our forefathers used the following \ 
rule to advantage: Divide the hank \ 
fed into the hank produced to obtain I 
the draft. But very few use the rule / 
now, and why? Some will tell you 
that the rule cannot be used accu- 
rately, owing to the insertion of twist. 

It must be admitted that the twist 
found in most slubber roving affects 
the hank but little; but here is where 
you will find the greatest variation. 
We are not now referring to a slub- 
ber with a short draft; but we mean 
that when a slubber has a draft of at 
least five, which is considered a short 
draft by some carders, divide the 
hank fed into the hank produced and 
it will be found that the draft will 
prove shorter than it figures. 

This is the reason why the above 
rule is not used to advantage at the 
present time. It is the friction by 

THE EXCESSIVE DRAFTS 
found in most of our cotton mills that 
makes the variation, and not the 
twist, as many believe, although we 
are willing to admit that the twist 
will affect the weight of the sliver 
slightly. 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



171 



Years ago, you would find a draft 
of 14 on ring frames In very few mills. 
Drafts were found to be very short. 
Of course, the drafts in the card 
room were excessive. • This was be- 
cause in those days we had the rail- 
way head system, and, owing to the 
bulky sliver which had to be run in 
order to get the production, the drafts 
had to be excessive to draw this 
bulky sliver down. In the spinning 
rooms, the drafts were shorter than 
at the present time. 

It must be understood that a series 
of short drafts can be found at the 
present time in some of our mills, 
especially in our fine goods mills, but 
in the majority of our mills you will 
find the drafts excessive, with an ex- 
cessive front roll speed besides. This 
makes conditions so bad, and so much 
waste is made, that it gives a visitor 
a desire to roll up his trousers in 
walking through the alleys. 

We next consider the number of 
jacks to supply 82,800 filling spindles. 
A ring frame spindle running 45s 
yarn should turn off .70 pounds per 
spindle. 82,800x.70 equals 57,960 
pounds. A jack spindle running 6.50 
hank roving should turn off about six 
pounds per week. 57,960 divided by 
6 equals 9,660 spindles. 192 spindles 
to a frame, 9,660 divided by 192 
equals 50 speeders, so vi^e call it 52 
speeders for .reasons previously ex- 
plained. 

A SPOOLER SPINDLE 
running 28s yarn should turn off about 
18 pounds per week. 104,000 divided 
by 18 equals 5.777 spindles. 100 spin- 
dles to a spooler, 5,777 divided by 100 
equals 57.77, or 58 spoolers. A warper 
should turn off about 2,600 pounds 
per week. 104,000 divided by 2,600 
equals 40 warpers. 

A slasher running at a proper speed 
should turn off 12,000 pounds per 
week. 104,000 divide by 12,000 equals 
nearly nine slashers. Four thousand 
looms should be installed to weave 
the yarn from the above organization. 

On one side of the cotton shed- the 
spaces should be lettered. Cotton of 
the same mark is placed in the same 
stall. With such an arrangement, 
one bale can be taken from each lot 



at mixing time so as to mix the dif- 
ferent marks. 

The side of the shed that is not 
marked is supposed to be empty, and 
ready to receive new cotton, thus it 
can be seen that while one side is 
being emptied, the other is being 
filled. A cotton shed should be built 
high enough so that a second floor 
can be built to store away any sur- 
plus bales of cloth. The shed should 
be built as close to the picker room 
as possible, so that very 

LITTLE TRUCKING 
will be necessary to bring the bales 
in the range of the hosiery apparatus. 

The door where the cotton is ad- 
mitted to the picker room should be 
at least twenty feet above the floor 
where the cotton is mixed. 

A platform should be built even 
with the door, and made wide enough 
so that a bale of cotton can be laid 
lengthwise. With such an arrange- 
ment, the bales could be hoisted to 
this platform and laid on the platform 
opened and mixed when another lot 
would be brought in in the same way. 

It must be understood that the num- 
ber of bales laid on the platform at 
one time would be governed by the 
number of marks, or in other words, 
one bale of each mark is brought in 
and laid on the platform and mixed, 
when this is again repeated until the 
necessary number of bales are mixed. 

In this way, it can be seen that 

BLENDING THE BALES 
would not be left to the men doing 
the mixing, and this arrangement pre- 
cludes the possibility of two bales of 
the same mark coming together. Of 
course, it should be seen that in order 
to do this, when a mark is brought 
in from the first lot and put on one 
side of the staging, that the next time 
it must be placed on the opposite 
side, and the next time in the centre, 
and so on. 

If possible, a railroad branch should 
come between the shed and the mix- 
ing room for shipping facilities, for 
cotton, waste and cloth. 

There is one criticism that can be 
made in all picker rooms, and that is, 
where a large floor space is left for 



172 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



mixing, the operator of the automatic 
feed boxes has to walk a considerable 
distance for the cotton when the mix- 
ing is running low. Some mills use 



be built very high, which enables a 
large mixing in a small floor space. 
The operator would at any time have 
very little walking to do. 



what is known as the Bourne plat- By the plan, it can be seen that 













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form, which moves the mixing closer 
to the machines as the mixing runs 
low. With the above arrangement, 
it can be seen that instead of throw- 
ing the cotton upwards after mixing 
a few layers, the cotton is thrown 
down, and in this way the cotton can 



eight finishers are placed on one side 
of the picker room door and eight 
on the other. A track that runs from 
this door to the full length of the 
cards, on which a truck runs that can 
carry eight laps at a time, makes it 
easy for the lap carriers to carry their 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



173 



laps; moreover, the laps are not in- 
jured as wlien they are carried by 
hand. 

This arrangement saves waste, 
which is usually made when the laps 
are carried by hand, as it is well 
known by all experienced men that 
when the strippers carry the laps by 
hand, as most of them will carry two 
at one time, and when this is done, 
the surfaces of the laps are injured 
to such an extent that a sliver has to 
be pulled off each lap. Therefore, this 
amount of waste must be run through 
a second time, which makes this 
stock fluffy. 

It can be seen that, in the manner 
in which the cards are placed, much 
floor walking is saved for the strip- 
pers when they break out the cans, as 
the last card is only four cards away 
from the drawings. (1) It enables a 
stripper to run more cards. (2) It 
saves the cans, because when cans 
have to be carried a long distance to 
the drawing, they are made to slide 
over the floor and the nails that pro- 
trude from the floor soon injure the 
can bottoms. 

As can be seen from the plan, the 
slubbers are placed directly in front 
of the finished drawing, and the in- 
termediates next to the slubbers. The 
fine and jack frames are placed on 
the second floor for reasons that will 
be explained later. 

We will call the picker room end of 
the mill north and the other end the 
south. By the plan, it can be 
seen that on the first floor of the 
north end we have 240 cards, 120 
heads of drawings, 24 slubbers, and 
48 intermediates. The only objection 
offered against the above plan is that 
the picker room is too far from the 
last card near the centre of the mill. 
But with three lap carriers, the incon- 
venience of the above arrangement 
can be overcome without greatly in- 
creasing expenses. The strippers can. 
each handle 20 cards. They carry 
no laps. The flrst lap carrier could 
easily take care of the flrst 40 cards 
near the picker room door by carry- 
ing the laps by hand, one at a time, 
while the other two lap carriers could 
take care of the other 200 cards by 



working together with the truck. 

Even if an extra hand was neces- 
sary, consider what we save in an- 
other way. On the second floor, we 
place 58 fine speeders and 52 jack 
frames, thus making a 

MODEL SPEEDER ROOM. 

The reasons for placing all fine 
speeders by themselves are numer- 
ous, but the chief reasons are (1) 
when they are in the same depart- 
ment with the cards, drawing, etc., 
the fly that is about the room con- 
tinually collects on the creels, and 
when it is brushed off, it generally 
collects on the ends in front of the 
speeder, unless the frame is stopped 
when cleaned. (2) If flne speeders 
are placed with ring spinning frames, 
the heat that the ring frames occa- 
sion makes it necessary to insert 
more twist in the roving, or other- 
wise the roving will be spongy and 
much running over and under will 
take place. 

The above is a practice found in 
many of cur latest mills, and that is 
where a 

MISTAKE IS MADE. 
We said at the beginning of this ar- 
ticle we would prove that it is neces- 
sary for a man who has charge of 
building a mill to consult agents and 
overseers of the different departments 
of other mills. 

If all mill engineers knew the harm 
that is caused by placing flne speed- 
ers in the same room with ring 
frames, you would not flnd so many 
of these machines running side by 
side. The writer has for seven years 
run fine speeders in a ring spinning 
room, and the only way they could 
be run successfully was by inserting 
two extra teeth of twist in the roving. 

So on the second floor of the north 
end we have the flne speeders, with 
a stairway at each end and one in 
the centre, leading down to the card 
room. The carder has all his depart- 
ments at one end of the mill, and a 
good man can run these departments 
easily. On the top floor of the north 
end, we place 342 ring frames of 256 
spindles. On the top floor of the cen- 
tre, we have the spooling and warp- 



174 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



ing. On the second floor of the cen- 
tre, we have the slashing and draw- 
ing-in room. 

On the lower floor we have the ma 
chine and carpenter shop. The slash- 
ers are placed over the machine shop. 
The reason for this is that 

MUCH DAMAGE RESULTS 

to textile machines when they are 
placed in the room below the slashers 
from the water which often comes 
through the floor, from an overflowing 
kettle, pipes, etc. 

On the first and second floors of 
the south end, we place 4,000 looms, 
2,000 looms in each room. On the top 
floor on the south end, we place 324 
ring frames of 256 spindles. On the 
west side of the filling room, we have 
a filling tower where the full bobbins 
are dumped after doffing. At the bot- 
tom of this filling tower, at a point 
between the two weave rooms, we 
place a humidifier to datapen the fill- 
ing to prevent it from kinking. The 
humidifier would, of course, have to 
be of such a type that the amount 
of humidity to the square foot would 
regulate the spray. Humidifiers 
would also be placed in every depart- 
ment excepting the first and second 
floor of the centre. 



It can be seen that there would be 
ample room to store the reeds and 
harnesses in the slasher room, but this 
storeroom should be divided from 
the slasher, so that the exhaust steam 
will not find its way to the reed wire. 

The above point should be noticed 
by many mill men, because often you 
will find in many slasher rooms hun- 
dreds of reeds that have become so 
rusty they are unfit for use. 

With the above equipped mill, it is 
safe to say that the cost of manufac- 
turing a yard of cloth would be much 
below the cost found at the present 
time in many of our cotton mills. The 
overseers in charge must give their 
respective departments proper atten- 
tion. They must be men who can give 
personal attention to the most impor- 
tant details, and at the same time 
realize which part of the work should 
be taken care of by their assistants. 

Each of the departments for the 
above mill are about as large as can 
be economically handled by a single 
overseer. In this one it is true that 
the cotton must be carried a consid- 
erable distance. The cost of employ- 
ing an extra man for carrying laps is 
small, however, and the above layout 
can be operated satisfactorily and 
economically. 



[Article Number Two — Replying to Article Number One] 



In the American Wool and Cotton 
Reporter for June 22 we printed an 
interesting reply to your question 
which had previously been asked con- 
cerning the most convenient size for 
a cotton mill. The exact wording of 
our question appears at the beginning 
of the article referred to, which was 
published under the heading "Proper 
Size of a Cotton Mill." We print be- 
low some comments called forth by 
this article. The article published in 
the June 22 issue of the American 
Wool and Cotton Reporter under the 
heading "Proper Size of a Cotton 
Mill" contains many interesting and 
valuable points. 



The author of the article states that 
a cotton mill should not be much 
over 90 feet wide, but at the same 
time shows for illustration a plan of 
a card room equipment which would 
call for a room at least 112 feet wide. 
Attention was called to the fact that 
cotton must be carried a considerable 
distance in taking it from the picker 
room to the cards farthest away, and 
the author maintains that this disad- 
vantage is more than outweighed by 
the various good points of his typical 
layout. 

Two hundred and forty cards, ar- 
ranged as shown in the illustration 
given on page 3 of the June 22 issue, 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



175 



would need a room approximately 710 
feet long. This 710 feet is a rough 
figure obtained by calling all the alleys 
between the ends of the cards 3 feet 



to be arranged as shown in the illus- 
tration given in the June 22 issue, 
there will be 60 groups of 4 cards 
each. Without allowing for any al- 









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and the length of each card 10 feet 
4 inches. There should be some alleys 
wider than 3 feet and this would make 
the room still longer. If 240 cards are 



leys, the cards alone will need a space 
60 times 10 1-3 feet or 620 feet long. 

If we allow three feet four inches 
for the width of each intermediatQ 



176 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 




Fig. 2. Arrangement of Slubbers and Drawing Frames. 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



177 



frame and arrange them as was indi- 
cated, the space needed for the 
frames without alley space would be 
about 160 feet. If a space of three 
feet was left between each interme- 
diate, the 48 frames would extend only 
307 feet lengthwise of the room. 

In other words, a room long enough 
to contain the 240 cards, as arranged 
in the illustration previously shown, 
would be about 400 feet longer than 
that needed for the number of inter- 
mediate frames recommended. None 
of these figures need be followed ex- 
actly, but it is evident that the lay- 
out would not fit in properly in the 
manner indicated by the author of 
the article. 

MOST CONVENIENT MILL SIZE. 

In considering the most convenient 
size of a cotton mill, the article pub- 
lished June 22 takes the stand that 
all card room machinery for the mill 
must be placed in one room. The 
one point on which emphasis is laid 
is that of providing one man who 
can properly supervise a large room. 

If by the expression, "the most con- 
venient size for a cotton mill," you 
mean the most convenient size for 
one mill room, we feel that the ar- 
rangement outlined is not the most 
economical. To obtain proper illu- 
mination, it is not wise to build a mill 
room too wide, and the figure 90 feet 
mentioned in the issue of June 22 is 
approximately correct. There would 
be no trouble, however, with a mill 
slightly over 100 feet wide. It is gen- 
erally advisable to place drawing ma- 
chinery across the mill. The length 
of the drawing frames frequently de- 
termines the width of the mill room. 

With every possible convenience 
for movihg the product from one ma- 
chine to another, it may be economi- 
cal to install 240 cards and the corre- 
sponding card room equipment in one 
room. In more instances, it would 
not. It is sometimes practical to ar- 
range drawing machinery lengthwise 
of the mill, but to place in one room 
card room machinery needed for a 
mill like that described in the June 
22 issue would seldom be practical. 
Too much carrying of the product 
WQuld be necessary. The exact limit 



to the amount of equipment which 
should be put in one room depends 
upon methods of handling the work 
in process and local conditions which 
affect the size and shape of a mill. 
The economical size of a card room 
is limited by the machinery arrange- 
ment and not by the question of 
proper oversight. 

In the card room, there are two or 
three kinds of 

DRAWING MACHINERY, 

that is, the first process frames, sec- 
ond process frames and third process 
frames, where the latter are used. 
The sliver from the cards must go to 
the first process drawing, then to the 
second and then to the third. The ma- 
chinery must be carefully arranged to 
prevent mixing cans from the differ- 
ent processes. This limits consider- 
ably the number of practical machin- 
ery arrangements. Figures 1, 2 and 
3 show different parts of a card room 
containing the machinery suggested in 
the article which appeared June 22. 
Figure 1 is a portion of the room next 
to the picker room and illustrates a 
proposed arrangement for 240 cards. 
These will use 31 eight-foot bays. The 
bays are numbered in each of the 
above figures. These three illustra- 
tions show an arrangement which is 
more practical than that given in the 
article referred to. We would not rec- 
ommend putting so much machinery 
in one room, but if this was necessary, 
would advise the arrangement shown. 

The 240 cards arranged according to 
Figure 1 require a mill about 112 feet 
wide. Leaving one bay vacant be- 
tween the cards and the picker room, 
this process will extend to the end of 
bay 31, as indicated in Figure 2. With 
this arrangement of cards, there is no 
long distance to carry laps from the 
picker room. This objectionable fea- 
ture of the arrangement illustrated in 
the June 22 issue was noted by the 
author of that article. 

Figure 2 shows the section of the 
card room extending from bay 31 to 
bay 45. This part of the room con- 
tains the drawing frames and slub- 
bers. The space required for a slub- 
ber and the necessary cans is about 5 
feet. In order to place the slubbers \n 



178 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER. 



pairs without having any posts be- 
tween the fronts of the machines, ev- 
ery otlier column has been omitted 
from bay 31 to 45. This construction 
will increase somewhat the first cost 
of the mill; but it makes it possible to 
arrange the slubbers in a satisfactory 
way. 
The first process 

DRAWING FRAMES 

contains 240 deliveries; 30 deliveries 
require a space of approximately 50 
feet. Therefore, 240 deliveries, with- 



If we should arrange the drawing 
lengthwise along one side of the mill, 
it would mean that some of the sliver 
from the cards would have to be car- 
ried at least 400 feet to reach the 
further end of the drawing machinery. 
In Figure 2 the drawing has been ar- 
ranged in two groups placed length- 
wise of the mill with the slubbers be- 
tween them. With this layout, the 
longest distance that sliver from the 
cards must be carried is slightly over 
200 feet. By placing the slubbers as 
indicated in Figure 2 they will occupy 



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Fig. 3. Arrangement of Intermediates. 



out allowing any space for alleys, 
would require about 400 feet. If we 
try to arrange the drawing across the 
mill, there would have to be several 
groups of each process drawing. This 
scheme has been tried and much trou- 
ble results from operatives mixing the 
drawing cans. In spite of various 
methods which have been tried, such 
as having first process cans one color, 
second process another, etc., opera- 
tives will frequently get into trouble 
by using cans which have not been 
through the proper drawing process. 



practically the same distance length- 
wise of the mill as the drawing 
frames. 

AMPLE SPACE 

is left for cans between the ends of 
the slubbers and the drawing macliin- 
ery. All the cans which will be around 
the slubbers contain sliver which has 
received its three drawings. 

As indicated by Figure 2, the draw- 
ing machinery and slubbers end at bay 
45. Figure 3 shows the remainder of 
the card room extending from bay- 45 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



179 



to 64. This space is occupied by the 
48 intermediate frames. Two or three 
elevators should be placed at the end 
of the intermediate frames for convey- 
ing the partially finished yarn to an 
upper floor. 

The layout illustrated by Figures 1, 
2 and 3 has many faults, but seems as 
satisfactory a one as it is possible to 
obtain where so much card room ma- 
chinery is placed in one room. The 
product from some of the slubbers has 
to be carried nearly 190 feet, and sliv- 
er from some of the" cards must be 
carried approximately 250 feet. If 
such a mill were to be built, it would 
be most important to use modern 
methods for conveying the products 
from one process to another. With 
this idea in mind, wide alley spaces 
have been allowed. 

With the arrangement indicated in 
the June 22 issue of the American 
Wool and Cotton Reporter, although 
some of the laps f.or some of the cards 
had to be carried over 700 feet, the 
main objection to the layout was the 
fact that the different machinery did 
not require the same space lengthwise 
of the mill. That is, the cards spaced 
according to the illustration needed 
nearly 400 feet more space than the 
intermediates. 

For a mil) this size, would it not be 
much more advisable to place the card 
room equipment in two, or, if found 
necessary, in 

THREE DIFFERENT ROOMS? 

These could be placed on three floors 
of one mill, cotton from the picker 
room could be elevated to the two up- 
per stories, and with smaller layouts 
the machinery could be arranged more 
satisfactorily. 

The expression "one cotton mill" 
need in no way mean that all cards, 
drawings and speeders must be placed 
in a single room. Assuming that the 
machinery is arranged most conven- 
iently in rooms of suitable dimensions, 
there is no reason why one manage- 
ment and one central power unit 
should not operate a mill much larger 
than one containing 85,000 spindles. 
The question of the largest economical 
department over which one man can 



have supervision is a distinctly sep- 
arate question from that of the largest 
economical cotton mill. 

In speaking of the disadvantages of 
a small mill, the article referred to 
gives facts which hold true for the 
smallest plants, but which do not for 
the medium-sized cotton mills which 
might be considered small in compari- 
son with the plant outlined. For ex- 
ample, it is true that in very small 
mills the absence of some men from 
work might cause the overseer to give 
too much of his time to detail work. 
This should not be necessary, how- 
ever, in mills which are neither con- 
sidered very small nor very large. It 
is not fair, therefore, to compare the 
exceptionally small plant with the ex- 
ceptionally large one, unless we re- 
member that those, say, of 50,000 
spindles must be considered as still 
another class. 

A picker room with 12 breakers ar- 
ranged side by side should be at least 
120 feet wide. There would not be 
much objection to having the picker 
room wider than the main mill, ex- 
cepting that with the wide room the 
light would be poor. There is no 
need, however, of the opening ma- 
chinery being placed in the same room 
with the finisher pickers. The loca- 
tion of the openers should be gov- 
erned by the location of the cotton 
storehouse. The location of this build- 
ing should be governed by the railroad 
track and other 

SHIPPING FACILITIES. 

The cotton can be opened in rooms 
considerably distant from the main 
mill and then delivered to the other 
building by use of conveying systems 
which have been recently illustrated 
in the American Wool and Cotton Re- 
porter. Under certain conditions the 
storehouse may be located so that it 
will be advisable to have the opening 
and picking room connected to the 
main mill, but the flexibility of mod- 
ern conveying systems makes it possi- 
ble to locate the opening room at any 
desired part of the plant, irrespective 
of the location of the other machinery. 
Near the latter part of the cotton 
mill article, which appeared in the 
June 22 American Wool and Cotton 



180 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



Reporter, the statement is made that 
4,000 looms should be placed upon the 
first and second floors of the south end 
of the main mill. Weaving rooms 
should be so designed that the illu- 
mination may be well distributed. 
Most new mills are placing looms in 
one story saw-tooth weave sheds. We 
would not say that the one-story 
weave sheds are always the most ad- 
visable buildings for looms, but the 
ordinary mill having 2,000 looms on 
one floor would not be satisfactory. 



The Maverick Mill at East Boston 
has a large new weave shed, 340 by 
231 feet. This room contains 1,000 
looms and is one story, having a saw- 
tooth roof. Consider f"r a moment the 
length of a room about 100 feet wide 
which would hold 2,000 looms. For 
round figures, assume that the jnill 
illustrated in the June 22 issue was 
100 feet wide. The floor space used 
for 1,000 looms at the Maverick Mill 
is 78,540 square feet. According to this 
arrangement, 2,000 looms would need, 
157,080 square feet, and a room only 
100 feet wide would need to be 1,570 
feet long. 



[Article Number Three — Replying to Article Number Two] 



I have read with interest the criti- 
cisms of my article entitled "Proper 
Size of a Cotton Mill," and for the sake 
of knowledge and justice to myself I 
could not let such criticisms pass un- 
noticed. If the readers of the Amer- 
ican Wool and Cotton Reporter will 
refer back to my article, they will no- 
tice that I have not given any dimen- 
sions in the construction details or 
machinery for equipment. When the 
article was written, the writer had in 
mind economy only, as this was the 
vital part of the question, and for this 
reason I did not dwell on any dimen- 
sions. Again, the proper location of 
the machinery was demanded, and the 
writer pointed this out to the best of 
his ability, at the same time having 
economy in mind. 

If the reader will refer back to my 
article he will find that the writer 
does not confine himself to a 90-foot 
width mill, but instead states that, in 
order to eliminate as far as possible 
the use of artificial light, it is seldom 
advisable to erect mills much wider 
than 90 feet. 

The writer could have pointed out 
at the time of writing the advantages 
of the machinery indicated in the ar- 
ticle by giving dimensions, but as the 
article was so long, the writer feared 
that space would not permit, so con- 



fined himself strictly to the questions, 
namely, "the most convenient size for 
a cotton mill both respecting the prop- 
er location for machinery and the 
work of overseeing." 

All readers must agree with the 
writer that in order to answer 
these questions properly it is neces- 
sary to write at least a good-sized 
volume. First, to give all dimensions 
alone of the mill in question would 
have taken an enormous amount of 
space, and second, to explain the du- 
ties of overseeing each department 
would certainly require every column 
of a single issue of the American 
Wool and Cotton Reporter. So, with 
the above in mind, the article was 
written, and no one is better pleased 
with the criticisms found in the July 
20 issue of the American Wool and 
Cotton Reporter than the writer. 

It is not the writer's intention to 
show up his critic, for the writer is 
ready to admit that he had plenty to 
criticize, but he did so from a theo- 
retical point of view, and for this rea- 
son overlooked the economy derived 
from the proper 

LOCATION OF MACHINERY 

that can only be understood and kept 
in mind by men of practical experi- 
ence. Now let us all give our atten- 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



181 



tion to some of the dimensions, and 
at the same time let us reason togeth- 
er and determine whether in some 
cases it is economy to have a mill 
wider than 90 feet. 

Let us now consider the arrange- 
ment of the machinery indicated in 
my article. By referring again to my 
article, it will be noticed that the 
cards are positioned sideways. So with 
such an arrangement, it is not nec- 
essary to have space enough between 
the cards to allow the stripper to 
pass through, because, at the most, 
he would have to come around only 
the distance of two cards. So, for 
this reason, we allow only two inches 
between the cards which is necessary 
to place the belt on and off the card 
pulley. 

Allowing three feet from the wall 
to the first card, which gives a large 
enough alley, and assuming 5% feet 
for the space of each card, plus two 
inches between cards for space, we 
have 4 times 5i^ equals 22 plus 6 
inches equals 22 feet 6 inches. Allow- 
ing two feet between the cards and 
drawing frames gives 24 feet 6 inches. 

A DRAWING FRAME, 

including cans, occupies a space of 5 
feet three inches — 10-inch cans. A1-- 
lowing a space of 2 feet between each 
process and a space of 2 feet between 
the drawings and slubbers, we have 
5.3 times 3 equals 15 feet 9 inches, 
plus 6 equals 21 feet 9 inches, 24 feet 
6 inches plus 21 feet 9 inches gives 
a distance of 46 feet 3 inches from 
the slubber cans to the wall on ^he 
card side. 

The space occupied by a slubber 
having a gauge as found in the table 
of my article is 5^ feet. Allowing 3 
feet for the slubber alley and 3 feet 
from the slubber cans to the interme- 
diates, we have 5^/^ times 2 equals 11 
feet plus 6 equals 17 feet. This added 
to the distance previously found gives 
63 feet 3 inches. The length of an 
intermediate of 102 spindles having 
the gauge given in my article is about 
31 feet. Allowing a window alley of 
3 feet, we have 34 plus 63 feet 3 
inches, gives the total width of the 
mill, 97 feet 3 inches. 



Now, let us examine the layout giv- 
en in my article, and then let us ex- 
amine the arrangement of intermedi- 
ates in Figure 3 of the critical article, 
and consider the 

ADVANTAGES OR DISADVANTAGES 

of each. Here we find in Figure 3 
the very mistake that is well under- 
stood by most every second hand and 
overseer, and one that is entirely elim- 
inated in the layout in my article. 

With the arrangement given in Fig- 
ure 3 a mill of 90 feet would be too 
wide for dull days, because when the 
speeders are so arranged the creels 
shut off much light. The writer him- 
self has had charge of a room 90 feet 
wide with the speeders arranged as 
indicated in Figure 3, and he remem- 
bers well that on dull days it was nec- 
essary to artificially light the centre 
of the room. Many readers have no 
doubt experienced the same, and it is 
strange, when you stop to think, that 
the majority of mills have their speed- 
ers arranged as indicated in Figure 3. 

Now, why are speeders so arranged 
by our expert mill engineers? I will 
tell you. It is because these men ob- 
tain their knowledge only from col- 
leges and textile schools. The writer 
does not want to be misunderstood as 
being against either institution named 
above. Far from it, because he is a 
graduate of one himself. 

But the writer will prove below that 
the machinery in most cases is im- 
properly arranged through lack of ex- 
perience in every-day practice. Ask 
any experienced carder his objections 
to the arrangement in Figure 3, and 
he will answer you that besides mak- 
ing the room much darker all the 
speeders in the window alleys are 
much more difficult to operate. First, 
when the sun is on the side of the 
mill, the speeders nearest the win- 
dows will run much slacker in the 
summer months, which makes spongy 
roving, and, too, the roving in the 
creels is somewhat affected. No ex- 
perienced man will argue on the 
above, because it is a well-known fact 
that the speeders in the window alleys 
of every mill where the speeders are 
so arranged require more rack gear 
changing. 



182 



Mill construction and pOWfiR 



In the winter conditions vary so 
that they must be changed again, al- 
though the writer is willing to admit 
that more trouble is experienced in 
the summer. However, it must be ad- 
mitted that this is not so liable to|hap- 
pen with the layout given in my ar- 
ticle, because, in the first place, only 
the end roving in the creels are af- 
fected, besides the cone belt is brought 
to a greater distance from the win- 
dows, which insures a 

MORE UNIFORM TENSION 

on the speeders. A great many read- 
ers may doubt the above, and may be 
a bit skeptical about, the sun affecting 
the running of the speeders in the 
window alleys, but is it not a fact that 
the steam pipes are now placed at the 
ceiling instead of at the lower side of 
the mill wall for this very reason? 

Although other reasons can be ad- 
vanced, spongy roving in the window 
alleys was the beginning of it. In the 
second place, when speeders are so 
arranged, it is impossible to open win- 
dows when the conditions of the room 
demand it, because if the draught is 
very strong, the ends on the frames 
nearest the windows will be blown 
into one another. The writer has ex- 
perienced the above, and no doubt 
many readers have also. The critical 
article states that there would be no 
trouble with, a mill slightly over 100 
feet wide, and at the same time, gives 
us a layout where trouble is experi- 
enced in mills of only 90 feet wide, 
and the writer can give the names of 
two mills 90 feet wide that are now 
having trouble with dark centre al- 
leys on dark days. 

Continuing, it also states that the 
length of the drawing frames frequent- 
ly determines the width of the mill 
room, but the chief disadvantages of 
such a layout are not considered by the 
article, and let me say that, although 
this has been the vogue among mill 
engineers to determine the width of 
the mill room by the length of the 
drawings, it is a mistake, and as the 
article fails to point out the chief dis- 
advantages, I will do it. 

The chief objection in arranging the 
drawings crosswise, is that the card 
slivers must be carried a greater dis- 



tance, and when so arranged can boys 
must be employed, or extra strippers. 

The next objection is the great 
amount of injury that is sure to result 
to the can bottoms by sliding the cans 
over the floor for such a distance. This 
is explained in my article and pointed 
out how the nails that protrude from 
the floor injured the can bottoms. 

Regarding mixing the drawing, 
which is given as an objection for lay- 
ing the drawing crosswise, let me say 
that I have run a card room many 
years and never experienced such 
trouble with the drawing frames ar- 
ranged crosswise. When drawing is 
mixed, it is due to carelessness on the 
part of the overseer in not giving the 
help proper instructions or not look- 
ing after his business. Although the 
writer is willing to admit that drawing 
■may get mixed by a green hand, on 
the other hand, such help should not 
be left alone until able to properly ar- 
range the cans from every process. 

The critical article gives us an ar- 
rangement in Figure 2, where it is 
admitted that the longest distance the 
card sliver must be carried is slightly 
over 200 feet. Now, just think of it, 
how long will drawing cans last when 
they are made to slide over 

A ROUGH FLOOR 

filled with nail heads, and besides, as 
the floor boards run across the mill 
room, this also aids in jarring the 
cans so that sooner or later the bot- 
tom falls out, and in some cases even 
the smooth rings at the top of the 
can are pulled out. The writer in his 
mill life has repaired so many hun- 
dred cans that this was the starter 
in laying the cards out in the manner 
given in my article, for it is a well- 
known fact that in most mills instead 
of repairing the defective cans they 
are taken to the fire room. 

Of course, it must be understood 
that the writer had other advantages 
in mind besides the above when ar- 
ranging the layout. With the layout 
given in my article, the card sliver 
would not be carried from its longest 
distance 50 feet, because the last card 
is only 24 feet 6 inches away from 
the drawing cans, and surely 26 feet 
is enough to give every opportunity to 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



183 



lay the drawings along the cards. 
Again, when the cans are pulled from 
the coiler to the floor, they are pulled 
over the floor in the direction that the 
floor runs, and when the short dis- 
tance is taken into consideration, to- 
gether with a smooth floor, it must be 
admitted that the layout given in my 
article is most economical. With such 
an arrangement the strippers are able 
to run 20 cards, while in the arrange- 
ment given in Figure 1 of the critical 
article the strippers are able to run 
only 16 cards. Is not the above an 
expensive item? Another strong ob- 
jection to the layout in Figure 1 is the 
increased liability of the cards getting 
wet in case of fire on the floor above 
them. With the layout given in my 
article, if a flre should occur on one 
end of the mill it must be admitted 
that the number of cards that would 
receive a wetting is small compared 
with the arrangement given in Fig- 
ure 1. 

It should be seen that if a bad flre 
occurred on the next floor above the 
cards arranged as given in Figure 1 
the majority of them would receive a 
wetting that perhaps would necessi- 
tate the shutting down of other de- 
partments temporarily, which often 
results in the loss of a large order 
that must be delivered within a cer- 
tain time. Besides, when cards receive 
a wetting once they do not card the 
same afterward, because the wire be- 
comes rusty and clings to the staple 
more, which makes it difficult to strip 
the card clean. Besides, the doffer 
comb teeth become rusty also, and ev- 
ery practical man knows the amount 
of trouble this will cause. 

Even if the above liabilities are not 
considered, the expense of extra strip- 
pers and can boys, besides the injury 
to the cans, should be enough to con- 
vince the most skeptical that the lay- 
out in my article is the most econom- 
ical. Again, let the reader place the 
layout given in my article before him 
and just consider how such an ar- 
rangement allows the light from the 
windows to reach the centre of the 
room. And let me ask the reader if 
more light is not obtained from the 
arrangement given in my article than 
that given in Figure 3 of the critical 



article, even though the mill was 112 
feet wide, as found in the critical ar- 
ticle. In my article the drawing could 
be arranged the full length of the 
cards and at the same time give ample 
room between the groups of heads of 
drawings for spare cans, a point that 
is overlooked by most mills, as this is 
necessary^ because it is impossible to 
so arrange your drawing drafts so 
that one process will balance with an- 
other continually, and for this reason, 
you will find the above defect in most 
mills, where the drawing frames are 
obliged to stop for cans. 

It must be remembered that when 
the frames are stopped the drawing 
tender's pay is going on, but it seems 
that this is given very 

LITTLE CONSIDERATION 
in our mills. Now, can any reader 
deny that drawings are not obliged 
to stop for spare cans in many mills? 
Is not this an expensive item? Why 
do we have spare bobbins on our speed- 
ers? Is it not to balance one process 
with another? And, mark you, the 
loss on speeders is not suffered by the 
mill, but instead by the speeder ten- 
der, because speeder tenders in most 
mills are paid by hanks, while draw- 
ing tenders are paid by the hour. It 
must be admitted that all I have point- 
ed out in favor of my layout is true 
— ask any experienced carder. We 
should have much space also between 
our 

SLUBBERS, 

but is it not necessary to have roving 
and bobbin pins? Besides, it is nec- 
essary to have floor space enough for 
roving boxes and spare cans for the 
slubbers. 

The critical article points out also 
that my illustration shows a room 
about 400 feet longer for the interme- 
diate layout than that needed for 240 
cards arranged in the manner given 
in my article. Now, in order to place 
fine speeders in this space, it would 
be necessary to make the width of the 
mill at least ten feet wider, and, be- 
sides, the objection in having fine 
frames in the same room with the 
cards and drawing was pointed out; 
this is why the writer placed the in- 
termediate frames away from the 



184 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



cards and drawing as much as pos- 
sible, and at the same time close 
enough to the slubbers so as to save 
floor walking for 
THE INTERMEDIATE TENDERS. 

Just a glance at Figure 3 is enough 
to convince any practical man that the 
speeders in the figure were arranged 
by one who lacks knowledge in the 
e very-day operations of a card room. 
Look at the figure and just think how 
far the slubber roving must be car- 
ried, then refer back to the layout in 
my article and please note the differ- 
ence. What does this mean to the 
extra cost of a room? It means that 
you must at least have two roving 
holsters, because you could not expect 
an intermediate tender to leave the 
speeders and go hunting for roving at 
such a distance. Just think of the 
damage that this arrangement is lia- 
ble to cause. At the present time in 
our mills we have no back tenders 
and so when the tender leaves her 
work the speeders are at the mercy 
of the power if anything goes wrong. 
Now, let us assume that while the 
tender has gone on the hunt for slub- 
ber roving a hard end comes through 
and pulls a flyer from the top of the 
spindle into the other revolving spin- 
dles and see the amount of damage 
that may result to the flyers, gears 
and bolters. 

Again, suppose a cone belt broke. 
Just think what a mess this would 
make if other tenders were busy with 
their own work and not around to stop 
the frame. Suppose there was a fire, 
would not much damage result if no 
other tenders happened to discover it. 
All the above results in an expensive 
card room, and although all the above 
defects do not happen often, they do 
happen, and in some cases they are 
costly even when partly covered by 
insurance. Now the writer does ad- 
mit that with the layout given in his 
article, there would be too 

MUCH SPACE LEFT 
for the intermediates. In fact, all fine 
and jack speeders must be placed on 
the same fioor with such a layout as 
given in my article. Now, as the writ- 
er gave no dimensions, he placed the 
fine frames on the next floor to point 



out to the readers the disadvantages 
of having the fine speeders in one 
room, but, as I stated at the beginning 
of this article, had the. writer given 
any dimensions, he would have been 
forced to place all the speeders on the 
same fioor. But that does not affect 
my layout; all that is necessary for 
the reader to do is to consider the in- 
termediates given in the drawing as 
intermediates, fine and jack speeders. 
Of course the mill must be made 8 
feet wide, which would bring the 
width of the mill to 105 feet 3 inches. 
But even with such a width my lay- 
out would allow me more natural light 
to reach the centre of the room than 
that given in Figure 3. 

In placing all the speeders on the 
same floor, the fine speeders would 
have to be 

ARRANGED IN GROUPS 
of six between each pair of interme- 
diates — not a bad layout at that, when 
economy is considered, as such a lay-' 
out would not require bolsters. 

From what has been said above, it 
must be admitted that the layout in 
my article is an ideal one, except that 
the fly about the room will collect on 
the fine frames, which can be rem- 
edied, and it will be explained later. 

But it should be seen that as the 
writer gave no dimensions, and at the 
same time having his mind centred 
on conveying the valuable points in 
having all the fine speeders in one 
room, he gave no consideration to the 
exact layout to properly fit the card 
layout as indicated in the article. 

The writer claims that he is well 
within bounds when he claims that 
the layout given in the article is 
THE MOST ECONOMICAL 
even though the fine speeders are 
placed on the same floor. So in build- 
ing a mill it is the length of the 
speeders that should be considered, 
and not the positions of the drawings, 
as pointed out in the critical article, 
because, no matter how long or short 
you make a line of drawing the cost is 
not reduced, as drawing tenders will 
run only a certain number of deliver- 
ies for a certain wage, while on the 
other hand, the longer the speeders 
the more the cost is reduced. 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



185 



So from the above it can be seen 
that it is economy to build a mill at 
least 105 feet wide with the machinery 
arranged as indicated in my article. 
If the machinery is arranged as given 
in Figures 1, 2 and 3, in the critical 
article, the mill should not be over 
85 feet in width 

But the reader is asked to stop here 
and study the two layouts from what 
has been said above, and when this 
is done he will arrive at the same 
conclusion as the writer, that is, he 
will be convinced that with the lay- 
out given in Figures 1, 2 and 3, of the 
critical article, it is necessary to em- 
ploy either extra can boys or strippers 
to operate the cards, and at least two 
hoisters to bring and hoist the roving 
to the speeder tenders. While on the 
other hand in my layout an extra lap 
carrier only is necessary as pointed 
out in my first article. But just think 
what a 

BEAUTIFUL LAYOUT 

I give in my article. 

Here we find that the stripper 
breaks out his cans and is obliged to 
take the farthest cans to a distance 
not exceeding 25 feet; then the easy 
sailing continues across the room. 

Some may think from the layout 
that much walking is necessary from 
the last heads of drawing to the strip- 
pers farthest from the drawing. But 
let the readers examine my layout 
and consider the centre deliveries of 
the drawing going to the first slub- 
ber, and the end deliveries going to 
the slubber farthest from the draw- 
ings, and he can readily see that the 
amount of walking necessary to carry 
the finished drawing to the farthest 
slubber is not as great as one would 
suppose from a ' quick examination of 
the layout. 

Next we have a pair of intermedi- 
ates and then a group of six fine 
frames, thus making the layout so that 
the intermediates will come at the 
end of the slubbers. Of course the 
first pair of intermediates must be ar- 
ranged past the head of the slubber, 
because six fine speeders arranged as 
indicated in my layout would take up 
a space of 36 feet, and as the length 
of a slubber with the gauge given in 



the table is 36 feet, it can be seen that 
by so placing each pair of intermedi- 
ates a box of roving from the slub- 
bers could handily be wheeled around 
the slubber end into each intermedi- 
ate alley. Then the roving doffed 
from each pair of intermediates 
would supply the six fine frames, that 
is, the first pair of intermediates 
would supply the first six fine speed- 
ers and the next pair of intermediates 
the next six fine speeders, and so on, 
the full length of the mill. 

The number of cards could be in- 
creased from 4 to 5 or even 6, but in 
doing this, we would have to either 
cut out one process of drawing or de- 
crease the length of the speeders in 
order to arrange the speeders as indi- 
cated. Now every practical man knows 
that an extra process of drawings is 
a great advantage to any mill, because 
drawings, as a rule, 

HAVE SIX DOUBLINGS, 

and this, of course, greatly aids in 
remedying the slivers that do not con- 
tain the necessary doublings of lap 
and also defective places in the sliver, 
and for these reasons, we should dou- 
ble the strands and then draw them 
out at every opportunity. If the 
speeders are decreased in length the 
cost of the room is increased, and so 
we must accept the lengths of frames 
given in the table of my article as the 
most economical when the speeders 
are arranged as indicated in my ar- 
ticle. So for this reason the writer 
advocates only four cards, no matter 
how much more space it gives in pro- 
portion on the speeder side, because 
the advantages of the layout are too 
many, even if we are forced to place 
the fine frames in the same room, 
which can be done with better advan- 
tage than first stated, that is, if the 
system of dust collecting for card 
rooms is used. 

The above apparatus consists of a 
small tin pipe running above the ma- 
chinery, with a down-pipe or connec- 
tion over each card These connec- 
tions are fitted with a patent hinged 
joint which also forms an automatic 
valve, and when the process of strip- 
ping is going on the valves are turned 
toward the cards. 



186 



MILL CONSTRUCl^ION AND POWER 



When the valve is swung, or, in 
other words, straightened, the valve 
is automatically opened, and there is 
a strong suction on the hood covering 
the stripping roll, and when it is raised 
no air can enter the connections. If 
such a system was adopted with my 
layout, considering all fly frames . on 
the same floor with other carding 
machinery, it must be admitted that 
the cost per pound of a card room 
with the layout given would be very 
low compared with that given in Fig- 
ures 1, 2 and 3 of the critical article. 

The critical article also states that 
the cotton can be opened in rooms 
considerably distant from the main 
mill and then delivered to the other 
building by use of a conveying system. 
Now, the writer is willing to admit 
that our 

LATEST CONVEYING SYSTEMS 
are valuable, but only in a case where 
it happens that the mixing is done in 
another building at a distance from 
the main building. This results often, 
of course, when alterations are made 
in a plant and the conveying system 
comes in handy so that every building 
in the yard can be used. Conveying 
systems are also valuable in convey- 
ing the stock from one floor to an- 
other. But in building a new mill no 
up-to-date practical mill engineer 
would advocate having this building 
a great distance from the main build- 
ing, and again, it proves that the 
writer has had little or no knowledge 
in the every-day operation. 

When cotton is mixed in most mills, 
all the lowest paid help, such as scrub- 
bers, waste men, etc., are obliged to 
mix. The overseer of carding must 
examine every bale put in 

THE COTTON BIN, 
a feature that has been advocated by 
the American Wool and Cotton Re- 
porter. The writer need not point out 
that to open enough cotton for such a 
size mill a large number of men are 
required many hours. Now imagine 
all this help to be some distance from 
the main building, especially the over- 
seer, and something happens in the 
main building. There is not one 
reader but must admit that when the 
head of a room is missing at the time 



of a fire or accident many mistakes 
are made. Too often, when a fire 
occurred with the overseer out of the 
room, most of us have seen the help 
throwing a barrel of water when a 
pailful would have answered the pur- 
pose. An overseer of judgment, as a 
rule, hurries to the scene of a fire to 
prevent the operatives from throwing 
water on the fire, because it is well 
known by all mill men that the water 
used in case of fire must be applied 
with system. 

For instance, in some mills brushes 
and pails are continually on hand so 
that when a fire occurs these brushes 
are soaked in the pail of water and 
applied to the ignited parts instead 
of tnrowing a number of pails of wa- 
ter that only strike the covering and 
glance off to the floor, very little if 
any water s-triking the fire. 

So, for the above and other reasons, 
the overseer should have charge of 
only one building, and when there are 
two buildings there should be two 
overseers, as a man cannot divide him- 
self, and it is necessary that the over- 
seer remain in his respective room. 

In the latter part of the critical ar- 
ticle it points out that from example 
of the floor space occupied by 1,000 
looms in the weave shed of the Mav- 
erick Mill at East Boston, Mass., it 
would require a mill 100 feet wide to 
be 1,570 feet long to place 4,000 looms 
in two rooms. 

The writer evidently conceives the 
idea that it is almost impossible to 
pass the enormous amount of filling 
to the weavers. Besides, he is, no 
doubt, thinking of what a great dis- 
tance the warp must be carried. If 
the readers will refer back to my ar- 
ticle they will find that I advocated 

FILLING TOWERS 

where the full bobbins from the ring 
filling frames are dumped, and I also 
stated that the filling should be damp- 
ened with the use of a humidifier plac- 
ed inside the tower. Now as I gave no 
dimensions I did not name the num- 
ber of towers, but there should be a 
tower to every 1,000 looms, or, in other 
words, one tower to every 500 looms, 
on one floor. So the above settles the 
filling part of the question. 



Mill construction and power 



m 



Now, regarding the warps, I would 
suggest that a small cable tower be 
built so that three cables would lead 
to three exits in the top weave room 
and also three in the lower weave 
room. Such a practice is being carried 
on at present. The Stark Mills of 
Manchester, N. H., have a cable cross 
the Merrimac river that carries a 
warp a distance of 750 feet in less 
than two minutes, so with such an 
arrangement we need not worry- 
about making a weaving room 1,570 



feet long, as the above figures assure 
us that a warp could be conveyed to 
the farthest point on the outside of 
the mill in less than four minutes, 
which is pretty quick time. Lastly, 
it must be admitted that in a large 
mill the number of looms to each 
weaver and fixer can be divided bet- 
ter. I do not claim to be right al- 
ways, but I leave the reader to judge 
for himself between the two layouts 
given considering economy. 

MECHANIC. 



[Comments on the Three Previous Articles] 



The subject "Proper Size of a Cot- 
ton Mill" is a tremendously broad one. 
and can well be divided into discus- 
sions concerning proper arrangement 
of machinery for various kinds of 
mills the maximum amount of ma- 
chinery which can be properly under 
the direction of one overseer, the va- 
rious local conditions influencing the 
size, shape and general arrangement 
of a cotton mill, and many others. 

In the article published in the June 
22 issue of the American Wool and 
Cotton Reporter, one point upon 
which great stress seemed to be laid 
was the maximum 

AMOUNT OF MACHINERY 
over which one overseer might have 
entire charge. The article seemed to 
argue that it was economical to install 
as much card room machinery, for in- 
stance, in one room as one man could 
handle. The writer brought out good 
points concerning the advantages of 
an overseer's work being confined to 
one room, but did not give sufficient 
attention to the disadvantages of plac- 
ing so large an equipment of machin- 
ery in one room. Our comments and 
suggestions which were printed in the 
July 22 issue of the American Wool 
and Cotton Reporter were intended 
to call attention to this, and to show 
that while some points suggested in 
the June 22 article were desirable 
ones, some were also impractical or 
impossible, when the entire equipment 
of machinery was taken into account. 

In the August 17 article, signed 



"Mechanic," the following statement 
appeared: "When the article was 
written" (referring to the June 22 
issue), "the writer had in mind econ- 
omy only, as this was the vital part 
of the question, and for this reason I 
did not dwell on any dimensions." 
This Is 

AN EXAMPLE 
of the way many people look on the 
matter of machinery arrangement for 
a mill. The arrangement of certain 
machines is decided upon without giv- 
ing the entire question proper consid- 
eration. Mill men will sometimes say 
that they want the cards, drawing 
frames and slubbers arranged in a 
certain definite way in their mills, and 
will leave the rest of the machinery 
layout to the judgment of the engi- 
neer. If the mill man has considered 
the amount of space his proposed ar- 
rangement will occupy, and has given 
enough thought to the arrangement of 
the other necessary machinery, so 
that he knows it can be made to fit 
in satisfactorily, a good arrangement 
can be obtained. On the other hand, 
it is quite possible that he has 

NOT GIVEN ATTENTION 
to the amount of space occupied by 
the total equipment, but has simply 
determined that a certain number of 
machines will fit satisfactorily cross- 
wise in his mill, or that a certain 
group of machines will work well 
placed in a certain way. His proposed 
arrangement may be a fine one, if it 
were not for the fact that the ar- 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



rangement of the other machinery 
must be given consideration at the 
same time. 

For example, the writer signed 
"Mechanic" now states that on ac- 
count of the difference between the 
floor space required for the 240 cards, 
as arranged in his article, and that 
needed for the intermediates, it will be 
advisable to place the fine frames and 
intermediates together. In his first 
article, the disadvantages of this very 
arrangement were considerably en- 
larged upon. 

The writer signed "Mechanic" 
draws the conclusion that our com- 
ments were made from a purely theo- 
retical standpoint. We realize that 
pure theory, as well as pure practice, 
has 

ITS WEAK POINTS 
and in our statements practice and 
theory have both been considered. 

In the first column of page 1099 
(July 20 issue) the following state- 
ment was made by us, referring to 
the machinery layouts suggested by 
our Figures 1, 2 and 3: '•For a mill 
this size, would it not be much more 
advisable to place the card room 
equipment in two, or, if found neces- 
sary, in three different rooms? This 
could be placed on three floors of one 
mill; cotton from the picker room 
could be elevated to the two upper 
stories, and with smaller layouts the 
machinery could be arranged more 
satisfactorily." As stated at that time, 
the machinery arrangement illustrated 
by Figures 1, 2 and 3 (July 20 issue) 
had many faults. The stock had to be 
carried considerable distances, and 
this could be prevented by placing 
the equipment in more than one room. 
The illustrations given at that time, 
however, were made with the assump- 
tion that the entire card room equip- 
ment must be located in one room, and 
that the fine frames must be in a sep- 
arate room. 

Every layout of cotton machinery 
has some objectionable points, and 
the proposition condenses itself into 
determining which of these undesir- 
able features is of 

THE LEAST IMPORTANCE. 
The writer signed "Mechanic' seems 
to consider the advantage of having 



the overseer's duties confined to one 
room of more importance than we can 
admit. An overseer in charge of a de- 
partment as large as the one in ques- 
tion would be quite capable of having 
subordinates who could be left in 
charge of any of the rooms while he 
was called to his other rooms. It 
would be just as impossible for him 
to observe all the help in a room 
over 700 feet long as it would 
were the help located upon 
two floors of the same mill. 
We do not mean to imply that 
second hands must be hired who will 
-iemand excessive wages, for this is 
not necessary. The overseer who is 
i.ruiy successful will, however, have a 
second hand quite capable of handling 
the miscellaneous details or troubles 
which may unexpectedly arise. 

The article in the August 17 issue 
finds much fault with the layout for 
the intermediate frames. Doubtless 
Lrranging intermediates crosswise of 
the mill does give a better lighted 
room. Frames arranged, as shown in 
Figure 3 (July 20 issue), will obstruct 
some daylight, and tend to make the 
middle of the room darker than if the 
liamos were p.aced across the mill. 
This is an important point, and should 
receive careful attention. In building 
a new mill, however, it is now possi- 
ble to provide a large window area, 
.so that mills about 100 feet wide 
would not have trouble with machin- 
ery placed as illustrated by Figure 3. 
U once more ccmes back to the same 
point, whether the importance of ar- 
ranging intermediates crosswise of 
the mill is greater than any of the 
other points, which might conflict 
with this arrangement. Figure 1 is 
the rear view of a new cotton mill, 
and illustrates the large window area 
made possible by modern construc- 
tion. Figure 2 shows a part of the 
main Maverick Mill, and also indi- 
cates the way large window areas are 
obtained. 

In the third column, page 1227, 
August 17 issue, the writer who sign- 
ed himself "Mechanic " states the fol- 
lowing: "The chief objection in ar- 
ranging 

THE DRAWING FRAMES 
crosswise is that the card delivers 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



189 



must be carried a greater distance, 
and when so arranged, can boys must 
be employed or extra strippers. 

"The next objection is the great 
amount of injury that is sure to re- 
sult to the can bottoms by sliding the 
cans over the floor such a distance. 
This I explained in my article, and 
pointed out how the nails that pro- 
trude from the floor injure the can 
bottoms." 

We do not claim that it is best to 
always place drawing frames cross- 
wise of the mill. With proper-sized 
card rooms, placing the drawing 
frames across the mill does not make 
it necessary to carry the card slivers 
great distances. No mill floor can be 
kept in perfect condition, but there is 
little excuse for floors with nails pro- 
truding so that they would injure the 
bottom of the sliver cans. Drawing 
these cans across the floor will, of 
course, gradually wear them out, but 
there is no reason why mill floors 
should not be kept in fairly smooth 
condition. 

Continuing along the same subject, 
the August 17 article reads as follows: 
"Regarding mixing the drawing, 
which is given as an objection for lay- 
ing the drawing crosswise, let me say 
that I have run a card room many 
years, and never experienced such 
trouble with the drawing frames ar- 
ranged crosswise. When drawing is 
mixed, it is diie to carelessness on the 
part of the overseer in not giving the 
help proper instructions, or not look- 
ing after his business." 

The writer of this article referred 
to has not received the idea we wish 
to bring out in speaking of 

MIXING THE DRAWING CANS. 
Our contention was that if drawing 
machinery was arranged across 
the mill and the number of 
drawing deliveries in each process 
was gre?,ter than could be placed 
across the full width of the mill, the 
drawing should not be arranged in 
two or more groups. That is, there 
should not be two sets of first proc- 
ess drawing, two sets of second proc- 
ess, two sets of third process, etc. 
Arrangements of this kind have been 
tried, and trouble has arisen from op- 



eratives mixing the drawing cans. 
Drawing cans are frequently mixed 
when there is no good excuse for the 
operatives doing this. The article in 
the August 17 issue states that mix- 
ing drawing cans is due to careless- 
ness on the part of the overseer, and 
in not giving the help proper instruc- 
tions. This may be true in some in- 
stances. It is not so in all. Operatives 
will sometimes knowingly use wrong 
cans if they are all placed together. 
They sometimes do this because it 
might be slightly easier for them, and 
they sometimes do it for a reason 
we have yet been unable to deter- 
mine. If there is any opportunity for 
mixing cans, some of the help are lia- 
ble to do it. The overseer cannot give 
this his personal attention at all 
times, neither can the second hand. 
Drawings should be arranged so that 
there will be little opportunity for the 
cans from the respective processes be- 
coming mixed. 

There are almost as many 

DIFFERENT OPINIONS 
concerning the best arrangement for 
cotton mill machinery as there are 
cotton mills. Two mill men who are 
building new mills exactly the same 
size, and designed for exactly the 
same kind of work, will generally de- 
mand different arrangements for 
their machinery. Every arrangement 
has some faults, and the relative im- 
portance of these details are what de- 
cides the final arrangement. One mill 
man will consider certain details of 
utmost importance, while another man 
will disregard these same questions 
and show preference to other consid- 
erations. 

The writer who signs himself "Me- 
chanic" repeatedly states that econ- 
omy was one of the main considera- 
tions. No machinery arrangement can 
be economical unless it is practical. 
And in determining whether a layout 
is practical or not, the entire equip- 
ment for each floor must be consider- 
ed as one unit, as well as a combina- 
tion of several units. 

If the machinery equipment given 
in the June 22 issue of the American 
Wool and Cotton Reporter should be 
placed upon the floors, instead of one, 



190 



MILL CONSTRUCTION AND POWER 



arrangements similar to those illus- 
trated by Figures 1, 2 and 3 in the 
July 20 issue would be more satis- 
factory than they are where the 
whole of the machinery is on the one 
floor. For example, with 240 cards 
placed as illustrated by Figure 1, 31 
eight-foot bays will be used. If only 
half of these cards were placed on 
the first floor, only 16 eight-foot bays 
would be necessary, and this would 
mean that the longest distance any 
card sliver can must be moved would 
be 

HALF AS GREAT 

as with the entire card equipment on 
one floor. The general method of ar- 
ranging the other machines could be 
similar to the layout suggested in our 
comments published July 20. 

If we wish, however, to arrange the 
intermediate frames crosswise of the 
mill, as described by the writer 
signed "Mechanic," we could work 
out a more satisfactory arrangement 
by placing the card room machinery 
on two floors .instead of one. 

One hundred and twenty 40-inch 
cards placed like, those shown in the 
June 22 issue of the American Wool 
and Cotton Reporter would require 
about 35 12-foot bays; 12-foot bays are 
used with this layout, so that a pair of 
speeders can be placed in each bay 
without interference with the col- 
umns. Each card is 10 feet 4 
inches long, so that 120 of them ar- 
ranged in groups of four lengthwise 
of the mill, would require about 310 
feet, exclusive of alley spaces. Allow- 
ing 31 three-foot alleys increases this 
space to 403 feet, so that 35 12-foot 
bays will give extra space at each end 
of the ijiill. In the remaining space 
we must place 360 deliveries of draw- 
ing, 12 slubbers, 24 intermediates, and 
about 29 or 30 fine frames. The 
OBJECTIONABLE FEATURE 
of having fine frames in the same 
room with the intermediates Again 
arises. The fine frames can be placed, 
as indicated in the article signed 
"Mechanic," or they can be placed at 
each end of the mill, and be partially 
partitioned off from the card room. 

The proper natural lighting for 
weaving rooms has been given much 



attention of late. A uniform illumina- 
tion free from exposure to direct rays 
of the sun has been found advan- 
tageous. For this and many other rea- 
sons, we fail to see any advantage in 
placing 2,000 looms in a mill room 
something like 100 feet wide and 
nearly 1,600 feet long. By having 
weave sheds in a one-story building 
with a saw-tooth roof construction, ex- 
cellent daylight is obtained. The 
room can be as wide as desired, as 
light from the side windows is of little 
advantage. In fact, side window 
light for a weave room is sometimes 
considered a disadvantage, and in 
some cases weave sheds have been 
built 

WITH NO WINDOWS 

at either the sides or ends of the 
building. The new weave shed for the 
Maverick Mills in East Boston is a 
typical illustration of this. Their en- 
tire light is received from the saw- 
tooth roof construction, and the dis- 
tribution of daylight in this room is 
excellent. If looms were placed in 
a long and comparatively narrow mill, 
no other building could be built near 
this one, without cutting out consider- 
able light. This would either mean 
that a tremendous amount of land 
would be wasted, or the weave room 
poorly lighted. 

The problem of heating a room this 
length would also be a matter for con- 
sideration, and there would seem to 
be no reason for building such a struc- 
ture. Although it is possible that fill- 
ing towers with some kind of convey- 
ing systems could be utilized to advan- 
tage, they would introduce another 
expense, and are not desirable unless 
necessary. It is true that the Stark 
Mills at Manchester have a cable con- 
veying system across the Merrimac 
River. This arrangement is a good, 
practical contrivance, but the fact that 
the Stark Mills have been obliged to 
arrange some system for conveying 
material economically across the Mer- 
rimac River is no reason why we 
should build a mill so designed that 
an expensive conveying apparatus 
must be used for carrying filling bob- 
bins from one part of the room to an- 
other. M. and E. 



PART II 



STUDIES IN MILL MANAGEMENT 



I. THE WELL-MANAGED MILL. 

While attending a meeting of tex- 
tile men some time ago, the following 
question was put to the writer: How 
is it that one plant on the same class 
of goods has millions of yards of cloth 
stored away in their sheds, while in 
another plant every yard of cloth is 
sold — they even watch for the cut 
mark to appear to tear off the loom 
and ship away at once? 

The above question was the sparker 
to this article — it made me think. The 
question was quickly answered. Man- 
agement is the cause for such existing 
conditions. As I stated before, the 
question made me think; so I at once 
visited each plant, and I was soon 
convinced that I had answered the 
question right — it is the management. 

I will first describe the management 
of the plant where every yard of cloth 
is sold months ahead. I was ushered 
to the cotton shed by the superinten- 
dent, and here he explained how the 
cotton is received at the mill in large 
quantities, as is usually the case, and 
where it must necessarily be stored 
until it is required for use. He said 
that he really believed that the basis 
of even yarn in all cotton mills could 
be laid to a large degree in the ar- 
rangement of the bales when stored. 

However, he said, before storing any 
lot, he carefully ascertained whether 
the quality of the cotton in each bale 
was equal to the quality of the sample 
from which it was bought, a practice, 
he said, that was much neglected in 
most cotton mills. 

COTTON VARIANCE. 

All large quantities of cotton vary 
in quality. This is because most lots 
of cotton are made up of cottons col- 
lected from various plantations, in 
most cases many miles away from 
each other, and subject to different 
climatic conditions, different seed 
and soil. For this reason he employs 
a method in arranging the bales as 



they are stored in the shed, that is 
practical as well as interesting. 

No one is trusted to do this work. 
As a lot of cotton is weighed, the su- 
perintendent himself directs where 
the bales should be stored, and books 
every bale stored on a chart; and he 
also directs how the bales are taken 
from the shed. He claims that the 
time spent in this way is well repaid 
at every process in the mill, and from 
what I saw going through the plant, 
he is right. 

The cotton shed is about 150 feet 
long, and when a lot of a hundred or 
more bales are weighed and sampled, 
they are placed laterally side by side 
along the length of the shed, the next 
row laid on the first row, and so on, 
until all the bales are stored. When 
the cotton is to be used, the bales are 
taken from the middle of the shed to 
the side. 

EFFECT OF MIXING. 
It will be seen from the above meth- 
od that, in every string of bales taken 
from the cotton shed, one bale only 
of each lot is taken in a string, and 
this precludes the possibility of two 
of the same marking coming together. 
As the cotton is taken from one side 
of the shed, the other side is arranged 
in lateral rows, as explained above. 
At times when room in the cotton 
shed is not available, owing to having 
only one shed to store the cotton, the 
cotton is left in the yard, and covered 
with proper canvas. The superintend- 
ent said that he knew it was wrong, 
and not the proper thing to do, but he 
said he would rather have the cotton 
stored in the yard, where very little 
damage results, when left for a short 
time only, than to store the cotton at 
once in the shed and break up his 
system. 

I was next ushered to the mixing 
room, where all mixings are done by 
hand, which is the only way to mix. 
The mixing occupies a considerable 
amount of floor space, which is neces- 



192 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



sary when mixing by hand or any oth- 
er way, so as to make all mixings as 
large as possible. The superintendent 
said that his carder, when mixing, 
spread the first bale to cover all the 
floor space in the mixing bin; the sec- 
ond bale is spread to cover the first 
bale, and so on, until all the bales are 
mixed. He said very little waste was 
made in this mill; but of what little 
waste they did make, the carder, when 
mixing, spread a little of it between 
each layer of cotton. 

I was next introduced to the carder, 
who said that, after mixing the cotton, 
he always instructed the picker boi^s 
to see that the cotton is pulled away 
in small sections from the top to the 
bottom of the mixing, in order to ob- 
tain portions of each bale. He said 
that the changing of his picker help 
often made it necessary to continually 
see that this was carried out 
Most of his trouble in the 
picker room was the watching of the 
filling of the automatic feed boxes, es- 
pecially when a new hand was em- 
ployed, that most of them will allow 
the boxes to run low, and then refill 
to the top. Automatic feed boxes 
should never be allowed to run low, or 
be filled, nor the cotton pressed 
to make the box hold more cotton, 
so that the picker hand can then have 
a lay-off, so to speak. They should 
be kept about three-quarters full, and 
a little cotton added as required, in 
order to obtain an even lap. This 
picker room consists of three auto- 
matic feeders, four intermediate pick- 
ers, and four finisher pickers. 

WEIGHT OP LAPS. 

The breaker laps are 521 yards long, 
weighing 38 pounds; the intermediate 
laps are 52i yards long, and weigh 39 
pounds; and the finisher laps the 
same length as the breaker and in- 
termediate picker, the finished lap 
weighing but 37 pounds. The laps de- 
livered at the finisher picker are very 
uniform in weight, and are kept as 
close to the mark as possible. 

The carder gave us all a good idea 
when he said that when he did find a 
lap too light or too heavy, instead of 
running through again and taking all 



the nature out of the cotton, he had 
such uneven laps, which were few, 
spread about the room. This he did 
to preclude the possibility of having 
the mark run too light or too heavy. 
It is a great idea. Try it, if only for a 
week. I found the laps also very clean 
and free from tufts and bunches, and 
very little leaf, or seeds were no- 
ticed. The writer was not surprised 
at the cleanliness of the laps, as all 
the picker machines are on the same 
floor, and free of the trunking sys- 
tems, which are nothing else but dirt 
traps. 

I found the cards in good condition 
and clothed to my liking. The cylin- 
ders are covered with 100s wire, 
also the fiats with 110s wire 
doffer. The sliver at the front of the 
card weighs about 50 grains per yard, 
and produces about 800 pounds per 
week. The mill was built about 16 
years ago, and the fiats look as good 
as new, and they are cleaned by a 
new flat cleaning brush, lately patented 
for this purpose, that should be in 
every card room. 

There are three processes of draw- 
ings with all metallic rolls, and the 
sliver produced looks as good as any 
sliver the writer ever saw. The sliver 
in front of each process weighs about 
60 grains per yard, and the front roll 
makes 410 revolutions per minute. 

AT THE SLUBBER. 

At the slubber, from this 60-grain 
sliver, .62 hank roving is made; on 
the intermediate, 1.60 hank roving, and 
4.60 hank roving on the fine speeder 
to make 28s warp yarn (2 into 1). For 
the filling, from the 60-grain finished 
sliver, .70 hank slubber roving is 
made; 2.00 hank roving on the inter- 
mediate, making 6.50 hank roving on 
the jacks, making 44s filling on the 
mules. 

The work in the spinning was excel- 
lent. The overseer in charge said that 
it was comfort to work for a super-. 
intendent that leaves the judgment to 
the overseer as to the number of 
turns that should be inserted in the 
yarn. The spindles revolve about 8,800 
revolutions per minute, and the front 



COTTON MILL MANAGBMEOSfT 



193 



roll 108, one-inch American cotton be- 
ing used. He said that he knew it was 
better to run a little slower and run 
all the ends, than to run faster and 
make a lot of waste; besides he point- 
ed out that it requires but a small 
number of ends about the room to 
make up for a frame or more. A nice 
shaped bobbin is produced from this 
room, and filled throughout its length, 
which reduces the cost in the spooling 
room; for when the spooler box is 
weighed, you are not weighing wood, 
as is the case when ring frame bob- 
bins are not properly filled. 

ON THE SPOOLERS. 

On the spoolers I was shown how 
all the guides were closed to a certain 
gauge, so as not to allow any bunches 
or knots to escape and find their way in- 
to the cloth. The warping and slashing 
was very good, and free from hitch- 
backs, usually found in this depart- 
ment of most mills. The weaving was 
excellent; free from any hard sizing 
which is generally found in most 
weaving rooms, due to the using of 
too much gum in the sizing. From 
the appearance of the cloth, one 
would be tempted to ask, before going 
through the mill, if the cloth was not 
composed of combed yarns. 

The superintendent was very courte- 
ous, which is generally the case in 
successful mills, and seemed proud 
of every machine and its op- 
eration throughout the mill. He 
knew what kinds of roving, yarn and 
cloth each machine produced, I no- 
ticed, as he came to each machine, he 
would sample the cotton, and feel of 
the roving and yam. One could tell 
he knew his business, and that it was 
his tireless energy that was making 
this plant effective. No. 1. 



II. THE ILL-MANAGED MILL. 

I next visited the mill having mil- 
lions of yards of cloth on hand, and 
found conditions deplorable, and a 
wonder to me that they sold any cloth 
at all. But this plant enjoys an advan- 
tage over other plants, and like a 
doctor that buries his mistakes, they 
too bury their mistakes, because a 



print works is owned by this plant and 
they cover mistakes by printing their 
own cloth. I did not approach 
the superintendent, because I had met 
him once before, and was received 
with such discourtesy that I made up 
my mind I would dodge him, so to 
speak. I was told by one of the card- 
ers that the cotton was brought from 
the cotton shed in lots and run 
through together. Even the waste was 
run through at one time, which made 
the work equal in the ring spinning 
room. 

I found in the picker room that the 
cotton was carried from one machine 
to another by trunks, in order to do 
away with picker help, thus carrying 
all leaf and dirt. The laps appeared 
very dirty, and looked to me very 
heavy. I could not get the information 
desired, as every one in charge seem- 
ed ashamed to answer my questions. 
They knew better, they said, than to 
run the stock through in that way, 
but were forced to do so. 

The cards I found in good condi- 
tion, but very dirty; besides, the work 
the card was doing made the card 
sliver look very bad and dirty, weigh- 
ing from 65 to 70 grains per yard; and 
the overseer in charge said that eneh 
card produced over 1,000 pounds 
weekly. The help in the card room 
seemed to be running a race for life, 
and each one seemed to me to be 
overworked and neglectful. 

DRAWING. 

There were three processes of draw 
ing; some with common leather rolls 
and some with metallic rolls, the 
front roll making 530 revolu- 
tions per minute, and the fin- 
ished drawing weighing between 80 
and 85 grains per yard, a condition 
that should never exist in any print 
cloth mill. The finished drawing sliver 
appeared lumpy and dirty, and every- 
thing seemed to be running in a chok- 
ing order at each trumpet. 

At the slubber, from this 85-grain 
sliver, 48 hank sliver was made; 1.40 
hank roving on the intermediate, and 
4.25 on the fine speeders for warp 
and filling, they having no mules in 
this plant. 



194 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



It will be seen from the above that 
it is impossible to produce good yarn 
from such a bulky sliver and heavy 
hank roving. 

The American Wool and Cotton Re- 
porter has repeatedly pointed out 
the mistake of using a heavy, finished 
drawing sliver and heavy hank roving, 
and it has explained the reason 
through its columns. 

All good carders know it is detri- 
mental to the making of an even com- 
pact roving and yarn, because no one 
will deny that there is a certain 
amount of friction on all drawing rolls 
throughout the mill running a light 
sliver. So what can be expected when 
running such a heavy finished drawing 
sliver and hank roving as is run at 
this plant. 

On the ring frame 28s is supposed to 
be made, but the writer found it near- 
er 26s than 28s, produced from all 
single roving. 

BAD SPINNING. 

The spinning was very bad, and 
more ends were down in this spinning 
room than any five others the writer 
had the pleasure to visit. An enor- 
mous amount of waste must be made 
weekly from this room. I was told 
that the spindles made 9,200 revolu- 
tions per minute; the front roll 118 
revolutions per minute. The overseer 
told me that it made no difference 
what kind of stock was running 
through; that this speed must remain 
the same at all times. 

This is certainly mismanagement, 
and proves I was right in answering 
the question beginning this article, 
because what is the use of having 
twist gears, if the overseer in charge 
is not allowed to use them? Why is it 
necessary to have an overseer at all. 
because, as the writer understands 
the duty of a carder and spinner, they 
can sometimes save the plant thou- 
sands of dollars yearly by their knowl- 
edge of the cotton, in knowing and 
understanding the structure of the 
fibre and its peculiarities, they then 
know when to take out twist and 
when to insert twist, saving many 
pounds of cotton that would otherwise 



find its way to the waste bag, as is 
the case at this plant. 

I found the bobbins doffed from the 
ring frame poorly shaped, and not 
occupying all the length of the 
traverse. 

At the spools I found boxes of bad 
yarn, due to the carelessness of the 
management, by allowing machines to 
run when out of order, producing rag- 
ged-edged bobbins. The guides on 
the spoolers were not set properly, 
some being opened more than others, 
all opened too much, that the lumps 
and knots could be noticed on the 
warp, slasher and in the cloth. 

In the weaving I found, as I did 
throughout the mill, that quality was 
a secondary consideration, and if the 
weaver produced a certain number of 
cuts which is demanded, his job is 
safe. On the other hand, if the weaver 
fails to produce this number, he or 
she is discharged. 

The plant is one of the largest in 
this country, and consists of several 
mills. They are all managed alike, and 
all on the same class of goods — print 
goods. 

I need not describe the cloth pro- 
duced from this plant, which is, as a 
rule, of a scratch-up order. The reader 
can now form his opinion why this 
plant is unable to sell its cloth in dull 
times. 

The law of compensation is working 
the management as well as the plant 
in paying for what it has done. 

No. 2. 



III. PICKER- ROOM EQUIPMENT. 

When constructing and arranging a 
cotton mill for any specific counts, 
there is one subject which requires 
special treatment prior to dealing with 
the constructive details. This is the 
arrangement of the drafts in the va- 
rious machines. 

The success of a mill depends on the 
due regard that should be paid to the 
proper drafting of the machines. This 
is a duty which falls rather into the 
governing of administrative than con- 
structive work. However, it is one of 
the most vital matters in the operation 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



195 



of the mill. It should always be pos- 
sible to arrange the series of drafts 
throughout the mill so that each proc- 
ess can keep up with the other, and also 
have the best theoretical drafts. 

The character of the material em- 
ployed must be also taken into con- 
sideration, because the drafts that are 
suitable for 

SHORT STAPLED COTTON 

would not be suitable for long stapled 
cotton. Then again, the class of yarn 
which is to be produced must be con- 
sidered. The range of counts and the 
production of the machines should be 
limited by their special construction. 

When building a cotton mill, the 
chief question is the variation of the 
stock that is liable to occur from one 
year to another, one kind of stock re- 
quiring a longer draft and less twist, 
while another kind, shorter drafts and 
more twist per inch. 

The cotton crops for the past few 
years were the cause of so much com- 
plaining on the part of most overseers, 
the cotton being short and requiring 
short drafts and more twist, and the 
superintendent, not knowing this, ham- 
mered away at his overseers for more 
production. Shorter drafts and more 
twist was the only remedy, but most 
mills have made the mistake that we 
are now trying to avoid; that is, they 
could not shorten their drafts and in- 
sert more twist, because enough ma- 
chines were not available. So the 
work was carried on, and is carried on, 
at this writing, in many of our cotton 
mills to-day, which makes the con- 
ditions in those mills deplorable. 

The picker room should be a part 
of the maiu building, and separated 
by a fireproof wall, and should not be 
located away from the main building as 
advised by almost all up-to-date writ- 
ers, because fire, which occurs very 
seldom in our cotton mills to-day, is 
not the only thing to be considered. 

The picker room should be a part of 
the main building, so as to save a lot 
of unnecessary walking of the opera- 



tives, and also the trucking of laps, 
which calls for extra help. 

The 

PICKER ROOM 
contains the machines through which 
the cotton passes during its first 
stages of manufacture, and its equip- 
ment requires a great deal of consid- 
eration. The first consideration is the 
planning of the room and the arrange- 
ment of the machinery. 

Enough machines should be installed 
for the weight of the lap intended, 
so as to not overwork the machines, 
which are of heavy type and, in cases 
run at a very high rate of speed, be- 
sides dealing with stock in a very un- 
clean condition, it is necessary to have 
a fair speed iu this department so as 
to aive this machinery time to open 
the tufts of cotton and do its work 
as it should, which is many times re- 
paid in after processes. Again, when 
the machinery in a picker room is 
run at its maximum speed, fires occur 
very frequently, because the swiftly 
moving parts of the machinery are lia- 
ble to come in contact with some lor- 
eign matter of a hard nature, which in 
almost every case, causes a fire to oc- 
cur that will spread throughout the 
cotton. No. 3. 



IV. PICKER ROOM PROCESSES. 

An important matter is the process 
intended in the mill being constructed, 
whether the mill is intended for coarse, 
medium, or fine yarns. 

For the making of a coarse yarn, 
for instance 10s or 20s, the following 
machines should, in most cases, be 
used: Automatic feeder and breaker 
picker combined; and finisher picker, 
the intermediate picker not being used. 
The reason for this is that the cotton 
used for a coarse yarn will give better 
results by not receiving such a severe 
beating, because this poor grade of cot- 
ton requires all the nature it can hold 
in order to stand the operations of 
the different processes without being 
first spoiled in the picker room. 



196 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



It skould be obvious to most carders 
and mill men that a 

POOR GRADE OF COTTON 

will not stand a series of beaters as 
most of the picker rooms of our cotton 
mills employ. However, when the in- 
termediate picker is not employed, 
special attention must be given to the 
grid bars, to have them opened a little 
more in this system of picking to give 
the heavy impurities every opportunity 
to drop through the grid bars. 

For medium and fine yarns, in most 
cases, use the following machines; 
automatic feeder, opener combined; 
intermediate breaker and finisher pick- 
er. 

Buildings should be designed so as 
to have all the picker room machinery 
on the same floor. The trunking sys- 
tem gives a lot of trouble 
in many mills, and although 
they are called cleaning trunks, the 
laps that are produced from the cotton 
carried along a trunk are not, as a rule, 
as clean as the laps produced from a 
picker room with machines all on the 
one floor. The reason is, that when 
trunks are used to carry the 
cotton considerable distances to 
the next machine by means of an 
air-current that is generated by a fan, 
there must be curves and bends in the 
tubes or trunks, which necessitate so 
strong a current in the tubes or trunks 
that most all impurities follow the 
cotton to the lap. Another reason 
for not using trunks is that in case of 
fire they give a lot of trouble, especial- 
ly if made of wood, if not entirely des- 
troyed, the inside is sometimes charred 
to such an extent as to require a lot of 
sand-papering in order to make it 
smooth, and graphite applied freely 
afterwards. Another important con- 
sideration, when equipping a picker 
room, is to see that the 
combined area of the fan outlets 
cut in the floor, leading to the dust 
flues, does not exceed that of the dust 
flues themselves, because if it does, 
the production of a ragged, unevefi lap 
will be the result. 

Another consideration is whether 
to adopt the automatic feed boxes or 



the bale breakers and automatic me- 
chanical feeders. 

All that can be claimed for the latter 
is that the picker room can be operated 
with less help, and has 

NO OTHER ADVANTAGE 
over the automatic feed boxes fed by 
hand. This new system is all right 
if the mixings for this system of pick- 
ing are arranged and blended as in all 
other systems of picking; that is, to 
make the mixing as large as possible, 
and to blend the cotton as much as 
possible. This new system is much 
misunderstood, because most mill men 
conceive the idea, that, because this 
system is a mechanical feed, it 
remedies a faulty mixing, such as open- 
ing a bale of cotton at each ba'e 
breaker, and all one bale used in the 
one machine. 

This new system should receive the 
same care and attention when mixing, 
as the old system of picking, because, 
as regards making an even lap, all 
bales must be blended together in or- 
der to produce a strong, even yarn. 

No. 4. 



V. PICKER SUGGESTIONS. 

The type of beaters to be used is 
another important consideration when 
equipping a picker room. There Is 
some difference of opinion with re- 
gard to the employment of the style 
of beaters for each machine, whether 
the blade beater, or the carding beat- 
er (which is the latest type of beater), 
also the number of blades or lags the 
beaters should consist. The two- 
bladed beater is more accurately bal- 
anced, and is ordinarily about 14 inches 
in diameter. 

The three-bladed or wing beater 
carrying lags is made 16 to 18 inches 
in diameter and revolves slower than 
the two-winged beater. 

The respective velocities are 950 
revolutions per minute for the three- 
bladed beater, and 1,350 revo- 
lutions per minute for the two- 
bladed beater. The manufacturer 
equipping a picker room should see 
that the two-bladed beater will give 
a sharper blow to the cotton, and that 
it also leaves the cotton more quickly. 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



197 



Besides, it is not so liable to vibrate. 
Another reason why it is more pref- 
erable than the three-bladed beater is 
that it is lighter and 

WILL NOT WEAR 

the bearings as soon as the three- 
bladed beater. When a two-bladed 
beater is making 1350 revolutions per 
minute, the blow given to the cotton 
is sharp and clean. It will be seen 
that the bearings of the beater shaft 
can be kept in good condition, and 
when using the blade type of beaters, 
should require reversing when dull. 
They can be readily reversed with- 
out removing the bearings. 

Another consideration is, in what 
machine it is best to have the bladed 
beater, and which machines should 
have the carding beater. 

As we understand the objects of 
picking machinery, it is the cleaning 
of the heavy impurities from the cot- 
ton and the separating of the cotton 
into small tufts that are light enough 
in weight to be influenced by an aii'- 
current and form the cotton into a 
layer, and wind it on a roll in a cyl- 
indrical form known as a lap, so as 
to present it to the card in a uniform 
sheet, and as free from foreign matter 
as possible. The best series 
■)f beaters that have given the best 
results to attain the above objects are 
the following:- The first beater acting 
upon the cotton first should be a 
three-bladed beater, 18 inches in diam 
eter. The reason for the employment 
of the three-bladed beater here is be- 
cause it comes in contact with the 
largest tufts of cotton, and if the beater 
at this point is light, it will continually 
have a tendencj^ to rise, which causes 
much vibration, sometimes the blades 
breaking and fiying through the bon- 
net and injuring other machinery. All 
other beaters should be of the two- 
bladed type, 14 inches diameter, for 
reasons previously explained. 

We know that the 

BLACED BEATER IS BEST 
adapted for the opening of the tufts of 
cotton. The carding beater acting upon 
large tufts of cotton will break many 
fibres that are not easily pulled from 



one another, so that is the reason why 
the first breaker and intermediate pick- 
ers should consist of the bladed type. 
For the finisher picker we advise the 
carding beatei", so as to obtain a beat- 
ing and carding action, thus producing 
a lap that is not equalled in any other 
system of picking. 

A carding beater consists of three 
wooden logs that are fastened to the 
arms of the beater, which is mount- 
ed on the beater shaft. Steel pins 
that are arranged spirally project 
from the logs. The pins that first come 
in contact with the cotton are shorter 
than the others following. 

It can be seen with this arrangement 
that the pins penetrate and break up 
the cotton. Entering gradually, the 
strain incident to the operation upon 
the fringe of cotton is almost equally 
distributed among the pins, causing 
the beater to combine a carding and 
beating action, thus removing a lot of 
work from the card, which it otherwise 
would be called upon to do. 

Another very important considera- 
tion is the best kind of grid bars to 
adopt, through which the beater knocks 
the impurities, because they are im- 
portant agents in the cleaning of the 
cotton. There are many kinds of grid 
bars, but the best kind is the pin type, 
which consists of sharpened pins, ar- 
ranged in a bar with their top edges 
rounded off. Before they were rounded 
off. the top edges of the bars did not 
give the heavy impurities the same 
chance to escape as the latest kind do. 

The grid bars explained above are, no 
doubt, the best, because they form a 
surface only to hold the fibres in the 
field of the air-current, and, of course, 
the heavy impurities, such as seed, leaf, 
and other small particles, fall through 
the pins and bars. 

Another consideration, when equip- 
ing a picker room, that will save a lot 
of wastp^ is to adopt a 

HOLLOW LAP ROLL, 

instead of the solid type. When the 
solid lap roll is used, it is necessary 
at the next succeeding process that a 
rod be pushed through the opening left 
by the solid lap roll withdrawn from 
the lap. In many cases, the operatives 



198 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



are unable to guide this rod in the 
same channel as" was occupied by the 
solid lap roll, and consequently, the rod 
is forced through, thus making an 
enormous amount of waste. This 
waste-making is all overcome by using 
the hollow lap roll. A rod having a 
large flat head, larger than that of 
the lap roll is inserted while the lap 
is stiJl on the roll, and thus is in posi- 
tion when the roll is withdrawn from 
the lap. No. 5. 



VI. LAP LENGTHS. 

The length of the lap intended 
should also be considered. This is a 
mistake made in most all mills, in- 
stead of having a long and light lap, 
they have a heavy, short lap. It must 
be understood that the tufts of cotton 
must be a great deal lighter for the 
production of a light lap than for a 
heavy one, and that the more the tufts 
of cotton are opened the more im- 
purity is taken out. This is also true 
with the card — the less fibres the laps 
contain to the inch, the better chance 
the licker-in has to clean the cotton. 
This subject will be taken up later. 

So if a light lap is best, which no 
doubt it is, then in order not to lose 
any production, the proper gears to 
quicken the feed, and also to make a 
longer lap, should be put on the ma- 
chine before it leaves the builder. 
When equiping a picker room, very lit- 
tle attention should be paid to the 
drafts, because, practically speaking, 
there is no draft to a picker. It is the 
blows to the inch that are the so- 
called draft, and should be considered, 
for it is important for many mills at 
the present time not to beat the cot- 
ton too much. Beaters, as a rule, 

SHOULD NOT STRIKE 
the cotton more than about 55 blows, 
nor less than 25 blows per inch of cot- 
ton fed. 

Another important consideration is 
to see, before the machines are started, 
that the space around the cages is 
properlj' covered with leather. The 
leather should be cut in cylindrical 
shape, so as to fit the end of the top 
and bottom cages. This is neglected 
very often in starting a picker room, 



and to-day, there are cases where the 
mills were built from 16 to 20 years 
ago, and this matter is neglected, so 
that cotton in large tufts can be seen 
coming from the dust room outlet, and 
those in charge will tell you that it is 
impossible to stop it. This good cotton 
escaping from the dust room outlet is 
a neglect that is very expensive, espe- 
cially at the present time, when the 
price of cotton is so high, and it is 
surprising to us how many mills will 
allow these conditions to exist and con- 
tinue, when a few pieces of leather, cut 
properly and placed in the space 
around the screens, will save many 
dollars to any plant where such condi- 
tions exist. 

Too much consideration cannot be 
given to purchasing the picking ma- 
chinery, consisting of dampers, that 
can be regulated on the side as well 
as in the middle. The making of a 
good lap is an important point. If this 
matter of purchasing the machines, 
where the air-current can be regulated 
on the side as well as in the middle is 
neglected, there will always be trouble 
in the working of a perfectly cylin- 
drical lap, that will feel as firm at one 
point as at another — as it should do. 

When the air-current is stronger on 
one side than on the other, the side 
having the weaker current is usually 
soft, and if the dampers cannot be reg- 
ulated on the sides, it is a difficult 
matter sometimes to overcome. This 
matter will be treated more fully in the 
operations of the picker room. No. 6. 



VM. PICKER ROOM MIXING. 

After a picker room has been equip- 
ped and ready to be operated, the first 
thing to do is to run all machines 
without any stock passing through, so 
as to smooth all beaters and fan bear- 
ings. Next, see that the beaters and 
fans are properly balanced, as 
this cannot very well be done when 
the stock is passing through, because 
the action of the beater upon the stock 
causes a little vibration of the beater 
at all times. Many hours' work can be 
saved after days of operation by hav- 
ing beaters and fans properly bal- 
anced. 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



199 



It does not require skilled help to 
operate a picker room, (although the 
best help should be employed), and 
tcr this reason many mills consider 
the picker room too unimportant, and 
this is where a great mistake is made, 
because any neglect in this depart- 
ment will be felt throughout the mill. 
In mixing, try and. mix cotton of one 
length, if possible, because a mixture 
of different varieties, which are not 
equal in length, it should be 
prejudicial to good and economical 
work. It is absolutely necessary, if 
full economy is to be obtained, that 

CARE SHOULD BE TAKEN 
to mix only such staples as work well 
together. Even when the cotton is 
equal in length, the cotton should be 
blended as much as possible, by mix- 
ing only one bale in every ten of a 
certain mark if possible, because most 
lots of cotton are made up of cottons 
collected from various plantations, 
which are probably some distance 
from each other, and subject to differ- 
ent climatic conditions, different meth- 
ods of cultivation, different seed and 
soil and some bales compressed hard- 
er than others, in some cases com- 
pressed so hard as to injure the staple. 
When mixing, after each bale is open- 
ed, a sample should be obtained from 
each bale, and pulled and compared 
with the next bale, and so on, and if 
any staple is found that is 
longer than the average, or some 
found shorter than the average, these 
bales should be kept one side, and run 
through separately. No. 7. 



VIII. MIXING AND FEEDING. 

When mixing, the cotton should be 
pulled in small tufts, as small as 
possible, and mixed in large quanti- 
ties, the larger the better. It should 
stand open at least three days, and 
more, if possible. The larger the mixing, 
the easier it is to keep the work reg- 
ular for a considerable length of time, 
for the reason that no two mixings 
are alike. This is due not only to 

THE VARIATION 
found in different bales of the same 
kind, but also to atmospheric changes 



that affect the cotton, especially in 
regard to moisture. Another reason for 
having large mixings, is to give the 
cotton from compressed bales an op- 
portunity to expand. When a hundred 
or more bales of cotton are to be mixed 
they should be opened as soon as pos- 
sible so as to give the cotton this op- 
portunity to expand. The mix- 
ings should occupy a large amount 
of floor space, and the first bale mixed 
should, if possible, cover this 
space; then a little waste spread over 
this bale, the second bale, and a little 
waste, and so on, until all the bales 
are mixed. When the cotton is pulled 
from the mixing, it should be pulled 
in sections from top to bottom of 
the mixing, so as to obtain a portion 
of every bale mixed. 

Besides choosing cotton of practi- 
cally equal staple, mix strong, harsh 
fibres with others that are a little weak- 
er and softer for the warp yarn, but 
only soft, pliable ones for the filling. 

The cut roving waste received in the 
picker room from the ring spinning and 
mule room, should be 'spread on the 
floor of the picker room and scrutiniz- 
ed, because the help sometimes 

CARRY MATCHES 
in the same pockets with the 
cut waste, and in emptying their 
pockets in the waste box, they forget 
the matches. In this manner, they find 
their way to the picker room, and 
are the cause of many fires. Besides 
this, cut roving waste contains 
matter of a hard nature, such as guide 
wires, rings, ring holders, etc. When 
the waste has been looked over, and 
freed from all such matter, it should be 
spread on the feed apron, and run 
through the first breaker; then taken 
to some available place until mixing 
time, when it should be mixed as de- 
scribed above. 

When roving waste is being run 
through, a few pails of water should 
be placed near the machine, so that 
if a fire should occur from this waste, 
time would be saved, and what might 
be a serious fire, quickly extinguishea. 

Persons having charge and operat- 
ing a picker room should give this 
waste question much consideration, 



200 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT, 



for the cause of split laps can gener- 
ally be laid to the mixing of too much 
waste at one time. 

The automatic feed box should be 
watched at all times, and should be 
fed regularly and kept about three- 
quarters full. It should never be al- 
lowed 

TO RUN LOW, 

and then be filled to the top — some 
operatives even pressing the cotton so 
as to make more free time for them- 
selves. The lattice feed apron should be 
examined often, to see that no slipping 
takes place, because when the lattice 
apron stops, which is often the case, 
the spiked lifting apron takes up the 
cotton irregularly, making uneven 
places in the lap. The lattice feed- 
apron should be kept tight, because 
any intermittent action at this point 
has the same effect as not filling the 
automatic boxes regularly. The lifting 
apron should travel about 72 feet per 
minute, and when it is necessary to 
change the amount of feed, do not 
change the speed of the apron, nor 
move the comb or spike roll near- 
er to or farther away from the lifting 
apron, but speed up the entire feed. 
This can be best done by putting a 
larger pulley on the beater shaft, driv- 
ing all parts of the feed connec- 
tions. The reason why it is better to 
speed up the entire feed, is that when 
the lifting apron is speeded, or the 
comb or spike roll is set nearer or 
farther away from the lifting apron, it 
makes the lap correspondingly heav 
ier or lighter, but by speeding up the 
entire feed, the same results are ob- 
tained, and it does not affect the 
weight of the lap. Of course, this can 
be overdone; but if the blows to the 
inch of cotton delivered are taken into 
consideration, and the beaters do not 
strike the cotton more than sixty 
blows to the inch, and not less than 
30 blows, no harm will result. 

No. 8. 



IX. SETTING THE PICKER. 

In setting for an 11-ounce lap, com- 
posed of one-inch American cotton. 



set the beater blade from the surface 
of the feed roll, so as to pass a gauge 
three-sixteenths to five-sixteenths of 
an inch in thickness; set away for 
longer stock, at the same time, set to 
the stripping plate as close as possi- 
ble. This should be done before setting 
the feed rolls to the beater, because 
you can move the feed rolls, while the 
stripping plate is always stationary. 
Set the stripping plate as close as 
possible, ijay one-eighth of an inch, 
so as to prevent any draft at this 
point, which may take some of the fi- 
bres around the beater a second time, 
instead of following the air current to 
the cages. 

Set the grid bars on the breaker 
nearest the feed rolls one-half inch 
from the beater, increasing a little at 
each lower bar, so that the last bar 
will be three-quarters of an inch from 
the beater. Setting the grid bars is 
very important, although most per- 
sons in charge of these settings give 
the matter very little consideration 
It should be remembered that if set 
too close to the beater, the fibres will 
be injured; if set too far apart, or too 
far from the beater, the waste will be 
excessive. Besides 

INJURING THE FIBRES, 

a too close setting will cause 
much dirt, leaves and seeds to 
follow the air current, and consequent- 
ly, remain in the lap. Sometimes, 
when the bars are set closer together, 
a space is left between the feed rolls 
and the first top bar. In this case, an 
extra bar should be kept on hand and 
placed in this space when the bars are 
set closer, in order to receive any ben- 
efit from the closing of the bars. 

A three-bladed beater, 18 inches in 
diameter, should revolve 900 to 1,000 
revolutions per xninute. A two-bladed 
beater, 16 inches in diameter, 1,150 to 
1,250; and a two-bladed beater, 14 
inches in diameter, 1,250 to 1,350 revo 
lutions per minute. The fans in the 
breaker should revolve about 1,000 
revolutions per minute, and the fans in 
the intermediate and finisher picker 
about 900 revolutions per minute. 

In order that a beater shall 
open the cotton in small tufts, the 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



201 



blades must be kept sharp, (not to a 
knife edge), because when a beater is 
dull, the blade fails to take the proper 
amount of cotton from the feed rolls 
at each revolution of the beater, so 
there is always too much cotton be- 
tween the blade and the feed rolls. 
This has a tendency to push the beat- 
er blade away from the feed rolls, 
which makes a noise like a saw-mill, 
and causes the beater to vibrate. 
When a beater blade is dull, it should 
be reversed, and when both sides are 
dull, the beater should be taken out 
and the blade planed by one who 
knows how. Care should be taken 
that the beater is 

PROPERLY BALANCED 
before replacing, because it often oc- 
curs that too much is planed off one 
blade, thus throwing the beater out 
of balance. 

The air current that draws the cot- 
ton to the cages should be regulated 
to draw the cotton to them in such 
proportions that the upper cage will 
receive an amount slightly in excess of 
that which the bottom one receives. 
The reason for this is that if the sheet 
delivered in front of the machine con- 
tained or was composed of two lay- 
ers of practically the same thickness, 
it would be able to split when run 
through at the card lap. 

The object. of the air current is to 
play through the newly opened cotton, 
and carry away the dust and other for- 
eign substances, which adhere to it, 
and deposit only the cotton onto the 
cages. If the beater is revolving too 
fast, the draft of the fan vvill be de- 
stroyed to a certain extent, and good 
fibres will escape through the bars. On 
the other hand, if the beater is run- 
ning too slowly, the draught of the 
fan becomes so strong that it takes 
with it all the heavier impurities, 
which results in a dirty lap. 

If the air current is stronger on one 
side than on the other, the side hav- 
ing the weaker current is usually soft. 
This trouble at times is very 

HARD TO LOCATE, 
but if the picker has dampers so as 
to be able to regulate the air current 
on each side as they should 



have, this trouble is soon rem- 
edied. The velocity of the air 
current is also responsible for the 
amount of waste removed. If the cur- 
rent is too strong, it prevents good cot- 
ton from being stricken through the 
bars, and prevents all the dirt from 
being removed, since the current is 
strong enough to carry it forward on- 
to the cages. If the current is so weak 
that the dirt drops readily, good cot- 
ton may also drop with it, thus mak- 
ing excessive waste. Fans running be- 
tween 900 and 1,000 revolutions per 
minute, will create a medium air cur- 
rent that will allow the removal of the 
greatest amount of dirt with the least 
amount of cotton. It should be remem- 
bered that split laps are caused by mix- 
ing too much waste at one time; and 
also by not regulating the air current, 
so that the upper cage will receive an 
amount slightly in excess of that which 
the bottom one receives. It is surpris- 
ing how some mills have split laps, 
and instead of locating the trouble, 
they will buy split lap preventers. 
There is no need of such a device to 
be attached to a picker, in order to 
prevent split laps. It is all done in the 
air-current, as explained above. 

No. 9. 



X. TROUBLES AND REMEDIES. 

The setting of the grid bars 
also aids in removing the greatest 
amount of dirt, with the least amount 
of cotton, and the matter of keeping 
all the parts clean cannot receive too 
much attention. Sometimes it is nec- 
essary, in order to avoid an excessive 
amount of air entering through the 
grid bars and preventing the removal 
of the dirt, to admit air through the 
ends of the beater cover, or through 
the casing that extends over the pas- 
sage between the beater and the 
cages. 

As was pointed out in the equip- 
ment of a picker room, the picker, on 
leaving the shop, should be equipped 
with a damper and openings. 

The laps delivered should be as near 
a uniform weight as possible. Each 
lap from the finisher should be weigh- 
ed, and if a variation is found, a daily 



202 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



record of such variations should be 
kept. The laps that weigh on the 
same standard should be put in a 
certain place, and the strippers al- 
lowed to take them at all times. The 
lighter and heavier laps should be 
kept one side and distributed among 
the cards, so as to avoid the possibil- 
ity of getting the work too light or too 
heavy. Running laps over again in- 
jures the stock, by taking the nature 
out of the cotton, which makes the 
stock fluffy, like waste. Laps that have 
a variation of one pound in either di- 
rection, should be 

KEPT IN LOTS 
for distribution ; but, of course, if they 
are found weighing outside this" range, 
they should be put back and run over 
again. But it is so seldom that a lap 
does vary this much, that the amount 
of cotton injured by so doing would 
be very little. 

Uneven laps in many picker rooms 
are caused primarily by neglecting the 
weighing of the laps; besides, the 
fault may be at several places. The 
automatic feeder may be feeding un- 
evenly, as was pointed out; the cone 
belt may be too tight, thus 
preventing the belt shipper from 
acting quickly; or the cone 
belt may be too slack, caus- 
ing it to slip on the cones. The even- 
er, either on the intermediate or fin- 
isher picker, may be out of order, or 
some of the stock may be wound 
around the feed rolls, thus occupying 
a certain space that should be occu- 
pied by newly fed cotton, which causes 
a light lap. 

Below is given a table showing for 
what numbers of yarn certain weights 
of lap are generally used, and we wish 
to point out to the reader that the 
lighter the lap the smaller the tufts 



have to be; the smaller the tufts, the 
more cotton is opened, and the more 
the cotton is opened, the greater 

AMOUNT OF DIRT 
is removed from the stock: 

Weight 
of lap 
per yard, 
No. of yarn. ounces. 

10s to 20s 12.6 

20s to 30s 12. 

30s to 40s 11. 

40s to 50s 10.5 

50s to 60s 10. 

60s to 70s 9.75 

70s to 80s 9. 

80s to 90s 9. 

90s to 100s ■.. 8.5 

lOOs to 120s 8.6 

120s to 150s 8. 

Fire is likely to occur in a 
picker room, on account of the high 
speeds at which the beater and fan 
are made to revolve. For this reason, 
pickers should be kept well cleaned 
and oiled. All oil holes, wherever pos- 
sible, should be covered. When a fire 
occurs, the first thing to do is to stop 
the feed at once; then stop all the 
machines. See that the dust room is 
free from fire before the machines are 
started again; also see that the solder 
of the cages has not melted. 

It must be understood that the above 
speeds and settings are not absolute, 
and they must be determined by prac- 
tical experiments. No. 10. 



XI. PICKER-ROOM CALCULATIONS. 

All managers of mills naturally have 
a curiosity to know something about 
the different methods employed in 
the different processes throughout 
their plant. 

These articles running in the 
American Wool and €otton Reporter 
are for the manufactut-er. treasurer, 
superintendent, overseers, second 
hands and operatives as well. Our aim 
is to give practical, every-day methods, 
which will be found mainly original. 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



203 



We have explained the equipment 
of a picker-room, also its operation. 
It is now necessary to give a few cal- 
culations before passing to the card. 
Many books have been written about 
drafts, so we will give only the 
calculations reauired to operate a 
picker-room, which is all that is nec- 
essary. The 

FIRST CALCULATION 
necessary for a picker-room is to find 
the length of the lap. This is done 
by multiplying the diameter of the 
bottom calender roll by the change 
gear and knock-off gear and by 3.1416. 
Divide this by the worm (which counts 
one when single, and two when dou- 
ble), and by the bevel gear on the 
lower end of the angle shaft and by 
36 inches. 

The above is the Kitson measuring 
motion calculation, and needs very lit- 
tle explantaion to any person acquaint- 
ed with a picker-room. 

A worm keyed on the shaft of the 
bottom calender roll meshes with the 
change gear, the change gear being on 
the upper end of the angle shaft. The 
bottom bevel gears receive motion 
from the change gear and shaft. The 
bevel gear on the bottom of the angle 
shaft meshes with another bevel gear 
carrying a dog having a projection 
cast, so as to engage and knock off 
a lever to stop the feed at every revo- 
lution of this so-called knock-off gear. 
The reader should have no trouble in 
finding the length of the lap if he will 
keep in mind that increasing the size 
of the change gear makes a longer lap. 
So, the first thing to do before start- 
ing the picker is to find the number 
of each gear, except the change, 
which, of course, we are not supposed 
to know . 

WHEN STARTING UP 
new machines. For the convenience of 
calculation, we will assume in this 
case that the diameter of the bottom 
calender roll is seven inches, the worm, 
single which counts one, the gear on 
the lower end of the angle shaft 21 
teeth, and the knock-off gear, 30 teeth. 
First, find the constant which is ob- 
tained by leaving the change gear out, 



and can be used to advantage forever 
after. 

S0x(l)x7x3.1416 

= .8726 constant. 

21x1x36 

Now, suppose you wanted to make 
a lap 52.5 yards long, all you 
would have to do is to divide 
the constant into the length of lap 
desired, which will give you the gear. 
(52.5 divided by .8726 equals 60 gear.) 
Or, if you want to know how many 
yards a certain gear will produce. 
use the following example: .8726 
times 60 equals 52.35 yards. Hav- 
ing found the length of the lap, it is 
then always an easy matter to find 
the weight of one yard of the lap in 
ounces. Suppose the lap at the break- 
er picker weighs 39 pounds, we have 
the following calculation to find the 
weight of one yard of the lap, in 
ounces. 39 times 16 equals 624 divide^ 
by 52.5 equals 11.88 ounces to the 
yard. The above simple example is the 
only one necessary to obtain the 
weight of the lap per yard to give the 
proper draft desired on the card. To 
draft a picker from the feed-roll to 
the calender rolls is all 

RIGHT IN THEORY, 
but not in practice, besides much time 
is saved in the above method. 
As was stated before^ the draft 
of a picker should not be taken into 
consideration, but the blows to the 
inch instead. 

To find the blows struck to the inch 
on the cotton feed, multiply the diam- 
eter of the feed-roll by the revolutions 
of the feed-roll per minute, and by 
3.1416, and divide this into the number 
of blades and revolutions per minute 
of the beater. 

EXAMPLE. 

Diameter feed roll 2.5 inches 

Revolutions per minute feed roll 9 

Number of blades on the beater 2 

Revolution of beater per minute 1,303 

1300x2 

= 36.78 blows. 

2.5x9x3.146 

The above number of blows to the 
inch will be found to be the best for 
one inch American cotton, which we 
recommend. In connection with the 
consideration of the blows to the inch, 
the distance from which the lap is held 
and that with which it is 
struck is of importance. We 



204 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



have given the distance else- 
where, but there are times with 
poor cotton going through, that by 
giving this distance due consideration, 
the running of the work throughout 
the mill is improved considerably. If 
the distance between these points is 
too great, the blow of the beater first 
bends down the sheet of lap presented 
to the blow of 

THE BEATER BLADES 
and then strikes off the fibres. It 
should be obvious to all mill men that 
unless the cotton is removed regularly 
in this way there exists a danger in 
the second blow of some bruising of 
the material, which makes the lap as 
it leaves the finisher picker look fluffy, 
and not in a compact form, as it 
should be. 

Another important consideration in 
calculating this distance, is that the 
beater shaft and bearings will wear. 
That in time will affect this distance 
to such an extent that besides injur- 
ing the stock, the beater blades will 
strike the stripping plate, thus in^ 
juring it, and also the blades on the 
beater. No. 11. 



XII. PICKER-ROOM MANAGEMENT. 

In the management of a picker-room 
the chief aim, as was pointed out be- 
fore, should be to run as light a sheet 
of lap as possible, and to run the 
picker-room every hour in the week, 
instead of running a heavy lap, and 
shutting down this department on Fri- 
day night of each week, as is the cus- 
tom with many mills. We have 
pointed out before that in order 
to make a light lap, the tufts from the 
automatic feed-boxes throughout the 
picker-room are made smaller, and it 
is obvious that the smaller the tufts, 
the more foreign matter is extracted 
from the stock. Theory is all right, 
but it 

HAS ITS LIMITATIONS. 

For instance, the writer was ap- 
proached not long ago by an ambitious 
young man who had in mind making 
a longer lap on the finisher picker. He 
had a good idea, which was to make 
the lap run over two hours on the 
card, so that there would not be so 



many lap ends run through, which in 
almost all cases punctures the screens 
in the card. 

The superintendent objected to 
making a longer lap, pointing out to 
this young carder that the larger and 
longer the lap was made, the more 
friction was caused from the fluted 
calender lap-rolls. In other words, the 
larger the lap was made in diameter 
or in length, the fluted calender rolls 
also increased the length on account 
of the outside of the lap not being 
firm when large. The writer is willing 
to admit that a little friction does ex- 
is at this point, but the amount is 
too small to be taken into considera- 
tion, and is so misunderstood by many 
who have the idea of making a longer 
lap, that they accept the theoretical 
part of the question with the result 
that the card suffers. A cone belt that 
is not cut with square ends at the 
piecing and running out of line, will 
do a lot more injury in this respect 
than the friction caused by the flutes 
on the large calender rolls. When a 
cone belt is running 

OUT OF LINE 
at the piecing, it is continually strik- 
ing the belt shipper, and prevents the 
shipper from acting quickly and shift- 
ing the cone belt to another position 
on the cones as it should, causing a 
light and heavy place throughout the 
lap. 

Let us reason it out and see 
the harm this defect will do. If 
the belt shipper does not act 
quickly, surely one yard of lap 
will pass beyond the action of the 
evener motion. For the convenience of 
calculation, we will assume that there 
is a draft of 100 on the card; so if 
one yard of lap is either light or 
heavy, we have the following enoi'- 
mous length of defective sliver in 
front of the card: 36 times 100 equals 
3.600 inches of defective sliver that 
will be increased in length at every 
drawing process. It must be remem- 
bered in the above case that such a 
condition would exist throughout the 
lap. The above is only one of the 
hundreds of causes we wish to point 
out that are responsible for much 



I 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



205 



weak yarn, on account of its imeven- 
ness. 

Another point to be considered in the 
the management of the picker-room, 
is the fact that the eveners will not 
remedy very uneven laps from the 
breaker picker. There is one chief crit- 
icism that may be made, which is, that 
the evener motion does not act on the 
stock passing through it until at least 
a part of the 

UNEVEN WORK 
it is supposed to correct has passed 
beyond its action. So it can be seen 
that in all systems of picking, using 
eveners, the minute details pointed 
out in this article must be given 
the closest attention possible for the 
production of an even compact lap, and 
not too much dependence placed on the 
eveners, as is generally the case in 
picker-rooms. 

Any person having charge of a pick- 
er-room should always keep this firm- 
ly in mind, that all irregularities in 
the lap are exactly reproduced in the 
card-sliver, and all dirt not removed 
must be removed by the card. So let 
it be your aim to remove all unneces- 
sary work from the card, because it 
is absolutely imperative for the com- 
plete success of carding to have good 
laps to start with. No. 12. 



XIM. CARDING CALCULATIONS. 

When cotton is presented to the ac 
tion of the card, it has been, as stated, 
cleaned and opened, although it has 
not been thoroughly freed from all im- 
purities, and the lap of cotton, as it 
leaves the picker, consists of cotton 
fibres crossed in all directions, togeth 
er with a small amount of foreign mat- 
ter of too light a nature to be removed 
by the action of the beaters or to drop 
through the grid bars of the pickers. 
It is carried forward by the air 
current, together with the cotton in 
to the lap. The proportion of the lat- 
ter, however, is not large, and with the 
late improvements in picking, is year- 
ly growing less. Carding" is the 

MOST IMPORTANT PROCESS 
in cotton yarn preparation, and is the 
basis for strong or weak yam. 



The card has three objects: The 
first is to disentangle the fibres of cot- 
fon; the second, the removal of all 
impurities too light to be removed by 
the picking machines, and the third, 
the reduction of the weight per yard 
of the material, and forming the sheet 
of lap into a sliver, which is accom- 
plished by the draft on the card. Al- 
most every mill man knows what a 
draft is, when they are called on 
to explain it, they are unable to do it 
clearly, and the writer deems it nec- 
essary to explain it here. 

A draft may be expressed in sev- 
eral ways. Draft is the surface speed 
of the front of the delivering roll di- 
vided by the surface speed of the back 
roll, or the number of inches deliverea 
in a certain time divided by the num- 
ber of inches fed. 

Draft is equal to the hank coming 
out divided by the hank going in. 

Draft is equal to the weight per yard 
going in divided by the weight per 
yard coming out. 

In all of these methods, if close fig- 
uring is desired, any waste that is tak- 
en out in this process must be allowed 
for, especially on the card. To save 
time, and also to make as few mis- 
takes as possible, it is advisable to 
have all 

CALCULATIONS 
as simple and short as possible, which 
is our aim in this work. In order to ac- 
complish this, constants are used for 
drafts and also production. When 
changes are made on machines, cer- 
tain gears and pulleys are used, and 
the changes made with them. 

Then, in making calculations by 
leaving out the change pulley or gear 
we get a constant which represents 
all of the calculations, except the 
change gear or pulley. Then, by divid- 
ing or multiplying the constant by the 
change gear or pulley, we get the de- 
sired answer. When the constant is 
divided, it is called a constant divi- 
dend, but when multiplied it is called 
a contstant factor. We give below the 
draft constant calculation of the 
Saco & Pettee card, and for the bene- 
fit of the learner who is unable to 
draft a card from the lap or feed, roll 



206 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



to the coiler, we will give an example 
showing that it is not necessary. 
As stated above, 

TO FIND CONSTANT, 
leave out the change gear, and call it 
one: Feed roll, bevel gear, 120 teeth; 
gear on side shaft, doffer end, 40 
teeth; doffer gear, 214 teeth; gear on 
card calender roll, 27 teeth; diameter 
feed-roll, 2.25 inches; chahge gear 
counted as one tooth; gear on doffer 
pulley, 45 teeth; card calender, roll 
gear, 21 teeth; gear on coiler upright 
shaft, 17 teeth; diameter coiler cal- 
ender roll, 2 inches. Following is an 
example: 

2x120x40x214x27 

= 1534.53 constant. 

2.25x1x45x21x17 

To find the draft gear required, di- 
vide the draft desired into con- 
stant, and the quotient will be the 
draft gear. To find what draft a cer- 
tain gear will give, divide the draft 
gear into the constant and the quotient 
will be the draft. 

EXAMPLE], 
draft 
1531.53 divided by 20 equals 76.72 plus draft 
gear 

As stated before, our work is to 
eliminate this unnecessary drafting by 
using the following method: Suppose 
in starting a new mill, you wish to 
produce a card sliver about 55 grains 
per yard, and the lap leaving the pick- 
er-room weighs 11 ounces per yard; 
the first thing to do is to reduce the 
11 ounces to grains. There are 437.5 
grains in one ounce, so we have 437.5 
times 11 equals 4,812.5 grains. Divide 
this total number of grains by the 
weight of the sliver desired. (4,812.5 
divided by 55 equals 87.) From this 
quotient take out 5 per cent allowed 
for the foreign matter extracted from 
the cotton. (87 times .95 equals 82.65, 
draft of card). Now take your machine 
book, and it will tell you what gear to 
put on the card for the draft above. 
If the 

DRAFT OF THE CARD 
is known, divide it into the to- 
tal number of grains, and the quotient 
multiplied by .95 will be the weight 
of the card sliver. For a print cloth 
mill, try to have the card sliver about 
55 grains per yard to make 28s warp 



yarn, and a 50 grain sliver for a 42s 
filling yarn. 

Much more benefit will be obtained 
from a light lap, even if the doffer 
has to be speeded to make up the nec- 
essary production. Of course, if a large 
number of cards are available to give 
the required production, it is much 
better to run the doffer slow, also, but 
what we wish to point out, is that the 
speed should be sacrificed, instead of 
the draft in a print cloth mill running 
one inch American cotton. No. 13. 



NO. XIV. CARD EQUIPMENT. 

We will now explain how to equip a 
card, and also explain every action of 
all parts upon the cotton while passing 
through, giving the reasons why a light 
lap is much preferable to a heavy 
one. The first thing we would 
like to have the reader know is that 
the fibres make a complete somersault 
at each process, and the end of the 
fibre presented to the licker-in is the 
last to leave the card. This should be 
studied in order to get a good knowl- 
edge of the carding process. 

Card equipment should receive a 
few important considerations, which 
are as follows: (1) In regard to the 
feed plate or feed rolls. (2) To have 
the licker-in covered with ordinary 
wire fillet or saw-tooth. (3) To have 
the cylinder fiats and doffer covered 
with suitable fillet for heavy or light 
yams. 

Some mill men prefer having 
TWO FEED-ROLLS 
instead of having one feed-roll and 
feed-plate. We recommend the feed- 
roll and feed-plate, because one-fourth 
of the diameter of the feed-roll is 
covered with loose cotton before it 
comes under the action of the licker- 
in teeth. Another disadvantage is that 
the fringe of cotton does not hang 
downward, as with the feed-plate, 
which prevents the licker-in having 
the same opportunity to operate on 
the fringe. Another disadvantage is 
that the bearings of the feed-rolls will 
wear and disturb the setting. The 
bearings of the feed-rolls are more 
liable to be displaced than the feed- 
plate. 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



207 



As regards covering the licker-in, it 
should be covered with a saw-tooth 
fillet, because the saw-tooth precludes 
the possibility of the cotton being 
taken around a second time, which in- 
jures the fibres. 

As regards the covering of cylinders, 
doffer and flats, for coarse work, the 
twilled fillet is preferred on account 
of the stronger edges, but for medium 
and fine work, the card should be cov- 
ered with rib-set fillet. 

For coarse work, cover the cylinder 
with 80's wire, the flats with 90's wire, 
and the doffer with 90's wire. For me- 
dium work, cover the cylinder with 
lOO's wire, the flats with llO's and the 
doffer with llO's. For very fine work, 
cover the cylinder with 120's wire, the 
flats with 130's, and the doffer with 
140's wire; the reason for this will be 
explained later. No. 14. 



XV. CARDING ACTION. 

We have stated that the fibres make 
a complete somersault at each process. 
We say this so that more care 
will be given to the combing 
of the fibres if this statement 
is considered. Some writers tell us 
that in order to have a 

PROPER COMBING ACTION 
at every point of the card the parts 
must be properly set and the wire well 
sharpened, so as to engage the end ot 
the fibres presented to the card cylin- 
der, and carry them around and under 
the flats in order to receive a combined 
action. We read the above statement 
many times, and if the same is true, 
as many believe, then the end of the 
fibres held by the cylinder wire points 
do not receive the same combing as 
the free end of the fibres that are 
carried under each flat, because if the 
above statement is accepted, the free 
ends of the fibres are drawn through 
the wires of the flats, while the other 
ends are still held by the cylinder 
wire points. Now let us reason to- 
gether and see if the above is true. If 
the wire points on the flats are just 
as sharp as the wire points of the wire 
on the cylinder, as they should be, and 
at the same time more numerous to 
the square inch, the points of the wire 



on the flats have the same if not a 
better opportunity of holding the loose 
ends of the fibres at times. 

After many years of study upon this 
point, the writer has come to the con- 
clusion that there is a dual operation 
always going on, namely, the cylinder 
wire points holding the fibres for a cer- 
tain length of time, and the points of 
the wire on the flats holding the fibres 
a certain length of time. 

It may be asked, if the above is true, 
how is it so many fibres are taken to 
the doffer? The answer is that the 
cylinder revolving at such a high rate 
of speed 

CREATES A DRAFT 
that causes a sucking action to always 
exist between the flats and cylinder, 
which carries the majority of the fi- 
bres forward; besides the surface veloc- 
ity of the cylinder is so great that it 
has a better opportunity of taking the 
fibres by the fiats — the flats traveling 
at such a slow rate of speed. 

If the reader is a carder or mill man, 
he should see the importance of keep- 
ing the wire on the flats as sharp as 
the cylinder and doffer wire, and that 
the cylinder wire does not hold all the 
fibres or a part of the fibres without 
loosening their hold one or more times. 
Again it should be seen that a dual at 
this point is necessary in order to give 
both ends of the fibres a proper comb- 
ing. We know that many readers will 
not accept the above statement, but if 
they will stop and think that 
each flat has the s.ame opportunity to 
hold the fibres (especially if the flats 
are set to 3-1,000, as is done in some 
New Bedford mills) as the doffer, 
which is supposed to remove all the 
long fibres, he may change his mind. 

Here is a point for your fine goods 
mill men to consider, when you set 
your flats closer than the doffer. 

The question is, how many good 
fibres are taken by the doffer and 
taken around a second time? I regret 
to say that if this matter was taken 
into consideration, s^me of the men 
in these fine goods mills would 

CHANGE THEIR SETTINGS. 
The idea we wish to convey by the 
above explanation of the importance 



208 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



of giving botti ends of tlie fibres the 
same combing, is that the end 
of the fibres held by the wire 
points on the cylinder are the ends of 
fibres that leave the card last. The 
grinder and overseer should keep 
this fact well in mind. When the 
sliver is put up at the bacK 
of the drawing frame, the free ends 
of the fibres not held by the cylinder 
wire are the first to be presented to 
the drawing rolls. So it can be seen 
that the sliver does not follow a 
straight road as some believe, but in- 
stead, as stated before, makes a com- 
plete somersault at each process. 
In order to have both ends of the fi- 
bres straightened so that the drawing 
rolls can act upon most of the fibres 
presented, it is necessary to give the 
same attention to the flats, and keep 
them as sharp as the cylinder and 
doffer, so as to create a dual between 
the wire points on the cylinder and 
flats, in holding the fibres in intervals, 
as explained above. No. 15. 



XVI. CONDITION OF LAP. 

The most important consideration in 
the carding process, as we have stated 
before, is the condition of the lap. We 
have given an example, showing that 
when the lap is uneven for only a short 
length that this length is increased at 
every drawing process. Again, we 
have pointed out that the only work 
the card should be called on to do is 
the removal of short fibres and 

IMPURITIES, 
which is impossible to remove in the 
present picking system, without break- 
ing the fibres. 

If a light place In the lap is pre- 
sented to the combing action of the 
licker-in, and then a heavy place, in- 
stead of feeding the licker-in teeth at 
a steady rate, fewer fibres will be con- 
veyed to the cylinder when the light 
place of the lap is being fed in, and a 
great deal more of fibre is presented to 
the licker-in teeth when the place in 
the lap is heavy. 

It is obvious that during a cer- 
tain number of times the cylinder is 
revolving (which is a great number 
while one inch of lap is delivered) the 



number of fibres presented to the cyl- 
inder varies according to the thickness 
of the sheet of lap. Granting that the 
cylinder is charged with stock and 
that this will help somewhat the 
weight of the sliver from being too 
light, it should be seen that if the first 
argument holds good when the heavy 
part of the lap is fed the cylinder is 
over-charged. 

Some writers claim that, if the vari- 
ations in the lap were great and pro- 
longed, this point could be easily 
demonstrated. They claim that the dif- 
ference in thickness of the lap is at 
the present day not great, and 
the thin and thick places are not of 
great length, which fact makes it dit- 
ficult to trace their effects. 

I am sorry to say that if all carders 
would care to admit it, they 
would tell us that the variation at the 
present time is great. 

WEIGH YOUR CARD SLIVER 
at every interval of five minutes, and a 
surprise is in store for the skeptic. 

The writer has seen a variation of 
eleven grains to the yard in many 
mills throughout the country — the ma- 
jority of the mills varying from three 
to seven grains. 

The only way to reduce this vari- 
ation is, as we have pointed out, 
by not depending so much on the even- 
ers. Only eternal vigilance and the 
watching of the filling of the automatic 
feed boxes will produce an even lap, 
because in this way the sheet present- 
ed to the intermediate picker is made 
more even, and what little variation 
exists the evener will help. It must 
be understood that for the reason pre- 
viously explained, it will not correct 
it altogether. No. 16. 



XVII. SETTING FEED PLATE. 

In setting the feed plate, the first 
thing to do is to arrange the lap guide 
so that the sheet of lap will not spreaa 
beyond the action of the teeth of the 
cylinder and fall between the cylinder 
and casing. If this is not considered 
excess power will be used in revolving 
the cylinder, and there will be danger 
of fire starting at the heated bearings. 
There are more arguments about the 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



209 



setting of the feed plate among carders 
and writers than of any other part of 
the card, and we will now thresh out 
this matter, we think, to the satisfac- 
tion of those who are willing to reason. 

In the first place, to understand the 
following explanation it is necessary 
for the reader to imagine that the 
sheet is first struck down by the licker- 
in teeth, and by the licker-in teeth 
playing through this newly opened 
cotton, a sheet of fibres hanging down- 
ward is formed. The question is 
how to set the feed plate to receive 

THE FULL ADVANTAGE 
without injuring the fibres. 

Some carders and writers advocate 
setting the feed plate as close as pos- 
sible to 5-1,000, others go so far as to 
say that it is impossible to set the 
feed plate too close, so long as it does 
not come in contact with the licker-in 
teeth. This is wrong, both in practice 
and theory, and is so misunderstood 
that we explain it here. 

If the licker-in is set to almost 
touch, it will be found that there will 
be too much work in such a small 
space (although the writer is willing 
to admit that no injury to the fibres 
will occur if the proper nose plate is 
used according to the length of staple) 
and work makes heat. When the card 
is stopped the wax in the cotton is soft- 
ened by the ' heat caused by the nose 
plate resting on its surface. This 
makes the nose of the feed plate 
stick and cotton accumulates until we 
have what is termed a caked nose 
feed plate. The mill men in 
the state of Maine should take 
notice, for much of this plate 
caking was experienced in that state 
a short time ago, through this close 
setting of the feed plate. No doubt 
many overseers and writers will take 
exception with the writer for 
the above statement, but let 
me ask why it is that a 
dull licker-in will cause the nose of 
the feed plate to cake? It is the 

SAME EXPLANATION 
over again, the licker-in teeth being 
dull do not remove the amount of 
stock at every revolution of the 
licker-in, so we have the same trouble 



only in a different way; that is. In 
one way the working space is made 
small by setting the feed plate too 
close, while in the other way the work- 
ing space is made small by too mucn 
cotton remaining between the feed plate 
and licker-in at every revolution of the 
latter. When the points of the licker- 
er-in wire strike the projecting end 
of the lap they pass through it at such 
velocity that the heavy adherent im- 
purities are- struck down and partially 
removed. 

The number of teeth that pass the 
nose of the feed plate while one inch 
of cotton is delivered is about 2,000,000. 
So it can be seen that what we have 
pointed out elsewhere about the run- 
ning of a light lap is of much bene- 
fit to the work throughout the, mill, 
because it can be seen that there are 
fewer fibres to be acted upon to the 
inch when the lap is light; besides 
when the lap is heavy, the amount of 
fibres to be acted upon is not the only 
thing to be considered, the injury to 
the fibres being the most important. 

Also, a heavy lap makes the danger 
of the licker-in plucking the sheet 
of lap in tufts more likely. So we ad- 
vise to set 

THE FEED PLATE • 
from the licker-in teeth at 10-1,000 
gauge for a lap 9 to 10 ounces to the 
yard, 12-1,000 for a lap 11 to 12 ounces 
and 15-1,000 for a lap 12 to 14 ounces. 

No matter what kind of work is run, 
the lap should never weigh over 14 
ounces to the yard, because the ex- 
treme delicacy of the fine points of 
the card clothing should be kept in 
mind, and for others reasons that we 
will explain later. 

One point we wish to give to the 
reader is to consider the effect of us- 
ing a fine comb on a thick 
head of hair; there surely would be 
a battle which would break first, the 
teeth in the comb or the hair. On the 
other hand, if a fine comb is used 
on a human head of much less hair, 
only a slight resistance to the comb 
teeth is offered without injury to the 
comb or hair. So it is the same with 
a heavy and light lap. 

The difference in the various feed 
plates used is another Impoitant con- 



210 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



sideration. For instance, when using 
one-inch, cotton the distance from the 
nip of the feed-roll and bite of the lick- 
er-in teeth should be IJ inches, and 
when using l|-inch staple the plate is 
made so that this distance is IJ inches, 
and so on, having the distance between 
the nip of the feed-roll and bite of the 
licker-in one-eighth of an inch longer 
than the staple being used. In order 
to receive the full advantage of the 
feed plate, it must be shaped to 

SUIT THE STAPLE 
of cotton that is being worked, so the 
gradual and not the sudden detach- 
ment of the fibres should be the aim 
at this point. 

Another point about the feed plate 
is that its good settings can be de- 
stroyed by the weights that produce 
pressure of the feed-roll on the sheet 
of lap. Some of those weights rest 
upon levers having notches so that the 
weights can be shifted from one notch 
to another. Happily these weights are 
stationary on most cards. 

When the weights are shifted and 
the pressure upon the sheet of lap is 
too light, the action of the licker-in 
will pluck the cotton from the feed 
roll before it should. Sometimes very 
large tufts are taken and conveyed to 
the cylinder, with the result that much 
injury is done to the licker-in screen 
and cylinder wire. Besides, the finer 
parts of the card are called on to 
do this heavy work that should be 
done by the licker-in, thus making the 
work very uneven^ and many of the 
tufts remain in tangled flakes that can 
be seen in the web coming from the 
dofCer of the card. No. 17. 



XVIII. CONDITION OF LICKER-IN. 

We have explained that the licker-in 
teeth play through the fringe of fi- 
bres hanging downwards at a very 
high velocity, and also that the saw- 
toothed fillet is preferred, which is in- 
serted in spiral grooves in order to 
scatter the teeth over the shell of the 
licker-in. It is necessary to under- 
stand why the writer has admitted 
elsewhere that setting the licker-in 
very close will not injure the fibres. 
The licker-in teeth pass through the 



fringe of fibres at such a high velocity 
that if they are not scattered over the 
■^hell of the licker-in a tooth will 
strike the fringe of cotton exactly 
where the previous one struck, thus 
injuring the fibres. In order that 
this may not happen, several separate 
spirals are laid side by side, the dis- 
tance between two rounds of any one 
spiral being one inch. There are 
five to ten spirals side by side, ac- 
cording to the kind of stock used or 
the class of work for which the card 
is intended. It can be seen from 
the above that, as the teeth of the 
licker-in pass through the fringe or 
cotton, a lateral action is obtain- 
ed at all times, which makes it 
impossible for the fibres that have 
received a combing action from one 
spiral of teeth to fall or come back to 
the same groove. 

It can likewise be seen that 
the fibres are not straight when hang- 
ing over the nose of the feed 
plate, as most all writers and text 
books tell us, but Instead are always 
diagonal. 

The reader should easily see that 
the work from a saw-tooth licker-in 
will not injure the fibres if the dis- 
tance from the nip of the feed roll and 
the bite of the licker-in is one-eighth 
of an inch longer than the staple being 
used. 

With a licker-in covered with or- 
dinary fillet one tooth will strike the 
fringe of cotton exactly where the pre- 
vious one struck. It will also take the 
cotton around a second time and this 
must injure the stock. 

The licker-in has a surface speed of 
about 1,000 feet per minute, and thus 
if a portion of the cotton is taken 
around a second time much stock 
is injured. So, reader, if you 
are an overseer or card grinder, 
do not lay a brick or file upon the 
teeth of the licker-in, because this will 
cause more nips and flakes than any 
other evil. If the reader is a bit skep- 
tical on this point, sharpen the teeth 
of one of your licker-ins, and then 
remove the door in back of the card 
and look at the place that was sharp- 
ened. You will see that a portion of 
the stock will follow these teeth, 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



211 



We are ready to admit that a licker-ln 
is treated with a brick or file with the 
best of intentions, and will cause the 
teeth sharpended to bite more. If, 



it to a proper place to be covered, and 
you will receive better results. 

Remember this, that if the teeth of 
the licker-in are in good condition the 




however, the overseer or grinder knew 
the trouble that it gives the man at the 
helm, we know he would not do it. 

Keep your licker-in in good condi- 
tion, and when in need of repair, send 



cotton can be easily removed from 
the saw-tooth with the hand, but if 
the teeth are roughened or if the lick- 
er-in is covered with ordinary fillet, 
the cotton is not so easily taken out. 



Sl^ 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



The above test can readily be made at 
any time. Take a small tuft of cot- 
ton and press it into tbe teeth of the 
licker-in covered with a saw-tooth, 
and then pass the hand over this tuft 
of cotton; it will be found that it 
can easily be removed, but if a tuft 
of cotton is pressed into ordinary wire, 
it will be found, in some cases, neces- 
sary to employ a card wire knife to 
remove the tuft of cotton. We feel 
that we cannot lay too much stress 
upon this point, as this is one of the 
worst evils, and causes more trouble 
than any other inside a cotton mill. 

The object of the mote knives is to 
remove all portions of matter other 
than cotton, but in order to accomplish 
this, no air should be allowed to enter 
at the back of the card, because mote 
knives are useless if the card is not 
properly packed— even the doors at the 
side and a,t the back of the card should 
be closely fitted. 

The above is an important considera- 
tion, because the fringe of cotton Is 
held by the feed roll, and the licker-in 
teeth pass through it, and take the 
cotton as it is released past the mote 
knives and licker-in screen to the cyl- 
inder. Any short fibres, however, that 
are not sufficiently long to be secured 
by the lieker-in teeth, and portions 
of foreign matter fall through the space 
between the mote knives. When the 
back of a card is not properly packed, 
the velocity of the licker-in creates an 
air-current which is the cause of hulls, 
husks and bearded motes finding their 
way to the cylinder. However, when 
the card is properly packed, there is 
more of a field formed by the short 
fibres and small particles leavins- the 
teeth of the licker-in which are struck 
by the mote knives and fall to the 
floor. On the other hand, if air is al- 
lowed to enter the back of the card, 
it can be seen that no field exists about 
the licker-in, but instead a current is 
formed from the opening at the back 
of the card, and with the help of the 
current that always exists around the 
licker-in, all short fibres and foreign 
matter follow this current to the cyl- 
Irder, and are afterwards found in 



the sliver, on the roller beam at every 
process, and in the cloth. No. 18. 



XIX. SETTING LICKER-IN. 

Most all overseers know that the loss 
of all cotton known as fly is bene- 
ficial, because it makes the cotton that 
passes forward more uniform in length, 
and besides, if the short cottons, too 
short to be worked, are not removed 
at this point, they will leave the sliver 
at other processes, and fly about the 
room, and collect around the trumpets 
of the sliver and ribbon lap machine 
and drawings, and thus being drawn In 
a bulk from the suction of the trum- 
pet, make a bushy looking place in the 
drawing sliver. Here is where the 
good overseer counts. He has room 
and opportunity to give his employer 
the best that is in him by re- 
moving this so-called fly at one time, 
and preventing the loss of good cotton 
at another time. Our text books anfl 
writers give us a certain gauge setting 
at this point, and many overseers fol- 
low the rule regardless of whether the 
stock is clean or dirty, and the length 
uniform or otherwise. 

The overseer should think more of 
how he can save cotton for his employ- 
er than of the settings. 

In other words, instead of accepting 
a certain setting as the best one, 
do. a little experimenting, aiming to 
do all you can to benefit other depart- 
ments. This will make work easier for 
many operatives and will mean a sav- 
ing for your employer. 

WILL NOT AGREE. 

I know that many readers (especial- 
ly carders) will not agree with me, 
and will say that it is too mucli 
work to change the settings. If the 
carder would have two gauges made 
for the nose of his licker-in, and set as 
I suggest, that is, when the cotton is 
not of a uniform staple, he will fina 
that it is very little trouble. Try it, it 
only for two different mixings. The 
writer employs the following meth- 
od: When the cotton is very poor, 
the nose of the licker-in is set 
at three-sixteenths of an inch gauge; 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



213 



when the stock is dirty and not uni- 
form, the setting is one-eighth of an 
inch, and when the stock is both uni- 
foim and clean the nose is set as close 
as possible. The front edge of the 
licker-in screen, at the point where it 
is hinged to the cylinder screen, 
is also set as close as possible. The 
reason for setting so close at this 
point is to destroy the current of aii 
that exists always around the surface 
of the licker-in, thus giving the im- 
purities a better opportunity to leave 
this current. 

ft is almost impossible to make an 
accurate setting with the licker-in in 
position when setting the front edge 
of the licker-in screen, and the best 
method to set at this point is to use 
the quadrant gauge. Of course, it 
should be understood that this set- 
ting should never be disturbed, and it 
properly made, its setting will not be 
changed enough when the setting 
at the nose is disturbed to be taken 
into consideration. However, a good 
rule is to set the front of the licker-in 
first, and then the nose as close as 
possible, so that when the nose of the 
licker-in is set away from the latter 
the front of the screen will be lowered. 
On the other hand, when using the 
quadrant gauge, if the front of the 
screen is set as close as possible, when 
the nose of the screen is set at three- 
sixteenths of an inch away from the 
licker-in, there is always danger of 
getting the front of the screen too 
close, when the nose of the licker 
screen is set closer to the licker-in. 

No. 19. 



. XX. SETTING MOTE KNIVES. 

The setting of the mote knives is 
given by most writers and even build- 
ers as 12-1,000 for the top mote 
knife, and 17-1,000 for the lower mote 
knife. 

Now, why the bottom mote knife 
should be set at 17-1,000 is a point 1 
could never understand. In the tex- 
tile school, the reason given is that 
when set too close only a small tuft 
of cotton will stop the licker. Granted 
that it does, is it not much better to 
pet both mote knives as close as pos- 



sible, and have them act as a thread 
guide on the spooler, that is, to pre- 
vent tufts of cotton from passing under 
their action, as the guides on a spooler 
prevent knots from passing their ac- 
tion and injuring the cloth, as the 
large tufts of cotton will injure the 
card? 

When the large tufts of cotton are 
allowed to enter the card, we save the 
mote knife and injure the licker-in 
screen, the cylinder screen (at the 
back), the cylinder wire and many 
times the flats have been broken by 
very large tufts of cotton having en- 
tered the card, especially when a lap 
is allowed to run out. 

Is it not much better to set the 
mote knives as close as" possible, so 
as to check the licker-in and prevent 
the tuft of cotton from being conveyed 
to the cylinder. 

Again, the hoops from the bale, and 
sometimes spikes from the lifting 
apron find their way to the licker-in, 
and if the mote knives are set very 
close, the other parts of the card are 
saved, thus saving time, labor and pro- 
duction. Of course, the mote knives 
are injured at times, but a good meth- 
od is to have at least two sets on hand, 
so that if they are injured in any way, 
they can be sent to the builder for re- 
pairs. 

ANOTHER CONSIDERATION. 

Another consideration in setting the 
mote knives is that, even if the tufts 
of cotton allowed to enter the card 
do not injure the card, it surely will 
disturb the setting. 

Set the mote knives as close as pos- 
sible to save the card. The licker- 
in should be set to the cylinder with 
a 12-1,000 gauge. Most writers, and 
even textile schools, give this setting 
as 8-1,000, which is wrong. We can 
give a reason for setting at 12-1,000, 
but it never has been explained to the 
satisfaction of the writer why this part 
is set at 8-1,000. 

The reason why we advise setting 
the licker-in at 12-1,000 is simply be- 
cause there is no combing action at 
this point. As stated before, stock can 
be easily removed from a saw-tooth 
licker-in by passing the hand over 



214 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



it. Surely, the wire on the cylinder, 
traveling at a speed velocity of about 
2,000 feet, is more effective than a hu- 
man hand, and it should be seen that 
a close setting is hot necessary at this 
point. On the other hand, if the set- 
ting at this point is as close as 8-1,000 
(and some advocate a still closer set- 
ting), when large tufts of cotton es- 
cape the mote knives, much damage 
is caused by disturbing the setting of 
the licker-in that will cause the teeth 
to wear through the licker-in screen, 
and also injure the cylinder wire to 
such an extent as to recLuire recov- 
ering. The setting of the flats is also 
very important, and, like the setting 
of the feed plate, is much misunder- 
stood. No. 20. 



XXI. CARD SETTING. 

Many writers of the present time 
give the following settings: At the 
first setting, acting first upon the cot- 
ton at 11-1,000; at the second point, 
10-1,000; at the next point, 9-1,000; at 
the next two, 8-1.000. Others give a 
different number of gauge but most 
writers of late do set and advise to 
set farther away at th« first and second 
setting point, first acting upon the 
cotton; but all they give us is the 
settings, they never give us rea- 
sons, and many young students ac- 
cepting this theory as a great and gen- 
eral rule, set as above and let 
it go at that. The only reason the 
writer can give for the sparker to this 
idea, is that some worsted overseer 
conceived the idea that cotton could 
be treated the same as worsted. It 
should be remembered that the cotton 
staple never exceeds 2 1-25 inches In 
length, while worsted wool is some- 
times 18 inches long, at least a part 
of it. 

We will first give the reason why 
all flats should be set alike, which 
is easily explained. Granted that the 
lap has been properly treated, and 
does not exceed 12 ounces to the yard, 
40 inches wide, the flats should be 
set at 10-1,000 gauge, because every 
top should do the same amount ol 
work, and rememoer that the flats 



are not stationary. So if we set away 
at the first setting point to save the 
flat or the cotton, a great mistake is 
made, because if it is to save the wire 
on the flats it is only a matter of the 
flat travelling a few inches be- 
fore it gets the bulk of the cotton. 
Again if the licker-in conveys to the 
cylinder a certain amount of cotton 
to be passed under the flats, and the 
first flat is set away from the cylinder, 
the flats at the last setting point are 
called on to do the bulk of the work; 
in other words, the amount of cotton 
taken from the licker-in has to pass 
in a certain space, and that the flats 
nearest the cylinder will get the 
bulk of the work, no one can deny. On 
the other hand, by setting the first 
flats away at the first setting points, 
the working carding surface of the cyl- 
inder is reduced, and the only excuse 
that can be advanced for such a setting 
is that the fibres are in a tangled state 
and that the combing should be grad- 
ual. This is all theory, not practice, 
and my advice to the carders who 
conceived the idea that this kind of 
setting disentangles the fibres, is to 
pay a little more attention to the back 
of the card. 

All overseers and writers who believe 
in this so-called progressive setting 
admit that no injury to the fibres will 
result if the distance between the 
grip on the staple and the bite is one- 
eighth of an inch longer than the 
staple. 

Now measure the distance from the 
edge of the flat (the heel of the flat) 
that grips the cotton to the edge of 
the next fiat, and it will be found that 
this argument that the cotton is in- 
jured by not receiving a gradual comb- 
ing is a weak one. 

So if this idea, that by setting the 
first flat as close as the next working 
flat injures the staple, then every 
one of us must admit that we injure 
the staple from the nip of the feed 
roll and the bite of the licker-in. Our 
aim is simply to point out this defect 
for the good of all concerned, and the 
sooner those who believe in a pro- 
gressing setting are brought to the 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



216 



mourners' bench the better — even for 
themselves. No, 21. 



XXII. PROGRESSIVE SETTING. 

Progressive setting is not a new 
idea, for this method of setting was 
employed when the stationary tops 
were in use. The tops at that time 
were caused to assume an angular 
position relative to the cylinder, as 
in the present time, which was the 
proper thing to do. At that time, the 
tops first acting upon the cotton were 
set to a 13-1,000-inch gauge; the mid- 
dle tops, 12-1,000, and the front tops, 
11-1,000 of an inch. In those days 
the tops were nearly double the widtn 
they are at present, and so it was dis- 
covered that the detachment was as 



contention of progressive setting if. 
Ihe distance from heel to heel was not 
so great. A reference to Figure 1 will 
enable the essential parts of the card 
to be understood by the reader. Re- 
ferring now to Figure 1 at F, it will 
be seen that the distance from the 
heel of one flat to the heel of the next 
flat is one and three-quarter inches, 
and by close observation, it can be 
seen that the flats assume 

AN ANGULAR POSITION 
relative to the cylinder. The edge of 
the flat, called the toe, is the edge 
farthest away from the cylinder, and 
the side of the flat nearest the cylin- 
der and used for setting purposes is 
the heel, which is about 3-100 of an 
inch nearer the cylinder than the toe. 




Figure 1. Portion of Revolving Flat Card. 



gradual with the tops set at 11-1,000 
of an inch, as when set at 13-1,000, al- 
so that more combing action was re- 
ceived from more carding; surface; 
so progressive setting was abolished. 
This has all been forgotten, but many 
writers and carders would have us 
do what has been abolished years ago. 
There might be some force in the 



Again, referring to Figure 1, at A, 
the feed-roll, and C, the feed-plate, the 
top arrow shows the grip of the feed 
roll, and the lower arrow shows the 
bite of the licker-in teeth. The dis- 
tance given in the drawing is one and 
one-half inches, and this distance will 
be found to be less with the majority 
of feed plates that are now in use. 



216 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



As was stated elsewliere, the 
only reason for setting the flats first 
acting upon the cotton away from the 
cylinder, is to give the stock a 
gradual combing, on account of it 
being in such a tangled state, 
so as not to injure it. As 
stated before, it is safe to 
say that all writers and carders agree 
that no matter how close the feed- 
plate is set to the licker-in, provided 
there is no contact, no injury will 
result to the fibres, if the distance 
from the grip to the bite is greater 
than the length of the staple. 

Any reasonable person will grant 
that the fibres conveyed to the cylin- 
der by the licker-in are not in such a 
tangled state as when presented to 
the licker-in. Granted that they are not, 
and the two distances are considered, 
that is, the distance between the grip 
of the feed rolL and the bite of the 
licker-in teeth, how can the fibres be 
injured? Surely, as stated before, if 
the 

FIBRES ARE INJURED 

at point F, Figure 1, they are also in- 
jured between A and C. Anothei 
point we wish the mill men to con- 
sider is, that the longer the staple of 
cotton, the more tangled it will be; 
and this, no mill man will 
deny. Again, where the long- 
est staple of cotton is used, we 
find the closest setting of the flats. 
We find to-day in our fine goods mills, 
that every time a card is ground, all 
flats are removed from the card, and 
ground on a special machine, so as 
to enable a setting of the flats of 
3-1,000 of an inch. 

Now, let us reason together here, 
for the reader will surely agree that 
if the writer is wrong in not accepting 
the method of progressive setting 
then these men in the flne goods mill 
are making a terrible mistake, be- 
cause, besides setting the flats much 
closer, the staple of cotton used in 
some of these fine goods mills exceeas 
two inches. Now, reader, stop and 
think; here we have a staple, say, two 
inches long, which is greater than the 
distance between the heels of the flats 
of any revolving flat card, and set 
to a 3-1,000-inch ■ gauge to the 



cylinder. It can be seen that if it Is 
true that when the flats are set close to 
the cylinder at the point where tne 
cotton first strikes the flats injures 
the stock, then the same is true be- 
tween the grip of the feed-roll and tne 
bite of the licker-in teeth, and also true 
where a staple of cotton exceeds the 
distance between the heels of the 
flats, on account of the two heels 
having the same opportunity or 
GRIPPING THE FIBRES. 

When the statement was made, 
(which is a true one), that yarn pos- 
sesses a certain strength which arises 
to a large extent from one factor, viz., 
the number of fibres in its cross sec- 
tion, most carders accepted the mean- 
ing, with the result that in the major- 
ity of our carding rooms is found a 
heavy lap. Why a carder fails to see 
the injury caused to the staple when 
running a heavy lap, is more than the 
writer can understand. (1.) No one 
will deny that when running a heavy 
lap, the licker-in has a better 
opportunity in plucking the cotton in 
large tufts. (2.) It should be borne in 
mind that it is much better to make 
your feed-roll revolve faster and save 
the cotton, than to have the feed-roll 
running slowly, and the licker-in teeth 
pulling the fibres away from one an- 
other, which results in injury to 
the fibres. There is no excuse that 
can be offered for running a heavy 
thick lap, because a thinner lap can 
be made which will weigh the desired 
amount, due to its greater length and 
more compact winding. Similarly with 
roving or yam, the compactness of the 
bobbin is increased by using finer 
yarn. The same with roving or 
yarn — the finer the hank, the more 
compact the bobbin will be. 

Here is the difference when running 
a light lap. (1. )The picking machin- 
ery does the heavy work it should do, 
because, in order to make a light 
sheet of lap, the cotton must be bro- 
ken into smaller tufts, which cleans 
the cotton of the heaviest impurities. 
(2.) The fluted calender rolls make 
more revolutions, and of course, the 
picker-room does not turn off as much 
production, and the lap contains a larg- 
er number of yards. When the feed-roll 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



^It 



is made to revolve as fast as possible, 
and the sheet of lap made corre- 
spondingly lighter, a gi-adual detach- 
ment takes place between A and the 
lower arrow. Figure 1. No. 22. 



XXlll. CARDING ACTION. 

We have stated elsewhere that no 
air should be allowed to enter the 
card, because the 

EXISTENCE OF AIR 
currents plays an important part in 
the work of a card, as was pointed 
out; for the velocity of the licker-in 
is so great that a field is caused by 
the short fibres, and impurities have 
a tendency to fly outwards, which 
are struck by the mote knives. The 
reason we give the setting 
of the licker-in so close is 
to destroy as much as possible 
the current that always exists around 
its surface. Referring to Fig- 
ure 1, E is the nose of the 
licker-in screen. The setting at this 
point is given elsewhere, and by fol- 
lowing the drawing to where E is 
hinged, it can be seen that a close 
setting is beneficial, because the 
less space allowed at this point, 
the weaker the current around 
the licker-in; and the weaker the cur- 
rent, the more of a field is caused 
above the mote knives by the short 
fibres and dirt flying outwards, which 
are struck by the mote knives, and 
fall to the floor. 

The modern revolving flat card is 
constructed so as to secure the larg- 
est per cent of production possible. 
To attain this object, the manufactur- 
ers have decided that 165 revolutions 
of a 50|-inch cylinder, (including 
clothing), is the proper limit, which 
is around 2,000 feet velocity per min- 
ute. This limit is set on account of 
the 

CENTRIFUGAL ACTION 
on the cotton flbre. -Although it is cer- 
tainly true that the velocity of the 
cylinder is so great that the fibres, if 
left at liberty, will tend to be thrown 
outwards, too much stress must not 
be laid upon this point. 

The cylinder having a surface ve- 
locity of about 2,000 feet per m'nute. 



it should be plainly seen that when 
the fibres are drawn past the space 
of one and three-quarters inches, 
(from heel to heel of each flat) that 
it seems unreasonable to ask anyone 
to believe, as theory tells us, that the 
fibres held by the cylinder wire, and 
to a certain extent raised from the 
surface, are subjected to the combing 
action of the superposed teeth, their 
free portion being drawn along the 
points of the flat, and thus cleansed. 
The above statement is right, but it 
must be understood that the free por- 
tion of the fibres are drawn along the 
points of all the fiats. 

The theory that the flats are caused 
to assume an angular position rela- 
tively to the cylinder, so that the free 
ends of the flbres will strike the 
toe of the fiat and be drawn through 
the wire teeth on each flat is 
WRONG IN PRACTICE, 
for with material as light as 
cotton, it is impossible fpr 
the free ends of the fibres 
to strike the toe of each fiat, receive a 
combing and be ready to strike the toe 
of the next flat; and when it is borne 
in mind that the cylinder is travelling 
at a speed velocity of about 2,000 feet 
per minute, and the free ends of the 
fibres are travelling at almost the 
same velocity (depending on the grip 
the cylinder retains upon the ends of 
th fibres), passing a space of 1| inch- 
es, it is, as stated above, impossible 
for the free ends of the fibres to strike 
the toe of the flat while passing this 
short space at such a high velocity. 

No. 23. 



XXIV. POSITION OF FLATS. 

In order to study how the free ends 
of the fibres receive a combing ac- 
tion from the flats, it is necessary for 
the student to fix firmly in mind that 
the velocity of the clyinder is so great 
that the fibres, if left at liberty, will 
tend to be thrown outwards. Then he 
should picture in his mind that the 
extent of their outward position de- 
pends on the distance that the fiats 
are set from the cylinder, and that they 
do not change their position as theory 
tells us at each flat, but remain In 



218 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



the same position while passing under 
all the flats, unless injured or held 
by the wire teeth on the flats. 

The chief reason why the flat is giv- 
en 

AN ANGULAR POSITION 
relative to the cylinder, is not to 
give a combing at each flat, but in- 
stead to insure that the flbres will 
readily enter the space beneath the 
flat, and preclude the possibility of 
rolling up of the fibres at the front or 
it. Again, what was said about a field 
caused by the short fibres and impuri- 
ties flying outwards at the licker-in 
holds good here, only instead of the 
short fibres and impurities being struck 
by the mote knives they readily enter 
the space between the flats, and are 
not allowed to follow the cylinder by 
coming in contact with the toe of 
the flat and lodged until stripped by 
the stripping comb. 

If a particle of matter is placed upon 
the surface of a swiftly revolving cyl- 
inder, the particle will continually 
jump and follow the air current created 
by the high velocity of the cylinder, 
until it flnally leaves its surface. 

So it can be seen that the actions 
of the small impurities are similar 
only they are not at liberty to leave 
the cylinder, .but instead they readily 
enter the space that the angular posi- 
tion of the flat occasions. 

We stated elsewhere that there is a 
dual operation going on at all times 
between the teeth of the wire on the 
cylinder holding the ends of the fibres 
for a certain length of time, and the 
teeth of the wire on the flat holding 
the fibres for a certain length of time, 
and the reason was given why the 
greatest number of fibres were con- 
veyed to the doffer. 

Very few carders and writers will 
agree with me upon this point, 
because most all books on textiles, 
writers and 

TEXTILE SCHOOLS 
tell us, that the ends of the fibres are 
held by the wire teeth of the cylinder 
and the free ends are drawn through 
the wire on the fiats, and the ends held 
by the wire teeth of the cylinder re- 
ceive their combing when the detach- 



ment of the fibres takes place at the 
d offer. 

Now, reader, is it possible when the 
number of teeth on the licker-in and 
cylinder and their respective velocities 
are considered, to render it practically 
possible for each point on the cylinder 
to take up at each revolution one fibre? 
Still, this is what most carders and 
writers tell us it is supposed to do. 
The licker-in has much less teeth to 
the square inch than the cylinder 
which, besides having a greater num- 
ber of teeth to the square inch, its 
surface velocity is doubly greater than 
that of the licker-in. When the above 
is considered it should be seen that it 
is more than probable that there are 
considerable periods — ^that is, compara- 
tively — during which the teeth in 
various parts of the cylinder do not 
take up any fibres at all. Another 
proof in regard to the dual operation 
that the writer claims is always go- 
ing on between the teeth of the cylin- 
der wire and the teeth of the wire 
on the flat, is that if the stripping 
plate is moved away from the cylin- 
der, much long staple will 

FOLLOW THE FLATS 
to the stripping comb. 

A properly made card tooth should 
only grip the fibre for a short dis- 
tance and the hold which it retains 
upon it will depend very largely on 
the way the card is ground, that 
is to say, the point of the wire teetn 
on the cylinder and flats, should be 
sharp and clean. 

In the very fine goods mills where 
the flats are set as close as 3-1,000 
of an inch, (especially in New 
Bedford, Mass.) the fibres are 
not injured from such a close 
setting, for the reason just given, 
that is, to have a properly made card 
tooth that will grip the fibres for 
only a short distance. 

It can be seen from the above^ that 
the fibres are not injured, as the 
grip on the fibres is retained only tor 
a short distance, which proves the 
claim of the writer; because if the 
wire teeth retained their hold upon the 
fibres, as theory tells us they do, while 
passing under each flat, it can be seen 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



219 



that when the keen teeth of the flat 
bite the free ends of the fibres, the 
latter would be broken or in- 
jured. Again, if the teeth on the wire 
of the flats and cylinder are not sharp 
and clean, and the space between the 
heel of one flat to another is not con- 
sidered, which is 1| inches for run- 
ning a staple of 2 inches or more, it 
should be seen that the staple of cot- 
ton would be injured or broken. 

The writer is pleased to say, how- 
ever, that this is not the case in 
our fine goods mill, because due re- 
gard is given to the grinding. When 
a card is ground the flats are ground 
on a special machine and ground 
to a certain gauge, all alike. The 
above method is employed in most 
New Bedford (Mass.) mills where the 
quality of yarn turned off is a credit 
to the city. No. 24. 



XXV. SETTING FLATS. 

The flats have to be set 
very close to the cylinder sur- 
face, and this is a matter 
which involves the consideration of one 
or two points. When the stock is 
weak and fairly clean, set all the flats 
at a 10-1,000-inch gauge; if the 
stock is full of neps, hulls 
and husks, set as close as 
possible. In setting the flats to the 
surface of the cylinder as close as pos- 
sible, the carder should choose a time 
when the mill is stopped in order to 
eliminate vibration. Then by means 
of the setting screws, by which the 
flats may be raised or lowered, he low- 
ers the flats until by slowly turning 
the cylinder, a light click, caused by 
the wire teeth of the flat coming in 
contact with the wire on the cylinder, 
can be heard. Then the setting screws 
should be reversed to destroy this con- 
tact, and the setting screws locked 
with a check nut. 

It must be understood that the write? 
advocates the setting of the flats in all 
print cloth mills at 10-1,000 of an 
inch. The above close setting is given 
just to point out that the closer the 
setting, the smaller the amount of 
neps that can be seen in the web. 
Again if a clean grade of yarn is re- 



quired and no combers are available, 
the above 

CLOSE SETTINGS 
will be found advantageous in such 
a case. 

One point the writer wishes to con- 
vey to all carders, is to instruct their 
grinders when setting the flats, 
whether by ear or by gauge, to always 
lower the flats so that the setting screw 
must be reversed. The mistake of 
not doing this has cost many 
mill men many dollars, and also 
many hours of worry. When the 
flats are lowered and not reversed, 
they are liable to drop at a lower 
point than they were set, because 
there is always vibration existing in a 
mill when running, and this vibration 
combined with the weight of the flats 
on the flexible bend, and the little 
play that may exist in the setting ai- 
rangement, causes many times the flats 
to dip into the cylinder, which raises 
the wire on the cylinder to such an 
extent as to require recovering. 

On the other hand, if the setting 
screws are turned to lower the flats 
until the gauge is tight between the 
fiats and the cylinder, and then the 
setting screws reversed, it can be seen 
that all possible play in the setting 
arrangement is removed, and the dan- 
ger of the flats dipping into the cyl- 
inder is avoided. Making first a tight 
setting and then reversing the setting 
screw applies to all strong points 
on a card, and will be found to be 

THE SAFEST METHOD. 
When the fiats are dipping into the 
cylinder, a streak can be noticed on 
them, caused by the staples clinging 
to the injured points of the wire on 
the flats. The cards should 
be stopped immediately and if 
the clothing is blistered in any 
way, have the cylinder redrawn, and 
do not try to run a cylinder in such a 
condition, because a close setting can 
not be obtained, besides, danger ex- 
ists always of the fillet breaking when 
in this condition, and doing much 
damage to other parts of the card. 

The manner in which the fiats may 
be raised or lowered varies on different 
makes of cards; one method is showp 



220 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



in Figure 2 which illustrates sectional 
and plan views of this arrangement. 

The flats are supported by a flexible 
bend in the usual manner, but the 
method of supporting the flexible bend 
is a radical departure from others, the 



bend is beveled and rests on the bev- 
eled surface of the rigid bend. It should 
also be seen that when the bend is 
forced in toward the cylinder the 
bend must rise, while on the other 
hand, when the rigid 




PLAN VIEW. 
Figure 2. Setting Arrangement for Flats. 



only resemblance being the setting CONICAL BEND 
points on each side of the card. By is forced outwards, the flexible conical 
referring to Figure 3, it can be seen bend must fall, thus raising or lower- 
that the under surface of the flexible ing the flats as may be desired. A is 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



221 



the index nut which bears against 
outside of rigid bend D and locks nut O. 
B is a setting key with fluted teeth, 
which gears into the teeth of nut C, 
which is used for the setting of the 
flats. C is a toothed steel nut which 
bears against the inside of rigid bend 
D. E is the flexible conical bend which 
rests on D and supports the flats. 

As the index nut A and the toothed 
nut C are turned one way or the other, 
they move the rigid bend D in or out. 



3. The bend A is supported by brack- 
ets, which in most cases are composed 
of two parts, Al and D. In Figure 3 
the outer portion, Al, is shown in dotted 
lines. The inner portion, D, is so made 
that a projecting lug, B, flts into a hole 
in the bend and holds it in position. 
The part, D, is supported by a screw 
that passes through the rib, H, of the 
arch and carries two set nuts, F. ana 
G, one above and one below the rib. 
The bracket is also held in position 



/"^-N 




Figure 3. Arrangement for Setting th e Flats. 



and thus raise or lower the flexible 
bend as explained. 

Each division on the index nuts A 
represent 1-1,000 part of an inch, and 
by turning these nuts one division, 
the flats are raised or lowered to this 
extent. 

Another arrangement for setting or 
adjusting the flats is shown in Figure 



by the screw, E, which runs through 
a slot in the bracket and 

ENTERS THE ARCH 
of the card. On raising or lowering the 
bend. A, by means of the bracket, D, 
it can be seen that the flats are raised 
or lowered as desired. The setting of 
the doffer is also important, and like 
other settings already explained opm- 



222 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



ions differ. One mistake we wisti to 
point out, and one that is made in most 
mills, is the copying of the settings of 
another mill. No. 25. 



LESSON XXVI. CARD CLOTHING. 

The setting between the cylinder and 
doffer is given by machine builders 
and writers as 7-1^000 of an inch, 
which is all right for certain 
kinds of stock, while for other 
kinds of stock this setting would 
be too close, and for still others 
this setting would be too wide. In 
the fine goods mill they set the cyl- 
inder from the doffer with a 5-1,000- 
to do. 

Elsewhere we have advised covering 
the doffer with 140's wire, the cyl- 
inder with 120's, and the flats with 
130's. The reason for covering the 
doffer with such a fine wire, is for the 
same reason as setting the doffer close 
to the cylinder, which is to preclude 
the possibility of the fibres passing the 
doffer, and being taken around a second 
time or dropping through the cylinder 
screen to the floor, which is a great 
loss to a mill, because long stock Is 
so valuable. It should be seen that 
with a close setting at this point, and 
the doffer fillet having a much larger 
number of points to the square inch 
than that of the cylinder, a better 
opportunity is given to the doffer in 
detaching the long fibres from the cyl- 
inder. On the other hand, when the 
stock is short and dirty, a setting of 
even 7-1,000 of an inch is too close, 
because the doffer 

WHEN SET CLOSE 
and using dirty stock, will act as 
a stripping roll. The writer has 
been condemned many times for .mak- 
ing such a statement, but if I am 
wrong, let me ask how it is that the 
yarn in mills using dirty stock is so 
dirty and also why it is that hulls, 
husks, leaves and other impurities are 
found on all roller beams throughout 
the mill? Surely they are combed from 
the doffer. and the only way to stop 
much of this foreign matter from go- 
ing through, is to set to about 9-1,000. 
Of course, it is very seldom that the 



setting between the cylinder and doffer 
in any print cloth mills, is other than 
7-1,000, which we recommend also, 
but as stated when the stock is ex- 
tremely dirty, the best results are ob- 
tained from the above setting. Another 
evil that bothers many carders, is when 
the web is dotted with white specka, 
which can be plainly seen but are 
neither motes nor leaves. There is not 
much doubt that these are neps formed 
from damaged or broken fibres, caused 
either by having a wrong nose-feea 
plate, a dull licker-in, or a licker-in 
that has been sharpened with a brick 
or file, which became knotted or matted 
together, and escaped the cleaning of 
the fiats. 

Another defect we wish to point out 
is running a card with flats covered 
with coarse wire. The writer has in 
mind two mills that are at this writ- 
ing running their cards with 80s wire 
on the flats. Here is the explanation 
to this defect: When the cylinder re- 
ceives the flbres from the licker-in 
teeth, many become overlaid and mat- 
ted, and it is quite dear that if the 
space between the points is great, 
that the flbres are not laid in parrallel 
circumferential lines, as in the case 
of fine wire, and they are deposited 
transversely on the doffer, thus be- 
sides giving the cylinder a better 
chance in taking such flbres by the 
doffer around a second time, the 
rolls are unable to draw flbres in such 
a condition in after-processes. 

No. 26. 



XXVII. FURTHER SETTING. 

When setting the cylinder screen, 
care should be taken to only loosen 
the bolts passing through the side 
arches, and not loosen the arch bolts. 
Set the cylinder screen farther from 
the cylinder at the front than at any 
other point, the reason for this setting 
being so that the long flbres that 
escape the wire teeth of the doffei 
will not come into contact with the 
front edge of the screen, and thus be 
removed from the cylinder to the 
floor. The front edge of the cylinder 
screen should be &et at 25-1,000, the 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



223 



centre at 30-1,000, and the back at 
11-1,000 of an inch. The reason for 

SETTING SO CLOSE 

at the back of the cylinder screen is 
lor the same reason lor setting the 
fiont edge of the licker-ln screen; 
that is, to destroy the draft caused 
by the high velocity of the cylinder, 
ihe setting of the front knife plate is 
important, and, like the nose of the 
licker-in, should be set according to 
the length of staple run. When run- 
ning a long, clean staple, set the front 
kniie or stripping plate so that the 
"strip" from each flat are all one 
thickness, and held together by fibres 
here and there. It should be remem- 
bered that the amount of flat strip- 
pings depends to a great extent on the 
setting of this plate. If the plate is set 
too close, some of the short fibres 
and foreign matter removed from the 
cotton by the flats, and by the help 
of the knife, the cylinder will carry 
to the doffer, thus producing bad work. 
As stated before, it is by watching 
these settings that the overseer in 
charge can save many dollars for his 
company — and why not do it? It is 
just as easy to set this plate right as 
wrong. The back knife plate is seldom, 
if ever, set by any grinder or overseer, 
because this plate once set 
:s never disturbed. However, it 
shculd be examined to see if it is 
properly set, which should be 17-1,000 
at its lower edge, and 32-1,000 at the 
upper edge. The reason for setting the 
upper edge of the back knife plate 
away from the cylinder, is to give the 
cotton, conveyed to the cylinder in 

A MATTED STATE, 

a chance to free itself and stand out 
a little from the cylinder before com- 
ing in contact with the flats. 

The flat stripping comb should be 
set at 8-1,000 gauge, and care should 
be taken that it is not set too close 
as to come in contact with the wire 
on the flats, because this is liable to 
damage the comb as well as the wire 
on the flats. Nothing looks so bad in 
a card room as the flat stripping comb 
beld in position for a time by strik- 
ing the flats, or the comb moving and 



holding the flat so as to give it an 
iniermittent action. When setting the 
dofter comb, the blade should be 
brought at its closest point to the cyl- 
inder, and then set to 10-1,000 gauge. 
When the web follows the doffer, as 
is the case in cold weather, caused by 
the room getting cold, the comb 
should be raised a little and set to 
8-1,000 gauge. In the summer, when 
the web is sagging, the comb should 
be lowered, and set to 10-1,000 gauge 
When a very heavy lap is run, some- 
Limes it is impossible to stop the sag- 
ging, and the only remedy is to make 
a lighter lap. 

When setting the doffer comb, great 
care must be given that the teeth of 
the comb do not come into contact 
with the wire teeth, or points of the 
doffer, because it will roughen , the 
teeth of the doffer comb to such an 
extent, that a few fibres will 

CONTINUALLY COLLECT 

at all the rough places on the comb, 
and continually break the web down. 
Another point that should be consid- 
ered, when setting the doffer comb, 
is to be careful and see that all the 
posts holding the comb blade to the 
comb are the same length. The 
writer has visited mills where it could 
be seen that some part of the blade 
of the doffer comb was striking the 
v/ire, while in other places, part 
of the web would follow the doffer, 
owing to the posts being of different 
lengths. 

The first thing to do before grinding 
the card is to determine whether the 
wire is plough ground or not, so as to 
be able to test the wire when it is 
supposed to be sharpened. A good 
method,' when the wire is plough 
ground on both sides, to asecrtain 
whether the point of the wire is 
ground properly, is to pass the finger 
nail over the points of the wire. If the 
wire points bite the finger nails, this 
indicates that the point of the wire is 
in proper condition. When the wire is 
not plough ground, or plough ground 
only on one side, the points 
of the wire do not bite the ' fin- 
ger nails as readily as the wire plough 
ground on both sides. 



224 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



The manufacturer should be careful 
when 

SELECTING WIRE FILLET, 
and examine the point of the wire 
with a strong magnifying glass, to 
ascertain if the wire is plough ground, 
on both sides. Wire not plough ground, 
or wire plough ground only on one 
side, should not be accepted, because, 
as we understand it, plough ground 
wire is to be preferred, on account of 
its sharp s^des having a better oppor- 
tunity of holding the fibres until they 
are straightened. So when the wire is 
plough ground only on one side, only 
one half the benefit is obtained. Again, 
as we have pointed out, to have 
good carding, a dual operation must 
always be going on between the 
points on the cylinder and flats holding 
the fibres for a certain length of time. 
It can be seen by having the wire 
plough ground on both sides, that the 
fibres are held until they are straight- 
ened; thus, the fibres are laid in par- 
allel circumferential lines, and depos- 
ited on the doffer while In this con- 
dition, which is the basis of strong 
yarn. Before explaining the proper 
method of grinding, we wish to state, 
that the time for grinding a card is 
much misunderstood, because some 
wire needs grinding every two weeks, 
while other kinds of wire need grind- 
ing only every two months. 

Here is where 

A GOOD GRINDER 
or a good overseer is valuable to a 
plant, when he is able to judge the 
quality and temper of the wire. As 
stated, in grinding no special time can 
be given. Grinding must always be 
controlled by sight, ear and touch. 
The grinding should always be done 
lightly and carefully, so that the top 
edges of the wire will form something 
like the cutting edge of a chisel, but 
on account of the lateral motion of 
the grinder, the side edges will be 
ground off, leaving nothing but the 
sharp points. On the other hand, if 
the grinding is done in a hasty and 
careless manner, the points of the 
wire are roughened, and cause them 
tc hold the fibres. It can be 
seen from the above the harm caused 
from heavy and careless grinding, be- 



cause, when the points of the wire 
cling to the fibres, they carry many 
long fibres past the doffer, and around 
a second time, thus injuring the fibres. 
Besides, at stripping time, the card 
wire is not stripped as clean, because 
the wire points clinging to the cotton 
make this impossible. No. 27. 



XXVIII. GRINDING NEW CLOTHING. 

We have stated elsewhere that 
when grinding a card the quality and 
temper of the wire should be consid- 
ered, because it is impossible to tem- 
per all the wire alike. It was also 
stated that the shape of the points 
should be considered; that is, the wire 
should be plough ground on both 
sides of the points, so as to hold the 
fibres until they are properly straight- 
ened. When the wire is plough ground 
the points are almost wedge-shaped, 
which is an advantage over wire not 
plough ground, because it can be seen 
that even when the extreme point is 
worn away, there still remains a com- 
paratively sharp point. Again, it 
should be i-een that a narrow point 
does not require the grinding time 
that the round points demand; be- 
sides, as stated above, when the ex- 
treme point is worn away, there still 
remains a comparatively sharp poini, 
which, of course, requires less fre- 
quent grinding than the round point. 

When the cards have been clothed 
and are ready for the grinding oper- 
ation, it must be understood that the 
firs grinding differs somewhat from 

THE USUAL METHOD 
of grinding employed in the mill that 
has been in operation for some time. 
The card cylinder and doffer is first 
ground with the dead rolls, which are 
left on until the surface of the wire 
on the cylinder and doffer is perfectly 
smooth. This can be judged by the 
eye, because when small blotches are 
seen on the cylinder and doffer, further 
grinding is necessary until all the 
blotches disappear. There is no cer- 
tain amount of time given for the dead 
rolls to remain on new fillet, because, 
as stated, some wire may be tem- 
pered harder than others, and the 
blotches on the hard wire will remain 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



225 



longer than on the softer ones. 
After the blotches disappear, the wire 
has been ground level enough for the 
traverse wheels to be used. 

There is no length of tinie given for 
the traverse wheels to be left on the 
card, which is to put a point on the 
wire, and the best method is to stop 
the card after three days of grinding 
(for a new card), and pass the finger 
nail over the points of the wires, and 
if the points of the wire bite into the 
finger nail, this indicates that the 
points are sufficiently sharp. The 
grinding on cards that have been in 
operation for a time differs, as stated 
with the new cards. The first thing 
to do is to examine the fillet, to see 
if it is blistered, or raised, at places; 
or to see if the wire on the cylinder 
and doffer is in any way disarranged. 
Sometimes when a lap is allowed to 
run out, or the flats have dipped into 
the cylinder, the edges of the fillet 
overlap one another slightly. In such 
a case, the 

POINTS OF WIRE 
are high at the edges of the fillet, and 
are knocked from their foundation 
when they come in contact with the 
wire on the fiats. In such a case, the 
best method is to have the fillet re- 
drawn, because some of the wires es- 
cape the foundation of the fillet, and 
are lodged in different places under 
the coil of the same fillet, thus causing 
a high place. When the wire is raised 
in the manner explained above, and 
the card cannot be stopped, owing to 
the want of production, the best meth- 
od that will replace the raised edges 
of the fillet somewhat, is to nail a 
piece of the same kind of fillet on a 
flat surface or small board, and sink 
the wire nailed to the boar.d into the 
wire where the edges of the fillet are 
raised, and then hammer the board, 
thus knocking the points of the wire 
on the board on the foundation of the 
fillet where the edges are raised, with 
.the result that the wire of the fillet 
strikes the surface of the cylinder, 
and are driven back into their foun- 
dation. 

The cards are usually ground in 
turn, unless some accident which may 
face-up the cylinder and doffer, neces- 



sitates such cards to be ground out 
of the regular order. Again, if the 
grinder and the overseer are in any 
way observant, they will find that 
some cards need grinding every two 
weeks, while others only every two 
months. As stated before, this is 
where the experienced overseer or 
grinder count, because they can pre- 
vent unnecessary grinding, which 
wears the wire, and calls for a read- 
justment of the various parts of the 
card. The 

LATERAL MOVEMENT 
of the dead rolls is given to slightly 
grind the sides of the teeth, and leave 
only a sharp point on the wire of the 
flats. Great care should be given tha 
grinding of the fiats, because the ar- 
rangement adopted to firmly support 
the flat and give it a proper position 
must not be neglected. No. 28. 



XXIX. GRINDING RULES. 

We have mentioned elsewhere, that 
it was necessary for the flat to occupy 
a relatively angular position to that of 
the cylinder; that is, when the flats 
are at work, the heel is closer to the 
wire on the cylinder than the toe. It 
should be seen that if this relative 
position existed with regard to the 
grinding roll, the wire at the heel 
would be ground off before the wire at 
the toe was touched by the grinding 
roll; thus, the setting point would 
be destroyed, and the flats also. 

There are many types of grinding 
apparatus for grinding the flats, but 
the principle is the same; that is, the 
flats are forced against a projecting 
piece so that the teeth of the wire on 
the flats will assume the correct posi- 
tion for grinding. It must be under- 
stood, however, that during the whole 
period the flats are being ground, they 
are moving towards the front of the 
card. 

Referring to Figure 4, line A is the 
back or upper edge of the flat; line B 
is the bearing surface, when the flat 
is resting on the flexible bend, and 
angularly to the surface A; C is the 
wire surface. It must be understood 
that the lines B and C are given such 
a slant in the drawing so it can be 



226 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



more readily understood. The point 
at C is the toe of the wire. Now, the 
reader should fix firmly in his mind 
that Figure 4 is the end of the flat 
when, in its grinding position, and 
that the flats are held in position by 




Figure 4. 

a projecting piece pressing on the 
surface of A. It should be clear to the 
reader that the line A, when pressed 
against the projecting piece, causes a 

PARALLEL RELATION 
of B and C to be main- 
tained, if A is given the same 
angular position relative to the 
flats by the projecting piece, 
as the bearing surface of B occupies 
when resting on the flexible bend. The 
provision of a plate with an angular 
surface, so arranged as to give the req- 
uisite angularity to the wire surface, 
is necessary, to bring the flats in their 
proper position. We explain the above 
type in a general way, so as to give 
the reader a general idea of how the 
top is brought into position without re- 
ferring to any particular type. How- 
ever, it must be remembered that the 
surface of the wire at D (the heel of 
the flat), is only 3-100 of an inch near- 
er the cylinder than the point at C— 
the toe of the flat. The best point in 
setting the flats is to begin in a prop- 
er manner, and not be hasty and spoil 
many dollars' worth of card fillet. The 
first thing to do is to break the lap 
back, and allow the card to run with- 
out stock for at least one hour. Then 
the card is stopped, and the cylinder 
and doffer are stripped, and the sides 
of the cylinder and doffer between the 
frame work are cleaned with a steel 
flat hook. The fly is then taken out 



from under the card, and the screens 
examined to see if cotton has collect- 
ed between the cylinder and the cyl- 
inder screen on the first few revolu- 
tions of the cylinder. 

The front of the card should also 
be examined, because 

COTTON COLLECTED 
at the doffer ana doing no harm when 
the card is carding, may cause fire at 
the time of grinding, owing to the high 
velocity with which it revolves. 
The traverse wheels and dead 
rolls should be examined be- 
fore they are put on the card, 
to see if the emery is in good condi- 
tion. If not, cover the Horsfall grind- 
er, but the dead roll should be sent to 
the shop. The writer would like to 
have all carders notice this point, be- 
cause if they once send their dead 
rolls to be covered at the shop, they 
will never cover them again. Besides 
being better covered, the tops receive 
a more level grinding, which enables 
a better setting of the flats. When the 
Horsfall wheels are put on the cylin- 
der and doffer, the safest and best 
way to avoid injuring the wire is to 
set the wheel so that 5-1,000 gauge 
can easily be passed between the 
wheel and the wire, because the bear- 
ings for grinding purposes ai;e liable 
to be moved out of place, which has 
been the cause in many cases of spoil- 
ing the fillet on the cylinder and dof- 
fer to such an extent as to require 
recovering. Then the card is made to 
revolve in the opposite direction from 
that when carding, and then the 
wheels are set closer to the cylinder 
by ear. 

The grinding should be done lightly, 
so that a passer-by is unable to hear 
the sound made by the wheels. If a 
grinding wheel can be heard by a 
passer-by when the mill is in oper- 
ation, the grinding is being done too 
heavily. After the surface of the wire 
on the cylinder and doffer have been 
ground, so that the points of the wire 
will bite the finger nail when passed 
over them, the Horsfall wheels should 
be removed, and the different part 
set. In setting the flats, 

THE HIGH TOP 
should be used for the setting at all 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



227 



points. All good grinders know their 
high flats on every card under their 
care. The reason why we recommend 
the setting of the flats with one high 
flat at every setting point, is to avoid 
the possibility of the flats finding a 
lower position than the position they 
are set at. This was explained else- 
where pertaining to the settings of the 
flats in reversing the setting screws 
when setting, so as to leave no play. 
Suppose that we set, like writers tell 
us, and even textile schools, that is, 
to remove two flats at each setting 
point and each flat set at its own 
point. On the other hand, if one flat 
is used, and it being also the high 
flat, (what we mean by a high flat is 
that the wire of the flat is always 
nearest the cylinder, caused by the 
wire being harder on this one particu- 
lar flat), and it is brought at every 
setting point and set, and it is also 
ascertained that there is no dirt under 
its bearing surface at the time of set- 
ting, no danger exists of the flats fall- 
ing to a lower level than that at which 
they are set. But, if we set as we are 
told in the first place, there may be 
a higher flat in the set than those 
brought to the setting points, and may 
cause much damage. 

Again, if a piece of cotton or any 
other foreign matter has collected un- 
der the flat used for setting, or under 
the other flats, and the flats are set 
to this level, it can be seen that when 
the particles clinging to the flats are 
removed, the flat will dip into the 
cylinder. The writer is willing to ad- 
mit that such cases do not come up 
often, but on the other hand, think of 
the damage it causes, and expense, 
which we have already explained else- 
where. Another point in favor of set- 
ting with only one flat, is that if there 
was dirt of any kind under the 
flat, it will lose its hold on 
the flat, when the flat is brought to 
the setting point, and then back 
again. The reader must understand 
when we say the flats are brought 
back that no stock whatever is on the 
cylinder, flats or doffer when this is 
done, because if the flats are turned 
in their opposite direction, and 
charged with stock, a rolling of the 



fibres occurs, at each working flat, 
which are pressed in between the cyl- 
inder and flats that block the cyl- 
inder No. 29. 



XXX. FURTHER GRINDING RULES. 

It is seldom that the licker-in re- 
quires grinding. When it is necessary 
to grind the licker-in, the carborundum 
wheel should be used. The licker-in 
teeth are made to revolve against the 
surface speed of the carborundum 
wheel. After grinding, the licker-in 
should be reversed, and pumice stone 
applied freely. By this means the 
teeth are made smooth, and will not 
take the flbres around a second time. 
Many writers and textile school in- 
structors advocate using a soft brick 
or sandstone to the back of the teeth 
while the licker-in is revolving. , We 
have explained the evil this will cause. 

We are also told by most writers 
that, owing to the action of the plough 
grinding, the wire points are made 
rough. This is wrong, because any 
mill man knows what we say here is 
true in justice to the card clothing 
people, that when flats are received 
from the shop they are already 
smooth. The writer does agree that 
the flats should receive a little bur- 
nishing, but not as much as is done 
in most mills. The best way to bur- 
nish flats, and at the same time retain 
the point on the wire, is to cover the 
burnishing brush rolls with coils of 
burnishing flllet about five inches 
apart, spirally, thus having only about 
one-fifth the wire playing through the 
teeth of the fiats. If this is tried by 
any reader, the writer would like to 
have him examine how the burnishing 
wires 

ENTER THE FLATS 
in this method by turning the burnish- 
ing roll by hand. It will be found that 
the wire on the coils laid about five 
inches apart receive very little re- 
sistance from the wire on the flats. 

On the other hand, when the bur- 
nishing roll is covered with fillet 
throughout its length, the burnisher 
receives much more resistance from 
the fiats, which causes the teeth of the 
fiats to lose their point. Another ad- 
vantage of covering the burnisher roll 



228 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



with coils of fillet five inches apart, is 
that it can be set deeper, and besides 
burnishing the wire, it serves as a 
flat cleaner — try it. Set it so the bur- 
nishing wire will just touch the cloth 
or foundation of the wire. When the 
burnishing roll is covered with fillet 
throughout its length, set it no deeper 
than one-eighth of an inch into the 
wire on the flats. One point which 
should be kept in mind with the use 
of the Horsfall wheel is the tendency 
to grind down the sides of the cylin- 
der and doffer rather more than the 
centre. When setting the flats and dof- 
fer, this should be remembered, and 
the setting gauge should be passed at 
the centre of the doffer and cyinder 
to be sure that there is no contact. 

Another point is to not oil the 
grinding wheels while in operation. 
The grinding wheels 

SHOULD BE OILED 
before they are placed on the card, 
and the oil worked into the parts 
oiled, so that the wheels will not 
throw drops of oil on the cylinder and 
doffer, which will cause much bad 
work. When the wheels throw 
oil on the cylinder or doffer, the oil 
escapes from the cylinder and 
doffer, and owing to their high sur- 
face velocity, oil is carried onto the 
screens, which afterwards collects 
dirt to such an extent that the wire 
surface of the cylinder is touched, 
which shows in the form of holes in 
the web. This is a trouble that is 
sometimes hard to locate. All carders 
know the point the writer gives here 
is nothing short of a nuisance to 
have fly or other foreign matter 
touching the doffer and forming a 
streak of holes in the web. It only 
takes a visit to some of our print 
cloth mills to see such existing condi- 
tions. 

. There are several methods of clean- 
ing the flats. One good method is to use 
a wooden roll with the burnishing 
coils of fillet placed five inches apart 
spirally, and run at a high rate of 
speed. This high speed can be obtain- 
ed by placing a small groove pulley on 
the end of the burnishing roll. An 
extra band should be used to run the 
flat stripping brush at a high velocity 



and in the opposite direction. This 
can be done by having a band long 
enough to circle the pulley on the cyl- 
inder, which is used for speeding the 
doffer when grinding, and to also cir- 
cle the groove pulley on the end of the 
flat stripping brush. When the flat 
stripping brush is made to revolve at 
such a 

HIGH VELOCITY, 
and in the opposite direction, it loos- 
ens the short fibres and dirt that are 
lodged at the foundation of the flats 
when the flats are at their turning 
point, which are afterwards complete- 
ly removed from the flat by the spiral 
burnishing brush. The second method 
and best method is to drive the flat 
stripping brush the same as in the 
first method; but instead of having 
burnishing fillet on the wooden roll, 
a new patented wire is used instead, 
which gives better results. 

The knee of the wire of this new 
patented fillet is almost at the top of 
the wire, which forms something like 
a hook, but not bent to that extent. 
This brush just described will clean 
a dirty set of flats in 90 minutes. If 
the flats are not very dirty, once 
around is sufficient, which is about 45 
to 46 minutes. We hear much talk of 
late about a new device, called a 
fancy, that is placed between the flats 
and doffer in the front of the card. This 
late device is much misunderstood, and 
let me say right here that it is useless 
if the card is covered with proper 
clothing. The claim of this late device 
is that it will keep the cylinder from 
being charged with leaves and dirt, 
and it will also make the yarn strong- 
er. 

Now, in the first place, all good 
carders know the cause of the cylin- 
der filling up with seeds, leaves and 
dirt, the cause being the wrong num- 
ber of wire on the cylinder. When 
dirty stock to make coarse yarn is 
run on a card, the cylinder should be 
covered with coarse wire, in order to 
prevent the cylinder from holding this 
foreign matter until the 

CYLINDER IS CHARGED 
with dirt and not able to give the fi- 
bres under Its action a proper comb- 
ing. The necessity of having an at- 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



^29 



tachment on a card to keep the cyl- 
inder clean and make the yarn strong, 
is the same as many mill men are 
doing to-day in the picker-room. They 
get the air-current out of order, and 
when split laps are made, they buy a 
split lap preventer. 

Of course, using a fancy on a cyl- 
inder covered with fine wire will keep 
the seeds and leaves from lodging in 
the cylinder wire for any length of 
time, the same as you can buy a split 
lap preventer when your air-current 
is wrong. As regards the secona 
claim, the up-to-date mill man knows 
that temperature and humidity have 
much effect upon the tensile strength 
of the cotton fibres, and the only de- 
vice at the present time that will 
help the cotton to retain its tensile 
strength during manufacturing, is a 
humidifier. Any mill man should know 
that any device that will give the fi- 
bres a combing will injure them. The 
object of the fancy, as stated above, 
"s to remove all seeds and neps from 
the cylinder when running card strip- 
pings, or sweeping and fly. The mill 
men must not be mislead by such 
claims and waste money, unless the 
card is made to run card strippings or 
waste for a certain length of time. 
When using this so-called fancy, care 
should be taken in not setting too 
close to the foundation of the fillet, 
because it is covered with ordinary 
stripping fillet, and revolves at a high 
rate of speed. A good rule for setting 
ths new device is to set it so that it 
will remove the stock on the points of 
the cylinder wire to show a space of 
one inch when the fancy is removed 
from the card. No. 30. 



XXXI. CARD CLOTHING. 

We hear carders often remark about 
which builder makes the best card, 
but never a word about the card cloth- 
er. It is the card clothing that does 
the work. All cards are built about 
alike. They all consist of a cylinder and 
doffer, covered with clothing, which 
act upon the fibres. So it is the cloth- 
ing that should be considered, and not 
the make of the card. We have explain- 
ed elsewhere the benefit received from 
plough ground wire, and also how to 



judge the best wire, but the founda- 
tion should be considered also. The 
character of the foundation of any 
clothing goes a long way in obtaining 
proper settings, because, if the teeth 
of the wire are not held with consid- 
erable firmness, and not allowed a 
certain freedom of motion, the best 
results in carding cannot be obtained. 
If the card clothing consists of only 
cotton, the foundation of the wire will 
be firm, but when the wire is knockea 
back by a large tuft of cotton, or by 
some material of too hard a nature, 
the wire, when acted upon by the 
wire knife, will not respond to its 
stroke, thus remaining in its injured 
form. On the other hand, if the foun- 
dation consists of cotton and woolen, 
the foundation will be as firm as 
when all cotton, and at the same 
time allow a certain freedom; . and 
when the wires are knocked back, 
they are easily brought to their 
former position v.'ith the wire knife. 

Fillet, composed of all cotton, will 
also stretch and remain in this form, 
causing high places here and there 
on the cylinder, termed blistered. 
This trouble is noticed more when the 
cards are on the bottom fioor of the 
mill, because there is always a cer- 
tain amount of dampness, which 
causes the fillet to stretch. When the 
fillet consists of cotton and woolen 
yarns, it possesses a certain elasticity, 
and when the dampness does affect 
the clothing, the tension on each coil 
of fillet is returned by the dry 
weather. However, we would advise 
when a mill is not in operation for 
any length of time, say, over a week, 
all the card cylinders should be turn- 
ed a little. So as to expose other parts 
of the clothing to the openings of the 
card, to avoid the possibility of blis- 
tering the cylinder. 

BLISTERED CLOTHING. 
Card clothing will blister, whether 
it is composed of all cotton or mixed 
with woolen, the only difference be- 
ing, as stated above, that the cotton 
and woolen fillet will return to its 
former position. So, when a cylinder 
is blistered after a long shut-down, 
and the clothing is composed of cot- 
ton and woolen, the best remedy is 



230 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



to raise the flats for a day or two, or, 
until the blisters disappear, when the 
fiats can be returned to their former 
postion. Now, the reader should un- 
derstand that to do this would be im- 
possible, if the fiats had to be removed 
to do the setting. 

There is a certain card which 
has an index nut that indicates the 
amount the flats are raised or lowered. 
Each divison on the index nut rep- 
resents 1-1,000 part of an inch, and 
when the index nut is turned to the 
extent of one division, it must be un 
derstood that the flats are moved 
nearer or away 1-1,000 part of an inch. 
It can be seen that such an ar- 
rangement is valuable, because the 
flats can all be altred in a short 
time, and operation made possible. 
Of course, many readers working 
in a climate that is not very change- 
able will not agree with the writ- 
er, but there are other readers 
I know, who have experienced blister- 
ed cylinders after a long shut-down; 
and they have had to remove the flats 
in order to get a proper setting. A 
good rule to determine whether tht; 
fillet is composed of all cotton, is to 
boil a piece of the clothing for ten 
minutes in a 5 per cent solution of 
caustic soda. If wool is present it 
will all dissolve, and the fillet will 
have a ragged foundation. 

FILLET FOUNDATION. 

The foundation is generally woven 
three or four-ply, but the lour-ply is 
better, because two-ply woolen fabric 
can be inserted between the two cot- 
ton fabrics, the latter imparting the 
requisite strength, and the former giv- 
ing a firm but elastic grip on the 
teelli. and also retaining the qualit'ps 
explained above. There is some fillet 
coated with a veneer of India rubber, 
but it has given so much trouble that 
it is used very little at the present 
time, if at all. The chief defect of a 
fillet coated with a veneer of India 
rubber, is that its deterioration 
is great in a hot room, or 
when subjected to the direct rays 
of the sun; and in most cases it has 
been found that its foundation was 
spoiled before the wire was appre- 
ciably worn. No. 31. 



XXXIl. DOFFER COMB AND COMB 
BOX. 

A book could be written about card 
clothing, giving the different angles of 
the wire, etc.; but, as we have stated 
before, our aim is to give the reader 
something new, if possible, and not 
have him spend his time reading mat- 
ter that appears so often. We have ex- 
plained elsewhere what kind of cloth- 
ing is best to cover a card, and we 
have also pointed out the importance 
of considering the temper of the wire. 
Many readers will say, that, to know 
the temper of the wire is an impos- 
sibility, because most carders will tell 
you that a man cannot be a good 
judge of cotton and a good judge of 
the tempering of steel. 

TEMPER OP WIRE. 

It is not necessary for a carder to 
examine the wire of a card to know 
the temper of the wire when it has 
been in operation and ground a num- 
ber of times, because the doffer hav- 
ing the highest tempered wire will 
cause the web to sag. Most carders 
may not have given this matter any 
consideration, but let me ask why it 
is that, with exactly the same gearing 
on a card, the same position of the 
doffer comb cannot be maintained? We 
find in most mills doffer combs set 
high on some cards, and on other 
cards set low. What is the reason? 

The reason is, as we have stated 
elsewhere, that some cards need 
grinding every two weeks, while oth- 
ers need grinding every two months; 
and it will always be found that the 
card clothing that causes the least 
sagging of the web, is the very cloth 
ing that requires the least grinding 
to obtain a sharp point on the teeth. 

It should be seen from the above 
that when the wire is very hard, it 
will hold the sharp edge, and 
of course, will not require grinding 
as often as a wire that is softer. 
Again, it should be seen that when a 
card is ground often, the wire 
is shortened each time, which dis- 
turbs the settings of the different 
parts of the card, besides reducing the 
diameter of the doffer, which causes 
the web to be stretched in all cases 
when the wire is soft. So, the only 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



231 



remedy is to regulate the tension of 
the web by raising or lowering the 
doffer comb. Sometimes it becomes 
necessary to change the gear on the 
end of the large calender roll shaft. 
When th:s has to be done, the 
card sliver should be weighed before 
and after the change; and if it is 
found that the change is too great, 
and making the sliver too heavy, the 
doffer should be recovered, and the 
gearing on the card made the same as 
on all cards. 

COMB BOXES. 

One pcint that should be con- 
sidered on the different makes of 
cards is the comb box, which gives 
more trouble than any other part of 
the card, if the parts of which it con- 
sists are not adjustable. Most all 
comb boxes consist of an eccentric 
revolving inside of fork-shaped arms 
which impart vibration to the comb. 
If the forks or arms can be adjusted, 
so as to hug the eccentric at all times, 
no trouble will result, but if those 
parts cannot be adjusted, and are not 
made to hug the eccentric, much trou- 
ble and expense is the result. The dof- 
fer comb eccentric revolves at a very 
bigh velocity, and if any play exists 
between the eccentric and arms, a 
second vibration is thus created, 
which in time will loosen the comb 
posts that hold the blade of the comb, 
with the result that the doffer comb 
is allowed to come in contact with 
the wire on the doffer, thus injuring 
the wire on the doffer, and also the 
teeth of the comb. Now, all experi- 
enced carders know the trouble a 
comb in such a condition will give, 
and that it takes hours of pa- 
tient use of pumice stone to 
smooth the injured places. On the 
jther hand, if the arms are adjust- 
able, and can be made to hug the 
pccentric at all times, a second vi- 
bration never exists, and the doffer 
comb is found always in good condi- 
tion. 

A MONEY SAVER. 

Of late, many mills have changed 
ti^eir comb boxes, and a superinten- 
dent, having made the change, told 
the writer that the adjustable comb 
box not only saves the comb, but also 



the oil, to such an amount as to pay 
for the change in the period of one 
year. The second vibration is the 
cause of the oil escaping from the box, 
because when the arms and eccentric 
are continually coming together at 
such a high rate of speed, a spray oC 
orl is caused to exist at all times, 
which escapes through the oil hole at 
the top of the box, and also around 
the opening for the reception of the 
comb. No. 32. 



XXXIII. STRIPPING. 

The setting of the stripping roll is 
important, and should be set so its 
teeth will project a slight distance in- 
to the wire of the cylinder, usually 
3-16 of an inch. The number of times 
that a card should be stripped de- 
pends on the weight of the cotton that 
is put through the card per day; but 
in print cloth mills, the stripping is 
usually done in the morning and af- 
ternoon. One point we wish to give 
here, that will make it possible for 
some mills to have evener numbers 
of yarn, is to strip the cards in inter- 
vals. What we wish to convey, is that 
if there are six rows of cards in a 
room, one row should be stripped 
every hour. Few overseers give the 
variations of the sliver before and af- 
ter stripping very little consideration, 
and the writer offers the following fig- 
ures to show such variations which 
are the cause of much uneven yam. 

Number of the cards: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8- 
9-10. Weight of the card sliver, be- 
for stripping: 50-51-54-51-50-50-53-51-50- 
51 grains; after stripping, 45-45-44-45- 
46-45-46-44-47-45 grains. 

It can be seen from the above that 
there is much variation in the card 
sliver and that by stripping each row 
every hour, a much evener yarn is ob- 
tained. 

VARIABLE SLIVER. 

When the cards are all stripped at 
one time, as is usually the case 
in most all mills, all the work com- 
ing from the cards is light, and put 
up at the back of the first process of 
drawing at the same time, thus caus- 
ing a heavy and light sliver. On the 
other hand, if the cards are stripped 
in intervals, as explained above, there 



232 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



is always a heavy end running with a 
light end, and the production of an 
even sliver is assured. In stripping 
cards two men are usually employed, 
and one of the two should be 
the leader, and should have the 
stripper belt side of the card; and 
•should be payed a little more and 
fhe responsibilty of the cards 
being stripped properly, and at the 
right time, should be placed on him. 
One important point about stripping 
is to allow the strippers to stop at 
least four cards ahead of the card be- 
ing stripped. 

When strippers are allowed to stop 
only two cards ahead of the one being 
stripped, the cylinder is not at a 
standstill when the card is recahed 
to be stripped. This has been the 
cause of many accidents in many card 
rooms. The way such accidents are 
caused is in most cases through care- 
lessness, but, nevertheless, if the 
strippers are allowed to stop mere 
cards, such accidents can be pre- 
vented. 

If this stopping of so many cards 
cannot be done on account of the 
shortage in producfon, then the only 
thing to do, is to install more cards, 
because one accident may cost the 
plant more than the price of a dozen 
cards. 

The way such accidents happen, is 
by one stripper shifting the belt from 
the tight pulley to the loose pulley, 
and at the same time pulling down 
the stripping door. When only two 
cards are stopped and a card is 
reached with the card cylinder still re- 
volving, and as stated above, the 
stripping door was pulled down at the 
time of shifting the belt from the 
tight pulley to the loose pulley by the 
first stripper, imagine what hap- 
pens when the second stripper 
reaches the card and knowing 
nothing about the door being pulled 
down by the first stripper, instead of 
looking he puts his hand at the point 
where the stripping aoor is opened, 
and at the same time, having the 
stripping roll in the other hand, which 
is taking up his mind at that moment, 
the result is that he loses a finger or 
more, perhaps, an arm. No. 33. 



XXXIV. MANAGEMENT OF CARDS. 

In the management of cards man5 
points should be watched, which will 
save the plant many dollars. The 
chief point is the production of good 
work, which is obtained by keeping 
the licker-in in good condition so that 
no neps will be caused at this 
point, and the cylinder flats and def- 
ter wire property ground. 

The second point is to watch the 
settings of the cards and have every 
part set so as to save your employer 
a lot of good staple, or to set so that 
the heavy impurities and short fibres 
will drop so as not to injure the quality 
of the cloth. The third point is to 
turn off as large a production as is 
consistent with the quality of the 
work required. The fourth is to try 
and have all the webs appear the 
same; that is, not to have the web of 
one card appear as if the calender 
rolls are pulling the web from the 
comb and the next card having the ap- 
pearance of sagging at all times. The 
fifth is to see that the fly is clean from 
under the card as required and also 
the strips. The sixth is to see that 
the cylinder bearings are properly 
filled with good tallow, and the comb 
box and other parts of the card are 
filled with oil. Seventh, see that the 
grinding wheels and dead rolls are 
placed in the rack, because when they 
are left on the card when not grind- 
ing, there is always danger of their 
being knocked off the card, with the 
result of much injury to the different 
parts of the card. The grinding rolls, 
when knocked off the card, will, in 
most cases, break the bearing of the 
opposite end, from which the roll is 
knocked off, and many times even the 
arch of the card is broken. 

CARDER'S METHOD. 
The carder, when making his 
rounds, should withdraw a portion of 
the web every day from every card 
running, and hold it to the light, 
then he can see the foreign matter 
remaining in the web. From the 
grade of stock running through, and 
the -jpeed of the card and also the 
weigiit of the sliver being run, the 
overseer should be able to form an 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



233 



opinion whether it is the conditions 
under which the cards are run or 
whether the grinder is at fault when 
the web has a poor appearance. 

The carder should also sample the 
stripping and fly every day to see 
if long staple cotton is escaping the 
action of the card. 

The weight of a card sliver to make 
28s yarn should not exceed 50 grains 
to the yard. A good speed for Ameri- 
can cotton when intended for 28s 
yarn, carding 700 to 800 pounds per 
week, is about 12 turns per minute of 
a 27-inch doffer. 

The speeds for a cos:^ser yarn and 
the speeds for finer yarns will be 
given later. 

After the carder has examined 
every web, and he has given the 
grinder instructions how to remedy 
some of the webs having a bad ap- 
,3earance, he should then examine all 
the flats on every card, and if a streak 
is noticed, as we have explained else- 
where, the card should be imme- 
diately stopped, and the cylinder ex- 
amined. 

To flnd the production of a card, 
first find the constant, by multiplying 
the circumference of the doffer by the 
minutes run, and divide by 36 inches, 
and 840. 

EXAMPLE. 

Minutes run 3480 

Diameter doffer 27 

27x3.1416 = 84.8232 in. 
84.8232x3480 = 295184.7360 
295184.7360 divided by 36 = S199.51 divided by 840 
equals 9.761 constant. 

To use the constant: Divide the 
weight of the sliver in grains into the 
constant for one yard, which is 8.33. 
This will give the hank carding. 
Divide the hank carding into constant, 
and multiply by the revolutions of the 
doffer per minute, and the result wil) 
be the production 100 per cent weight 
of sliver, 52 grains. 

EXAMPI,E. 
8.33 divided by 52 = .150 hank carding 
Rev. 
9.761 divided by .160 equals 61x13 equals 793 
doffer 
pounds. 

In summing up, it should be remem- 
bered that work spoiled on a card 
cannot be remedied in after processes, 
and that the basis for strong or weak 
yarn is laid in the carding. No. 34. 



XXXV. RAILWAY HEADS. 

In a print cloth mill the cleaning of 
the fibre from impurities ends with 
the card. In a fine goods mill the 
cleaning of the fibre ends at the 
comber. 

In some print cloth mills railway 
heads are employed with the modern 
revolving fiat card, taking up the 
slivers from the card cans, instead of 
from the old card apron in the rail 
way. 

The chief criticism that can be 
made on all railway heads, is that it 
does not act on the stock it is sup- 
posed to correct, until at least a pare 
of the faulty stock has passed be- 
yond its evening action. This is the 
chief cause and reason why they are 
fast passing their usefulness as an 
evening agent. 

Many articles appear from time to 
time in various textile papers con- 
demning all types of railway heads, 
which makes very discouraging read- 
ing for the manufacturers who have 
lately installed the latest type. 

Some manufacturers have discarded 
the latest type of railway heads, and 
instead have installed another process 
of drawing, because tney were con- 
vinced by such articles that the rail- 
way heads did pass faulty stock. The 
writer is willing to admit that the 
railway head does allow faulty stock 
to pass its 

EVENING ACTION, 

but would not advise manufacturers 
to discard the new type of railway 
heads, as was lately done by many 
manufacturers. 

Such mistakes are often pointed 
out in the columns of the American 
Wool and Cotton Reporter, and the 
following advice is given for the manu- 
facturers that are planning to install 
another process of drawing instead of 
the railway heads now in use. 

The manufacturers need not be told 
that the drawing rolls of the railway 
heads are the same as the drawing 
rolls on the drawings, and will do the 
same work. 

Now, instead of discarding the rail- 
way head complete, just discard the 
cones and friction ring. 



234 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



This can be done at a very small 
expense, and when the change is done 
you have the same drawing operation 
on your four lines of drawing rolls, 
as on the drawing frame. Again it is 
possible to arrange the heads, from 
one upwards, and they can be em- 
bodied in one continuous frame. Fig- 
ure 5 shows a gearing diagram of the 
atest type of railway head with the 



wasted when the railway heads are 
discarded, and 

ANOTHER PROCESS 
of drawing installed, when as pointed 
out, the railway heads can be em- 
bodied together so as to form a draw- 
ing. The change can easily be made 
and at a very small cost. 

The reader can plainly see that all 
manufacturers that have discarded 




FRONT ROLL 
jCAL. ROLL. 



^^ ^ifii iJii M ififT ^S 



MAIN SHAFT. 



Figure 5, Railway Head Gearing Dia .jram. 



evening motion. Now by disconnect- 
ing the evener cones A and Al, shown 
in the upper right-hana corner of Fig- 
ire 5, and connecting the two shafts 
by suitable gearing, the delivery be- 
comes the same as with a drawing 
rame. It should be seen from the 
above that a great deal of money is 



(he latest type of railway heads, and 
installed another process of draw- 
ing, have made a costly mistake, be- 
cause the change pointed out is the 
only one necessary. 

Some manufacturers allow their 
carders to remove the pawls and run 
the friction ring in one position, or 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



235 



on the older type of railway heads, 
the large worm that moves the ship- 
per back and forth is also prevented 
irom operating by removing the 
pawls. 

Both of the above methods are 
wrong, because there is always fric- 
tion between the two cones, one the 
latest type railway head, and also 
friction on the old railway head caused 
by the bottom cone driving the top 
cone by means of a small belt. When 
leather rolls are used there is always 
a little friction and the draft is not 
positive. So it can be seen that if the 
railway heads are used as described 
above, there is a variation in the 
break draft of each type of railway 
heads, and the friction from the 
break draft and the 

FRICTION 
on the drawing rolls (when common 
drawing rolls are used) added to- 
gether will cause faulty stock to pass 
the railway head, as when using the 
evener motion. It is wrong to run 
railway heads with evener motion, be- 
cause it causes more heavy and light 
places in the strand delivered than 
when without the evener motion. 

It should be understood that if a 
heavy place in the strand is so large 
as to bring the trumpet forward, 
the part of the sliver having brought 
the trumpet' forward is passed be- 
yond the action of the evener mo- 
tion, and if this heavy place is only 
short, it will cause a short length of 
light work to come through, because 
as soon as a part of a heavy sliver 
passes the trumpet, its forward move- 
ment uncovers a certain number of 
teeth which are acted upon by a pawi, 
and the drawing rolls are made to 
draw more, thus making a light place; 
that is, if the length of faulty stock 
is not great. On the other hand, if 
the faulty stock is of a considerable 
length, the latter part of the sliver 
will be remedied somewhat. 

No. 35. 



XXXVl. DRAWING. 

When railway heads are altered and 
its delivery made to operate as the 



delivery of a drawing frame, we ad- 
vise to run only six ends up at the 
back, as on the drawing frames. The 
large draft that is made to exist on 
railway heads is mostly the cause of 
the latter producing weak yarn. 
It is often seen that a railway head 
has a draft of 8 to 10 inches. 

Still the very men that would have 
such a large draft on a railway head, 
would not have the drafts in after 
processes to exceed seven. It should 
be understood that a 

LARGE DRAFT 
on a railway head is as injurious to 
the fibres as a large draft on a fine 
frame. 

Very few overseers give this long 
drafting much consideration. Picture 
in your mind eight drawing slivers 
passing under the drawing action of 
four lines of drawing rolls to the 
trumpet. Think of the bulk of stock 
that the front roll is called on to pull 
away from the bite of the second roll. 

Again, think of the strain that is 
caused on most fibres that are held 
together, owing to the pressure from 
the top roll, and think what happens 
if the fibres are not quickly released. 
It should be seen that when such a 
length of strand is made from one 
inch of a collection of strands, that 
many fibres are broken, because a 
railway head, besides having a large 
draft, its front roll revolves at a high 
rate of speed. 

Roll drafting is no doubt the most 
important feature of parallelizing and 
attenuating in the production of good 
yarn. There are two kinds of draw- 
ing rolls, the leather covered roll, 
which is known as a common roll, 
and the metallic roll, constructed of 
steel. Grooves are cut lengthwise 
in the surface of the boss of the rolls 
at certain intervals, which determine 
the pitch of the rolls. 

The common rolls are driven by 
frictional contact from the bottom 
steel rolls, while those that are me- 
tallic are driven by the flutes of the 
lower roll meshing with the flutes of 
the upper roll, and consequently a 
more positive draft is obtained than 
with the common rolls. 



236 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



Many cardeia conceive the idea that 
because the 

DRAFT IS POSITIVE 
with metallic rolls, that a longer draft 
can be obtained without friction. Al- 
though a long draft will cause no fric- 
tion when using metallic rolls, it must 
be remembered that a long draft will 
injure the fibres, as was explained. 

There is much argument about the 
metallic rolls and their merit. There- 
fore, the construction of metallic rolls 



inch of diameter, it is known as a 24- 
pitch roll, therefore, the number of 
flutes on the boss of the rolls deter- 
mines the pitch. When a metallic 
roll has only 16 flutes on its circum- 
ference for each inch of diameter, the 
overlap is made greater, because it 
acts upon the bulky sliver presented 
10 its action, and it should be seen 
hat the 32-pitch roll requires 

LESS OVERLAP 
chan the 16-p:tch roll. So in order to 




Figure 6, Metallic Drawing-Rolls. 



and various points pertaining to them 
justifies a detailed description. As 
stated, they are usually constructed 
of steel, and are fluted at certain 
intervals — the groove being a little 
less in width at the bottom than at 
the top, and the number of flutes on 
the boss for the various rolls in 
creases with the circumference of 
the bosses, and the weight of sliver 
it acts upon. A, Al Figure 6, are the 
fluted portion of the rolls and B, Bl, 
the collars. Figure 7 is a cross-sec- 
tion of the rolls described in Figure 
6. The back rolls contain 16 flutes on 
Iheir circumference for each inch of 
diameter. The third roll, 24 flutes, 
and the front and second rolls have 
32 flutes. When a roll contains 24 
flutes on its circumference for each 



suit each pitch, the diameter of the 
collars on a 16-pitch roll is .07 inch 
less than the diameter of the boss 
or fluted section, and as both rolls 
are the same, the amount of overlap 
is .07 inch. On a 24-pitch roll the col- 
lars are .06 inch less in diameter than 
the boss, and on a 32-pitch roll they 
are .044 inch less than the boss. 

It can be seen from the above that 
the collars prevent the rolls from 
coming into too close contact, and 
that the amount of overlap suflacient 
to grip the sliver is obtained by hav- 
ing the collars the proper diameter. 
By referring to Figure 7, it can be seen 
that the sliver does not follow a 
straight line, and is crimped, which 
is caused by the overlap. Again by 
referring to Figures 6 and 7, it can 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



237 



be seen that the collars keep the rolls 
separated, and that it is impossible 
for the flutes to bottom and injure 
the staple. No. 36. 



XXXVII, METALLIC ROLLS. 

The operation of the flutes of the 
metrillic rolls is the same as the teeth 
of two gears meshing together, and it 
should be seen that the grip upon the 
staple of the sliver is caused by the 
flutes of the bottom roll meshing and 
imparting power to the top rolls. The 
resistance that the top rolls offer to the 
meshing of the bottom rolls, creates a 
grip on the side of the flutes in contact. 




Figure 7. 
Cross Section of Metallic Rolls. 

so that the fibres are pulled from the 
back roll without injury. Thus it can 
be seen that the bite or grip of the 
flutes is not at the bottom of the flutes 
but on the side. Again, by referring to 
Figure 7, (in our issue of October 13) 
it should be seen that the bite or 

GRIP OF THE ROLL 
itself comes on the side of the roll, 
instead of in the centre, as on com- 
mon leathered-covered rolls, and that 
the distance from centre to centre 
should be greater on metallic rolls 
than on common rolls. 

A great mistake is made in the 
weighting of metallic rolls in most 
mills — even in textile schools. 

The metallic roll company advises 
to weight every roll with 14-pound 
weights, but such weighting has gi\en 
very poor results. 



When a 16-pitch roll is weightea 
with 14-pound weights, it will be 
found, when running heavy work, that 
the surface speed of the dead and pre- 
venter rolls (on Howard and Bullougb 
drawings), is greater than the sur- 
face speed of the back rolls, owing 
to the resistance offered to the 
weighting of the top rolls by a bulky 
sliver, with the result that the slivers 
between the preventer rolls and back 
rolls are continually slack and that 
causes the slivers to run out at the 
sides of the rolls, which causes a 
great amount of lapping. It should be 
seen that the slackness between the 
preventer and back rolls is caused 
by the sliver being too bulky, thus 
separating the collars and reducing 
the necessary overlap. Weigh your 
back rolls with 20-pound weights, and 
the slivers between the preventer and 
back rolls will follow a straight line. 
It should be seen that a heavy weight 
will not 

INJURE THE STOCK 
and at the same time keep the collars 
on the back rolls in contact as they 
should be. The only point that can 
be offered against using a heavy 
weight on the back rolls is that it 
makes the consumption of power 
greater to run the frame. The back 
roll of each pair of rolls when using 
metallic rolls should be greater than 
the front roll, because the front roll 
only detaches the free fibres, while 
all back rolls must grip the fibres and 
not allow them to escape in bulk, but 
gradually. So on the third roll we 
place 16-pound weights, and on the 
second roll, 14-pound weights, and on 
the front roll 12-pound weights. 

The setting of metallic rolls is much 
misunderstood, and it is the chief 
cause of their failure. In setting me- 
tallic rolls, there is one broad prin- 
ciple that must always be followed, 
as on all other rolls; that is, the dis- 
tance between the bite of each pair of 
rolls must always exceed the aver- 
age length of the staple being used, 
and that high speeded rolls require 
wider settings than those having a 
slower speed. When setting metal- 
lic and other rolls, the first thing to 
do, is to sample the staple to find its 



238 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



average length. For one-inch Ameri- 
can cotton running a 60-grain sliver 
(6 into 1), the distance between the 
tirst and second roll, 

CENTRE TO CENTRE, 
should be (for metallic rolls), li 
inches. This will make the distance 
from the bite of the first and second 
roll, which is the proper one, li 
inches. 

As stated, many carders conceived 
the idea that the bite of the rolls is 
at the bottom of the centre flute, so 
they have the same distance between 
metallic rolls as on leather-covered 
rolls, thus producing' a stringy web 
and injuring the fibres, which is the 
cause of many mills having had to sell 
them for junk. 

Metallic rolls are all right if 
they are given proper care, but, like 
other rolls, if they are neglected, they 
also give trouble. The writer has 
many times heard the remark, that 
the only fault that could be found 
vith the metallic rolls, was that they 
would run without oiling, and in a 
short time, all the journals for the re- 
ception of the roller ends become 
worn — even the roller ends. 

No. 37. 



XXXVIII. CARE OF ROLLS. 

The above is a wrong idea of me- 
:allic rolls, because, as stated, me- 
tallic rolls will give trouble when dry 
— why they will even give trouble 
when the end of the roll fits tight in 
the journal. The above statement is 
pr-^ved by swapping the rolls here and 
there when they sag. When metallic 
rolls are dry from the want of oil, the 
slver webs are sagging here and 
there, so that they require 
PROPER CARE 
as regards oiling and cleaning. 

They should be scoured at least 
every three weeks, and the flutes 
should be cleaned with coarse saw- 
dust. Some overseers allow metallic 
rolls to be cleaned with a piece of card 
fillet, but it is wrong to do the scour- 
ing that way. Coarse sawdust will 
not injure the flutes of the rolls, but 
will clean the rolls without scratching 
the flutes. 



As stated, the metallic rolls require 
proper care to get from them the ad 
vantages claimed. 

The chief advantage of the metal- 
lic rolls is that the top rolls are posi- 
tively driven by the flutes of the low- 
er roll meshing with the flutes of the 
upper roll, and thus a positive draft 
is obtained. 

The above advantage of the metal- 
lic roll over the leather-covered rolls 
is what most inventors must have had 
in mind for many years, because, as 
stated in the columns of the Arher- 
ican Wool and Cotton Reporter, the 
friction on all leather-covered rolls is 
great. 

The setting of the third roll from 
the second roll is not as important as 
the setting of the second roll from 
the first. However, when the distance 
between the first and second rolls is 
11 inches, the distance between the 
second and third rolls should be If 
inches, and between the third and 
fourth, 11 inches. When a longer cot- 
ton is used, make 

THE SETTINGS 
between the rolls correspondingly 
wider. 

Some overseers claim that the 
heavy weights on all kinds of rolls 
should be on the front rolls, in order 
to keep them more steady. 

When a top roll jumps, whether it 
is a common or a metallic roll, put- 
ting on a heavier weight is not the 
proper remedy, because it should be 
seen that if a roll is not properly cov- 
ered or out of true, the same vi- 
bration will exist with a heavier 
v/eight. The proper thing to do is to 
suspend the weights on springs or 
very strong banding, which will serve 
as a cushion, thus eliminating the vi- 
bration. 

When banding is used it should be 
replaced every two months, because 
in that time, it has lost its elasticity. 

Leather-covered rolls need no de- 
scription as they are understood by 
all mill men, but one point we wish to 
give here, is that when a new roll is 
placed on a frame, care should be 
taken that the little mark on the roll 
should be between the person placing 
the roll and the roller lap. This 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



239 



saves the lap of the roll, because, 
when placed in this way, the roll 
runs in the same direction as the lap, 
instead of against the lap as occurs 
when placed otherwise. 

Another point that will save the 
leather rolls when oiling, is to be care- 
ful and not get any oil on the leather. 

When running leather covered rolls 
on any kind of machines, the same 
attention should be given to the bot- 
tom steel roll as when running metal- 
ic rolls. One mistake we wish to 
point out, which exists in many mills 
to-day is in having too much weight on 
the top leather-covered rolls. Of late, 
machine builders have increased the 
number of flutes from 49 to 53 on a 
one-inch diameter front roll. The 
idea is all right, only as stated, the 
pressure upon such a constructed roll 
should not be as great. When the 
number of flutes are increased, the 
flutes are not so wedge-shaped, and 
they have a better grip on the fibres, 
thus their drawing qualities are In- 
creased. 

On the other hand, it must be re- 
membered that the flute end has more 
of a knife edge, and the distance 
between the flutes is increased. It 
should be seen that when the flutes 
are spaced as described above, if 
the pressure of the top roll is not 
somewhat releaved, the cutting of 
the flutes into- the top roll will oc- 
cur. The flutes unevenly spaced, or the 
leather-covered rolls made of different 
diameters, will prevent, to some ex- 
tent, the top leather roll from groov- 
ing, but, as stated, the only 
remedy is to have less weight 
on the top rolls. This can easily be 
done in most mills, (especially on the 
r'ng spinning frames) by moving the 
weight on the lever a notch or more 
towards its fulcrum. Many mills are 
running bottom steel rolls at the pres- 
ent time that should be refluted. 

No. 38. 



XXXIX. ACTION OF ROLLS. 

Mill men need not be told that the 
constant aciton of • the front roll 
gripping and pulling or detaching 
the fibres from the second roll, 
will wear the flutes very smooth 



on the side that first gripa 
the cotton, and make the side 
of the flutes following very sharp. 
To prove the above statement, exam- 
ine your front rolls if they have been 
running for over ten years without 
refluting, use a magnifying glass and 
it will be found as stated above. When 
the flutes of a bottom steel roll are 
worn enough to cause the back side of 
the flutes to have a knife edge, the 
least friction on the top roll will be 
suflicient to cause what may be termed 
a scraping of the grain of the leather, 
thus injuring the leather covering to 
such an extent as to require 
recovering after only running a 
short time. Again, when the flutes 
of the bottom rolls are worn, if the 
leather covering is not completely de- 
stroyed, it will be made so rough that 
the top roll will be continually taking 
the strand to the top clearer when an 
end breaks instead of it being lapped 
around the lap-stick in the spinning 
room, as is the case when the cover- 
ing of the top leather roll is smooth. 

The above defect has been the 
cause of many spinners and superin- 
tendents advocating a heavier clearer 
in the ring spinning room in order to 
stop the strand of cotton from lapping 
around the top leather roll. It should 
be seen that it is a step in the wrong 
direction to increase the weight of 
the clearer board, because the more 
weight upon the front leather roll the 

MORE FRICTION 
is caused. 

There is much argument regarding 
the merits of the ball-bearing top 
rolls. The makers claim that they 
run with a smaller amount of oil, 
requiring oiling only twice a year; 
thus the danger of the oil damaging 
the yarn is not so great. They also 
claim that owing to the easy running 
of the shell on the harbor caused by 
the aid received from the balls revol- 
ving with the shell, that only one-half 
the weight is required in comparison 
with other top rolls, thus saving wear 
of the leather and fluted rolls. It is 
also claimed that they run more 
steady and produce evener and 
stronger yarn. The writer is willing 
to admit that the above claims are 



240 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



just, if the rolls are given proper care. 
Again we would recommend such rolls 
where a mill is forced to have exces- 
sive draft, which is the cause of 
much friction; such rolls will run more 
steady than a solid roll, but it must be 
remembered that the injury of an 
excessive draft with these rolls is just 
as injurious to the fibres as the solid 
rolls. On the other hand, it is much 
more trouble to oil such rolls, and as 
the machinery must be stopped while 
oiling, that much production is lost. 
Again rolls that are oiled only twice 
a .year are sometimes forgotten, with 
the r.esult that much wearing of the 
rolls and friction is caused. It should 
be seen that when ball-bearing rolls 
are neglected, one side of the shell 
may 

WEAR UNEVEN 

which will cause one side of the roll 
to draw more than the other, thus 
causing uneven yarn. 

The pressure of the top roll on the 
bottom roll is maintained in most 
cases by means of weights, and is so 
well understood by most mill men 
that only a brief description is neces- 
sary. The system of weighting dif- 
fers, one class is self-weighting and 
the others dead weighting, and lever 
weighting. Self-we'ghting is in hav- 
ing the top roll heavy enough to 
maintain the necessary pressure on 
the fibre. 

Dead weighting means tlie weight 
being suspended on the end of a hook, 
its line of force not being disturbed. 
Lever weighting means that a lever 
carrying a weight is fulcrumed at a 
certain point on the lever. 

We give here the following example 
which is the only one employed in a 
cotton mill for practical purposes: 

Rule. Multiply the length of the 
lever from the fulcrum point to the 
point where the weight hangs on the 
lever by the weight of the weight on 
the lever. Divide by the distance 
of the fulcrum point to the point on 
*^>ip lever connecting the saddle and 



EXAMPLE. 

Length of lever 8 Inches 

Weight of weight 5 pounds 

Length of fulcrum point and point on 

lever connected to saddle ..1 Incn 

5x8 

— = 40 lbs. total weight on all rolls under the 
1 saddle. 

As a rule, it is very seldom that the 
weighting of the rolls is changed. 

Sometimes 

ATTENTION IS CALLED 
to this matter by the top rolls fluting, 
but in most cases the fluting of rolls 
is caused by having the top leather 
covered roll the same diameter as the 
bottom steel roll. When the diameter 
of the top roll is the same as the bot- 
tom steel roll, the flutes of the bottom 
steel roll strike the top roll in exactly 
the same place that they struck previ- 
ously, thus grooving the top roll. 

No. 39. 



XL. CHANGING ROLLS. 

When the top leather rolls are 
grooved, the strand delivered is some- 
what crimped and of a greater length, 
which makes the work light and 
causes it to run badly. Another cause 
for the top rolls fluting is in not put- 
ting the front roll on the second or 
third roll when a new roll is put in a 
frame. Taking a top roll olf the 
back roll to put a new roll in 
its place is. very expensive; be- 
sides the front roll will groove. New 
top rolls should always be put on the 
front roll and the older rolls moved 
back. 

Another point that will save top 
leather rolls is to have a proper trav- 
erse on the boss of the rolls — the 
longer the better. It should be seen 
that if there is only one inch traverse 
on a top roll, the leather covering 
is doing twice as much work as a 
roll having a traverse of two inches. 
So let it be your aim to keep the trav- 
erse on all rolls as long as possible 
in order to keep the roll bill down. 
The watching of 

TRAVERSE MOTIONS 
on top rolls is more important than 
many mill men believe and too little 
attention as a rule is given to them. 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



241 



When traverse motions are prop- 
erly set, they remain so for many 
years, but in the majority of cases 
they are not set right in the first 
|)lace. Reader, if you are an overseer 
or second hand having charge of trav- 
erse motions, you would not like to 
have some person point out this de- 
fect; that is, in not having the trav- 
erse on the top roll as long as pos- 
sible. Again, you would not want to 
have a person find the traverse 
stopped and a channel formed at the 
point where the strand is delivered. 
Think of the harm that such careless- 
ness will do. 

In the first place, many rolls will 
have to be replaced, and in the sec- 
ond place when the traverse motion 
ts set in operation again, this sud- 
den change in the drawing of the 
strand will cause many ends to be 
broken. When a traverse motion that 
has been stopped long enough to 
form a channel in the top rolls, 
is set in operation again, it 
should be seen that when the strand 
is acted upon by the perfect parts of 
hte top roll, the fibres are drawn 
from the second roll regularly, but as 
soon as the strand is acted upon by 
the point of the top roll 
that has been channeled, it 
can be seen that there is very 
little drawing done upon the strand 
at this point, with the result that the 
strand delivered is shortened, which 
will cause the part of the perfect 
strand from the bite of the roll to the 
point where it is wound on the bobbin 
to break. It can be seen from the 
above that a little 

ATTENTION TO THE TRAVERSE 
motions will save a lot of roll cover- 
ing, besides keeping the roll bill down, 
and has promoted many men. 
• So, as stated, if the traverse mo- 
tions are given the proper attention, a 
better quality of production will be ob- 
tained, besides economy in roll leath- 
er. 

The roll saddles will cause much 
friction when warm, and they should 
be examined often. By referring to 
Figure 1, (Illustration No. 8), which 
shows the proper saddle that should 
be used for heavy rolls, it 



can be seen that a very small por- 
tion of the saddle is on the surface 
of the roll, owing to each side of the 
bearing point of the saddle having an 
angular position relatively to the sur- 
face of the neck of the roll. 




F/<j / 



rig;i 



F/y-^ 



Illustration No. 8. 
It can be seen that very little re- 
sistance is offered to the top roll when 
using such a saddle. Figure 2, in Il- 
lustration No. 8 shows a worn sad- 
dle that should be taken out and filed, 
so as to bring the bearing point as 
shown in Figure 1. Figure 3 (Illustra- 
tion No. 8) shows a saddle that is very 
much used, but causes more friction 
than any other saddle. We often 
mention the evil that friction on the 
top roll will cause, and we 
all know that the friction from 
running a heavy sliver or neglecting 
to care for the top rolls so that they 
may revolve freely is the cause of 
most trouble and uneven yarn 
throughout a cotton mill. No. 40. 

XLI. ROLL COVERING. 

One must stop and think and study 
what friction is, to have an idea how 
much it will affect a strand of cotton. 
Friction means the resistance offered 
the top roll to cause it to lag, thus 
causing 

FRICTIONAL CONTACT 
between the bottom steel roll and top 
leather covered roll. When friction 
exists on a top roll, if the resistance 



242 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



offered is steady, the sliver will be 
even but heavy, but it is seldom that 
any friction is steady, and instead we 
have an unequal intermittent 
action on the top roll that makes the 
strand uneven in places. By again re- 
ferring to Figure 1 (Illustration No. 8) 
it should be seen that this is the proper 
saddle to use in order to eliminate 
friction. 

Figure 2 shows that there is wear 
on the saddle and will cause more fric- 
tion than the saddle in Figure 1. Fig- 
ure 3 causes much friction, especially 
if the saddle is allowed to become dry 
from the want of oil. 

All mill men know that rollers are 
neglected in a cotton mill at times, 
and the greater the amount of working 
surface occupied by the saddle on the 
top roll (as shown in Figure 3), the 
more friction there will be. So it should 
be seen that the aim should be when 
weighting top rolls, to have the bear- 
ing part of the saddle upon the top 
roll occupy as little of the working sur- 
face of the neck of the top roll as 
possible. 

Another point about leather covered 
rolls is to always stand them on their 
ends when not in operation. It is the 
practice in many mills to allow a box 
of rolls to stand for days, the rolls 
laid over the bottom rows. When the 
rolls are taken from the box, the rolls 
on t.ij-e bottom rows have a part of 
their surface flattened, in some cases 
to such an extent as to burst the 
leather covering. 

The same can be said when a mill 
is standing for any length of time, 
say over four days; if the 

PRESSURE IS NOT REMOVED 

from the top rolls by unweighting 
them, or by turning the machine so as 
to have the pressure bear on another 
part of the top rolls, the boss of the 
rolls will be flattened, and if the mill 
Is at a standstill for weeks, the leath- 
er covering will burst on many rolls. 

A top roll composed of a hard ma- 
terial revolving in contact with the 
bottom roll would tend to crush the 
fibres. So every mill man should watch 
the roll coverer to see that the same 
size flannel is used at all times, be- 



cause sometimes roll coverers will 
only remove the leather and leave the 
defective flannel on the rolls, which 
is very injurious to the fibres, because 
the old flannel is harder, having 
run a long time under the roll cover- 
ing. All top rolls must have a yield- 
ing quality of cloth and leather in or- 
der not to injure the fibres. Again if 
the cloth and' leather covering is un- 
even in places, the work will be un- 
even, and if it is the cloth that is un- 
even and the roll is sent to be cov- 
ered and the cloth covering is not 
removed, it should be seen that such 
rolls are carried back and forth from 
the roll coverer's shop to the mill con- 
tinually. The cloth covering should 
be made of the finest and best 
of wool, and to ascertain if 
the cloth covering is made from 
the best of wool, a good method 
is to cut the leather covering of old 
rolls from time to time, and burn the 
flannel. If the cloth only smothers 
and 

NO FLAMES APPEAR, 
this indicates that the cloth is com- 
posed of wool flbres, but on the other 
hand, if the cloth will flame, it shows 
that a part of the covering consists of 
cotton. 

A good practice in many cotton 
mills is to have the drawing rolls 
buffed, that is, to have the surface of 
the top roll skimmed so as to make 
the surface even throughout the 
length of the roll. The above method 
is a saving to the mill, because draw- 
ing roll covering is more expensive 
than the smaller rolls. Besides a 
drawing roll after being rebuffed will 
have an even surface for a longer 
time than a new roll, but what was 
said in regard to a hard roll injuring 
the flbres must be remembered. So 
all rolls that are rebuffed should al- 
ways be placed on the two back rows 
of the drawing frame. 

In order to prevent the grain of the 
leather wearing away and becoming 
broken, it is the practice in almost 
every mill to varnish the drawing 
rolls that perform the heaviest work. 

The varnishing of leather rolls is 
much misunderstood. Text books and 
textile schools tell us that varnished 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



243 



rolls should present a smooth, hard 
surface, but such a statement is er- 
roneous. It is a practice in most all 
mills to try and have a nice looking 
roll, that is, to have it look like 
glass. 

A roll in such a condition contains 
too much glue, which has a tendency 
to crack, besides when the room con- 
tains much moisture, they will keep 
continually licking up; even if their 
surface is only touched with the hand, 
they will lick up. Besides, a drawing 
roll that has a smooth surface has not 
.so much 

DRAWING QUALITIES 
as the rolls that are a little rough. 

Instead of trying to have a nice 
looking drawing roll, let it be your 
aim to have a roll with a drawing 
quality, that will enable it to do its 
work and eliminate friction. 

The writer has used the following 
recipe for roll varnish, and if given a 
trial, it will be found very good if 
used as we direct. To one quart of 
acetic acid, use four ounces of fish 
glue, one teaspoonful of oil origanum; 
let this mixture stand for at least 48 
hours, after which it may be thick- 
ened with chrome green powdered 
paint. It will be found that the above 
recipe gives the rolls a dull appear- 
ance and must be varnished oftener. 
A good rule to follow when using this 
varnish is to' have many spare rolls 
on hand. Varnish the back rows 
every six weeks and the front rows 
every week. This will not only make 
the rolls appear in good condition at 
all times, but they will retain their 
drawing quality. The varnish should 
be put on the rolls as evenly as pos- 
sible, and the best method of doi'ng 
thiS; is to have a board a little longer 
than the drawing rolls, and as wide. 
Cover this board with woolen cloth, 
the cloth being 

PULLED TIGHTLY 
and secured at the edges when level. 
Then a brush should be used to paint 
the flannel or woolen cloth the width 
of the boss of the roll, and then the 
roll should be moved over the sur- 
face of the cloth by placing the palm 
of each hand on each end of the roll, 



giving the roll a backward and for- 
ward movement, until the varnish is 
spread evenly over the whole surface 
of the roll. 

A new roll should receive four coats 
of varnish, but the rolls taken from 
the drawing frame, should receive 
only two coats. Some mills even var- 
nish the slubber rolls, and claim that 
good results are obtained. The 
American Wool and Cotton Reporter 
is continually pointing out this error; 
that is, instead of varnishing your 
slubber rolls to stop friction on the 
top rolls when using a heavy drawing 
sliver, and we must again repeat here, 
that the fibres are injured by such an 
excessive draft. So, instead of running 
a heavy sliver, and varnishing the 
slubber rolls, besides injuring the fi- 
bres, make your finished drawing sliv- 
er lighter, thus avoiding unnecessary 
work, and besides the making of a 
perfect compact strand. No. 41. 



XLII. AFTER CARDING. 

After leaving the card, the next 
preparatory process to which the sliver 
is subjected depends upon the final 
use to which the fibre or yarn is in- 
tended. For the average kind of yarns, 
railway heads and drawing usually 
are the processes following the card, 
whereas for the better class of yarns 
(about 65s and above) the process of 
combing and combing equipment pre- 
vious to the drawing process is intro- 
duced. 

Yarn which only passes through the 
drawing frame process is called carded 
yarn, while that which goes through 
the comber is called combed yarn. 
They are sometimes sub-divided into 
single carded yarns, or double carded 
yarns, thus indicating that they have 
been carded once or twice. 

Even yarn depends upon four factors 
which are practically unattainable by 
the card alone. (13 The overseer in 
charge of combers must understand 
the structure and peculiarities of the 
fibres in order to sample and examine 
the stock properly. This is the most 
important factor, because if the over- 
seer is a poor judge of cotton and 
does not allow for the amount of natu- 



244 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



ral twist that exists more in one kind 
of cotton than another, he is unable 
to obtain a perfect overlapping which 
is the basis for strong or weak combed 
yarn. As stated, if this normal 

CURL IN THE FIBRES 
is not allowed for when setting and 
timing, it will be impossible to obtain 
the best results. (2) The fibres must 
be arranged individually and in par- 
allel order, a position they must main- 
tain in after processes. If the card 
web be closely examined, it will be 
foundi that "the cotton tibre, on ac- 
count of its natural twist, has a normal 



only, of course, the length can be eas 
composing the sliver will regularly 
overlap each other in such a way as 
to givp,' an 'even appearance to the 
sliver and also to strengthen it, and 
in turn afterwards to the roving and 
yarn. Perfect overlapping of fibres i^ 
only obtained by the use of combers. Be- 
fore explaining the operation of comD- 
ing, as stated, the overseer must under- 
stand the structure and peculiarities of 
the fibres. Therefore, their construction 
justifies a detailed explanation. As is 
well known by most mill men. cotton 
is a vegetable fibre, and to the naked 




Fig. 9. Sliver Lap IVIachine. 



tendency to curl up, and consequently, 
readily becomes crossed and tangled 
during its treatment by the various 
machines. (3) The fibres composing 
the yarn must be uniform in length, 
which is impossible to be obtained 
with the most perfect card of the 
present time. 

Examining closely a carded sliver 
will at once convince the observer that 
large quantities of irregularly stapled 
cotton exist, which must be eliminated 
before the higher counts of yarn can 
be spun. (4) The fibres must be unit- 
ed, so that the individual fibres 



eye appears to be about the same, 
ily determined by sampling. But when 
examined 

UNDER A MICROSCOPE 
it does not have that fine, smooth and 
solid appearance that it had when 
examined by the naked eye, but 
instead, each fibre appears to be 
a collapsed tube, twisted many times 
throughout its length, which, as stated, 
affects its actual length. The above can 
easily be proven when only the draw- 
ing processes are employed in a cotton 
mill. When the cotton is sampled at 
mixing time, as it should be, and the 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



245 



staple is found to be li inch in length, 
it will be found almost 11 inch at the 
finished process of drawing. As we have 
stated to the query pertaining to the 
proper amount of twist that should 
be inserted in a certain number of 
yarn, the convolutions interlock with 
one another and help to resist 
any tension necessarily put on the 
yarn. So it can be seen that, as stat- 
ed, the construction of the fibres is 
important when setting and timing a 
comber, because all fibres are not in 
the same collapsed form and are not 
twisted the same, which affects the 
length of the staple, and also the set- 
ting on a comber. 

Cotton, like almost everything of 
vegetable origin, has as its chief con- 
stituent cellulose, a substance that is 
haid to work if heated or dry, also if 
too moist. It is this substance com- 
bined with wax that causes feed plate 
CLiking on the cards, as was explained 
elsewhere. No. 42. 



XLIII. SELECTION OF COTTON. 

It is the cellulose of which cotton 
mostly consists that absorbs and re- 
tains moisture. Another important 
point to be considered by manufactur- 
ers is the selection of cotton from 
samples; for instance, in cotton 
to be used for filling yarns, the color 
is more important than in cotton warp 
yarns. If the cotton is tinged, or of 
a darker color than most of the cot- 
ton being used, it should be put into 
the warp yarn, because if tinged cot- 
ton is put into the filling, the cloth 
will have a tinged colored appearance, 
because one cop or bobbin of filling 
yarn will weave in most mills from 17 
to 22 inches of cloth, while the warp 
ends only occupy 1-1,000 or more part 
of the width of the cloth, sometimes 
less. Again, the amount of removable 
foreign matter in cotton varies great- 
ly with the variety, and even in dif- 
ferent growths of the same variety. 

Prom the above, it should be seen 
that in order to operate combers 
economically the setting and timing 
of a comber is as important as on a 
card. But there is one great mistake 



made in most fine goods mills, and that 
is not to have the card take out the 
proper amount of foreign matter it 
should, and throw more work on the 
combers, because comber waste is 
worth more than card waste. The dis- 
advantages to this method are that 
so much extra work is being put on 
the combs, which is naturally very in- 
jurious to them, besides not allowing 
as thorough a combing of the fibres 
as would otherwise occur. The card 
and combers are each built to do a 
certain amount of work in the prepar- 
atory processes, and should be run ac- 
cordingly. If the card is favored, and 
an extra amount of work is thrown on 
the comber, the result will be that 
the quality will suffer. 

The percentage of short fibres taken 
out by^ the comb depends upon , the 
grade of cotton that is used and the 
fineness of the yarn that is required 
spun. This amount varies from 10 to 30 
per cent. When using lon^ stapled 
cottons full of impurities it has been 
found necessary to give this kind of 
cotton a double combing. Although 
double combing improves the char- 
acter of the yarn, it is not much 
superior to single combing, be- 
sides the result is a high-priced yarn, 
both on account of labor as well as 
the high price of the raw cotton which 
has to be used. Again, fibres that are 
doubly combed are more weakened. 

Combing equipment usually includes 
two machines besides the comber. The 
first is the sliver lap machine, of 
which a side view of both sides Is 
given in Figures 9 and 10. 

The object of the sliver lap machine 
is .the, making of a lap from a number 
of card slivers. Only a brief descrip- 
tion is given here as regards its opera- 
tion, because what will be said when 
the drawing frame is explained can be 
applied here. A sliver lap machine 
can employ as much as eighteen cans, 
and at the same time, the draft will 
not exceed two. 

It should be seen that what we have 
said as regards reducing the number 
of .slivers on the railway head does not 
hold good here, because when 8 sliyers 
are running in at the back of a rail- 



246 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



way head, the draft of the machine 

MUST BE EXCESSIVE, 

while on a sliver lap machine eighteen 
slivers can be run in at the back and 
still have a short draft. The reason 
for this should easily be seen by per- 
sons not acquainted with combing 
equipment, because on a railway head 



ifc wound on a wooden roll, and a lap is 
formed. The polished plate over which 
the sheet passes has adjustable 
sides, and should be so adjusted that 
a good selvage will be made. 

Very little attention need be paid to 
the draft, because it is usually under 
2.5. To enable a short draft on the 
sliver lap machine, the ribbon lap ma- 




Fig. 10. Sliver Lap IVlacliine. 



the eight slivers have to be drawn so 
that the delivered sliver will not ex- 
ceed the weight per yard of one of the 
eight slivers running at the back, 
while on a sliver lap machine the 
weight per yard of the strand delivered 
in some cases exceeds 300 grains. 

No. 43. 



XLIV. SLIVER LAP IVIACHINE. 

A sliver lap machine differs some- 
what from the drawing-frame process. 
The drawing rolls consist of thret 
pairs of rolls, instead of four, as on 
the drawing frame, but the drawing 
rolls are similar in construction to 
those of the drawing frame. Again, 
instead of the sliver passing to a 
trumpet, the sheet of slivers passes be- 
twppn two pair of smooth calendei 
rolls, over a polished guide plate, and 



chine is used. It is at this machine 
that what we have said as regards 
friction is proved. Eliminate the 

RIBBON LAP MACHINE 
and have the laps taken directly to 
the combers, but before it is put in at 
the comber it should be unrolled and 
a yard or two held to the light. It 
will be seen that the slivers merely lie 
side by side, and, owing to the frictlon- 
al contact of the front roll, the lap Is 
uneven, showing both thin and thick 
places. Again, it proves how a poorer 
strand of cotton is made by even elim- 
inating one process. So to have a more 
even lap, the ribbon lap machine is 
used, which is the second machine In 
the combing equipment. The ribbon 
lap machine differs from the sliver lap 
machine, as can be seen by the illus- 
tration which is given in Figure 11, 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



247 



It can be seen that instead of spoons 
the strand passes over a plate that acts 
the same as the spoons on a sliver lap 
machine, that is, it acts both as a 
guide and stop motion. Again, the 
sheet is acted on by four pairs ol 
drawing rolls, instead of three, as on 
the sliver lap machine. Four rows are 
employed here because, as on the rail- 
way head, the draft between the front 
and back drawing rolls usually about 
equals the doublings. Like the sliver 
lap machine, the drawing rolls are con- 
structed similar to the rolls of tne 
drawing frame. By referring to Fig- 



many fine goods mills, and given but 
very little attention, is in not having 
the table calender rolls and table, also 
lap head perfectly level and in line. 
When out of line, the several sheets 
will not run to the lap head properly, 
which will make the sheet presented 
at the back of the lap head uneven. 

It should be seen that if a lap is 
uneven at the back of the lap head, 
the sheet delivered in front will 
be correspondingly uneven. If a sheet 
of lap presented to the comber is un- 
even and not the same thickness cross- 
wise, it can easily be seen that when 




Fig. 11. Ribbon Lap Machine. 



ure 11, the sheet delivered from tne 
front roll passes over a curved plate 
to the table, and passes between the 
table calender rolls, which serve to 
condense the several layers of cotton, 
usually six in number, into one sheet, 
and to pass it forward. In front of 
each pair of calender rolls a 
GUIDE IS PLACED 
on each side of the table to prevent 
the sheet of lap from spreading. The 
farthest sheet from the lap head is 
carried under the sheet that is next to 
it in direction of the lap head, then 
from the last pair of table calender 
rolls, the sheet passes to the smooth 
calender rolls of the lap head, and a 
lap is formed ready for the comber. 
One point that is much neglected In 



such a sheet is presented to the action 
of the cushion plate and nipper knlle 
that a firm grip on all fibres is impos- 
sible, and many good fibres find their 
way to the waste box. No. 44. 



XLV. DOUBLE COMBING. 

Many mill men are confused 
when double combing and double-nip 
combing is mentioned. Double comb- 
ing means that the cotton is combed 
and the sliver returned to the sliver 
lap machine, and the cotton is treated 
over again by the combing equipment. 
Double-nip combing means that the 
combers act on two portions of cotton 
during each revolution of the cylin- 
der, whereas the single nip-combers 



24S 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



act on only one portion of cotton for 
every revolution of the cylinder. 

Double combing is only necessary 
when using long-stapled cottons heav- 
ily charged with impurities. Sometimes 
it is necessary to give the cotton a 
treble combing. Some mill men seem 
to think that double and treble comb- 
ing would produce a much superior 
yarn than single combing. Hov 5ver, 
such is not the case, although the 
writer is willing to admit that a double 
combing certainly improves the char- 
acter of the yarn. Double and treble 
combing, as stated, will result in high- 



combing. It can be seen that having 
double the 

QUANTITY OF NEEDLES 
or combs acting on the cotton for the 
same percentage of waste, the fibres 
will receive a more thorough cleaning 
and combing action. The reason for 
the difference in percentage of the two 
combings, all settings being practically 
the same, is found in the fact that In 
the second combing there is not as> 
much waste to be dealt with. And, as 
we have stated elsewhere, a good deal 
of trouble is introduced because the 
fibres have become so parallel and feel 



Li - J ^ 1 u I M' ' > JL 




B.F^' 




Fig. 12. High Speed Combing iVIachine, Front View. 



priced yarn, both on account of labor 
as well as the high price of the raw 
stock which has to be used, for which 
reason they are seldom employed. 

The advantage of double and treble 
combing can be seen from the follow- 
ing explanation: Suppose we take out 
20 per cent of waste with single comb- 
ing, and when using double or treble 
combing, a total of 20 per cent. It 
should be seen that when using double 
combing we may have taken out only 
15 per cent at the first combing and 
the remaining 5 per cent at the second 



so soft that they have a tendency to 
fly, or if the day is a heavy one, they 
stick to almost anything. 

The combing machine commonly 
used is a very intricate one, and pos- 
sesses a number of interesting features. 
The front view of the comber having 
seven heads is shown in Figure 12, and 
the back view in Figure 13. A cross 
section of each part of the comber is 
given in Figure 14, this representing 
one head. In a complete machine, 
there are either s'x, seven or eight 
heads. 



Cotton mill management 



249 



Hach head is complete in itself, and 
receives one of the laps delivered from 
the sliver or ribbon lap machine, but 
it should be understood that the mo- 
tions for all the heads derive their 
power from the same source. Although 
each head is complete in itself, the re- 
sults obtained depend on the accuracy 
with which the corresponding parts are 



chine should be as light as possible, 
and should under no consideration ex- 
ceed 300 grains per yard. From the 
lap rolls the sheet of lap passes ovei 
the lap plate A, Figure 14 (which is 
highly polished) and is fed intermit- 
tently by a pair of feed-rolls. The 
lower roll is formed of steel, with fine- 
ly pitched longitudinal flutes. The top 




Fig. 13. High Speed Combing IVIachine, Back View. 



set so each head will work together. 
If the corresponding parts have a slight 
variation, the results will be the same 
as when a comber is set without tak- 
ing the 

AMOUNT OF TWIST 

in the fibres into consideration. 

If the reader is a comber man, he 
knows that the corresponding parts of 
each head must act at the same time, 
because the bottom steel roll of each 
head is constructed in one piece and is 
long enough to serve for all the heada. 
The laps from this ribbon-lap machine 
are placed upon two wooden rolls, 
Nl N Figure 14. • What was said about 
a heavy lap elsewhere holds good here, 
and the laps from the ribbon-lap ma- 



rolls are cloth and leather covered, 
having a true cylindrical surface, 
which is kept in contact with the sur- 
face of the bottom steel roll by hooks 
passing over their necks and suitably 
weighted. Referring to Figure 14, the 
bottom feed roll can be seen at K and 
the top roll at J, the nipper knife at 
S and the cushion plate at Q. From 
the feed rolls the fringe of cotton is 
gripped by the nipper knife and cush- 
ion plate, which holds it in such a po- 
sition that it will be acted upon by the 
cylinder. The cylinder. Figure 14, con- 
sists of three principal parts — the bar- 
rel, C, half-lap, Y, Figure 14, and flut- 
ed segment, A. The barrel is securea 
to the cylinder shaft, which goes 
through the barrel at point C. The 



250 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



half-lap, Y, is composed of two parts, 
namely, the 

COMB-STOCK 
and the matrices. The comb-stock is 
formed to receive a series of strips of 
needles, to which is fastened seventeen 
rows of needles. These needles are so 
spaced that the needles that first come 
in contact with the fringe of cotton 
hanging downwards, are the most wide- 
ly spaced, and also of a larger diam- 
eter than the rows of needles follow- 
ing. The number of needles in the 
succeeding rows increase, that is, the 
finer spacing increases until the sev- 



XLVI. OPERATION OF COMBER. 

As stated, the operation of the 
needles on the half-lap removing shore 
fibres, neps and foreign matter that 
were not removed in the previous proc- 
esses, resembles the operation of the 
licker-in upon the fringe hanging over 
the nose of the feed-plate, only instead 
of having a saw tooth, the needles on 
the half-lap are round and made of 
steel tapered to a point. 

As the cylinder, C, Figure 14, is 
constantly revolving, the fringe of cot- 
ton gripped by the nippers is subjected 
to the action of the half-lap. It must 




Fig. 14. Section of High Speed Combing Machine. 



enteenth row, in which there are usu- 
ally ninety needles per inch. And as 
stated, the needles in the last rows are 
the smallest in diameter. In other 
words, the pitch of the needles varies, 
becoming gradually finer, and ranges 
from 1-30 to 1-90 inch. 

The object of this is to permit the 
needles to enter the cotton freely and 
.gradually treat the whole of the fibres 
without running the risk of an undue 
amount of waste being produced. 

No. 45. 



be understood that this action takes 
place immediately after the cotton has 
been gripped by the nipper knife and 
cushion plate and the latter, at 
the same time, is forced down 
by the nipper knife. Again, It 
must be understood that during 
this operation the fringe of cotton 
that is being combed is entirely sep- 
arate from the fringe previously comb- 
ed. Here is the chief feature of the 
comber, to bring back a portion of the 
previously combed fibres so they may 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



251 



be pieced up with the fibres that have 
just undergone the combing operation, 
a feature, as we have stated elsewhere, 
which is the basis of strong and weak 
combed yarn. The overlap necessary at 
this point will be explained later. After 



bres that have escaped the needles on 
the half -lap. All short fibres, neps 
and foreign substances that are remov- 
ed from the fringe of cotton are carried 
by the needles of the half-lap, and re- 
moved by the brush, B, Figure 14. The 




Fig. 15. Comber Head Driving Gears. 



the piecing-up operation, the combed 
cotton is carried forward and the ends 
last to 

LEAVE THE CYLINDER 
receive a combing action from a toy 
comb, which removes any short fi- 



doffer, D, Figure 14, which works at a 
much slower speed than the brush, B, 
has its surface covered with heavy 
wire teeth which collect all substances 
from the brush B. It can be seen by re- 
fering to Figure 14. that the dofOer is 



252 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



not in direct contact with the brush, 
and that it is the centrifugal force of 
the highly revolving brush that 
causes all substances to leave the 
brush and be deposited on the doffet. 
As the doffer revolves, most all sub- 



peated with a new portion of cotton 
fed in by the feed rolls. 

And as the sliver is delivered in a 
continuous web, it passes through a 
trumpet that condenses it into a 
sliver and is then delivered on a table. 



i7///?JJjjjj^f^^ 




stances are combed from the doffer, 
and this waste drops into a can. The 
operation is the same as that of the 
doffer comb, combing the web from 
the card. 

Having explained the passage of the 
stock, the reader should understand 
that the same operations are again re- 



and with similar slivers from other 
heads, passes through the draw-box 
and condensed into one sliver, and 
then into a can, which is afterwards 
put up at the back of the drawing 
frame. 

The operations of a comber, 
as a whole, are very intricate, and in 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



253 



order to understand the many differ- 
ent mechanisms, each operation 
should be considered separately. 

The first operation to be considered 
is the feed motion. The bottom feed- 
roll K, Figure 14, as stated, Is con- 



length of stock be delivered by the 
feed rolls. 

This motion is obtained from the 
cylinder shaft which passes through 
the cylinder at C, Figure 14. The 
comber head driving gears resembles 



Miiiimiinnnt 




structed in one piece and is long 
enough to serve for all the heads. The 
reader should understand that in de- 
scribing a comber it is only necessary 
to deal with one head, as each head 
has the same operations. 

In order to bring the cotton into a 
position to be combed by the half- 
lap, it. is first neressary that a certain 



those of the drawing frame head, only 
somewhat heavier. A very large gear 
is fast to the cylinder shaft and car- 
ries a disk plate CI, Figure 15. A lit- 
tle distance from the centre of the 
cyliiider sbaft is a stud carrying a 
star gear C2. A pin, C3 (usually 
about J inch in thicKness), engages 
cne slots in the star gear and turns 



254 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



it during a part of a revolution of the 
cylinder. It can be seen by referring 
to Figure 15, that the star gear, C2, is 
so constructed that after the pin has en- 
gaged with one slot and turned the 
star gear, the next slot will be in 
position with the pin at the next revo- 
lution of the cylinder. 

By again referring to Figure 15, it 
can be seen that 

THE STAR GEAR 
is compounded with a small spur gear 
C5 that meshes with a large gear C6 
on the lower feed-roll. From the 
above it can be seen that for every 
revolution of the cylinder, the pin C3 
engages one of the slots in the star 
gear, thus turning the star gear a por- 
tion of a revolution, and also the feed- 
roll and the cotton fed to that extent. 
As the lap rolls are driven from the 
lower feed-roll by suitable gearing, it 
can be seen that the intermittent ac- 
tion of the feed-roll is transmitted to 
the lap rolls. No. 46. 



XLVII. ACTION OF COMBER. 

When a fluted section of a delivery 
is 11 inches, a lap 8J inches shoula 
be used. In other words, the fluted 
section should be at least two inches 
wider than the lap. The bottom steel 
roll is usually i of an inch in diameter. 
The reason for having such a small 
diameter front roll on a comber, is to 
increase the combing field, because 
the larger a roll is in diameter the 
farther away is the surface of the roll 
from its centre. 

So, for the same reason, the half-lap 
is set as close as possible to the front 
feed-roll. As stated, the fringe of cot- 
ton that is fed intermittently, is 
gripped by a pair of nippers which 
hold it in such a position that it will 
be acted on by the needles on the half- 
lap. The upper nipper is known as 
the nipper knife, and consists of a lit- 
tle bar of steel, with its lower edge 
fluted and a portion of this edge 
overhangs the fluted edge, so that 
when it moves downward with the 
cushion plate, this overhanging por- 
tion of the front knife and the nose 
of the cushion plate are brought close 
to th^ needles on the half-lap, thus 



eiiabling the fringe of cotton to be 
combed very close to the grip of the 
nippers, and the combing field is in- 
creased. 

The lower nipper is known as the 
cushion plate, and resembles the feed 
plate on the card, only, of course, 
much smaller. It also has a nose 
usually covered with strips of soft 
leather, and fastened by metal strips. 

The reason for covering the cushion 
plate with soft leather is so that it 
will act as a cushion for the nipper 
knife, which must press hard on the 
plate in order to lower it. It can be 
seen that if the nose of the cushion 
plate is not properly covered, the fi- 
bres will be injured. 

By referring to Figure 16, it can be 
seen that the nipper knife, by having 
depressed the cushion plate, has 
brought the fringe of fibres hanging 
downwards into a suitable position to 
be acted on by the needles of the half- 
lap. Figure 16 shows that the half- 
lap is in such a position at the time 
the nipper knife has completed its 
downward motion, that the first rows 
of needles on the half-lap enter the 
fringe of cotton, and as we have stated 
elsewhere, the successive rows on the 
half-lap are finer, so it can be seen 
that the successive rows of needles 
remove all fibres that are too short 
and have escaped the grip of the nip- 
pers and other impurities. 

As soon as the needles on the half- 
lap have passed the fringe of cotton, 
the ends of the fibres fall into a gap 
between the needles and the segment, 
plainly shown in Figure 17, then the 
cushion plate 

BEGINS TO RISE 
and occupies the position shown In 
Figure 17. 

By again referring to Figure 16, it 
can be seen that what we have so far 
explained can readily be seen in the 
figure; that is, the nippers are closed, 
and the cushion plate is lowered to 
the action of the needles on the half- 
lap, which are just entering the cot- 
ton, and it also shows that, during the 
combing operation, the fringe of 
cotton being combed is entirely 
separate from the fringe previously 
combed. Again, it shows the detach- 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



255 



ing rolls G, I and H, are at their far- 
thest position from the needles on the 
half-lap. 

The next operation is the detaching 
of the partially combed fibres from the 
nippers and drawing that portion of 



seen in Figure 18, that the top comb is 
positioned between the nipper knife S 
and the leather detaching roll I. As 
we have stated, the fringe of cotton 
being combed is not connected to the 
cotton previously combed, and the 



l((fn}}nnn}}h 




the fibres which have been held by 
the nipper knife and cushion plate, 
through the top comb, as shown in 
Figure 18. It can be seen that as the 
fibres are carried forward, they pass 
thjrough, the top comb. It can also be 



next operation is the 

PIECING-UP 

to the cotton immediately in front of 

it in order to have a continuous sliver. 

This is accomplished by returning a 

portion of the previously combed 



256 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



fibres, which is plainly shown in Fig- 
ure 18, the figure shows both the de- 
taching and piecing-up operation. 

When the leather detaching roll I is 
raised from its bearings and is in con- 
tact with the segment, as can be seen 
in figure 18, steel detaching roll G is 
given its return forward movement, 
thus delivering forward the stock pre- 
viously fed back, to wnich has been 
pieced the newly combed fibres. The 
forward movement of the detaching 
roll is obtained through what may be 
termed a notch wheel. As stated else- 
where, our aim in these articles is to 
eliminate all figures possible. All 
practical men will agree with the writ- 
er, that given a figure for each me- 
chanism for each operation is a waste 
of time, because a practical man 
knows all about the cams, bowls, 
levers, pawls and notch gear, and as 
stated, it is useless to those that have 
no practical experience on a comber — 
you cannot learn the practical part in 
a book. Again, a different mechanism 
for imparting the rotary motions to 
the delivery roll is employed on dif- 
ferent combers. The detaching roll G, 
like the bottom feed roll, is made in 
one piece and long enough to serve 
for all heads. 

A cam not shown is so constructed 
that the forward movement of the 
steel detaching roll G is made great- 
er than the backward movement to 
deliver a length of fibre as long as 
that which has been combed. By re- 
ferring to Figure 18, it can be seen 
that the detaching operation itself is 
accomplished by the leather detach- 
ing roll I. By comparison of Figures 
16 and 18, it can be seen that during 

THE COMBING OPERATION, 

that if the detaching roll were in the 
position as in Figure 16, the needles of 
the half-lap would come in contact 
with the detaching rod. As we have 
stated, the operation of detaching and 
piecing-up is the most important, be- 
cause, besides having the detaching 
roll set so that it will alternately 
change properly so that the roll will 
be near enough to the segment to se- 
cure the fibres when detaching and 
also out of the path of the needles of 
•the half-lap during the combing ac- 



tion, the delivery movement of the 
delivery roll must be made double its 
movement in the opposite direction. 
With the Whitin comber, the piecing 
segment stands a little higher than 
the needle segment, and it is, there- 
fore, not necessary to raise the top 
comb out of the path of the needle 
segment. So it can be seen from the 
above that what we have said about 
the overlapping at this point being 
the basis of strong and weak yarn is 
true, because the length actually 
delivered depends on the amount the 
delivery movement exceeds the move- 
ment in the opposite direction. 

The amount of overlap in the piec- 
ing depends upon the timing of the 
detaching mechanism. 

The worst evil at this point is when 
the detaching roll starts forward too 
late. It should be seen by studying Fig- 
ure 18, that a long piecing is made 
and the fibres would have a knotty 
and curled appearance, thus making 
the web uneven and cloudy. 

On the other hand, if the detaching 
roll starts forward loo soon, we 
have the opposite effect; that is, the 
piecing is short and the web has a 
bad appearance by showing streaks in 
the web, and, in some cases, the web 
is cut. No. 47. 



XLVIII. COMBER SETTING. 

It is impossible to give the exact 
settings for a comber without taking 
into consideration the length and con- 
struction of the cotton to be combed, 
as on a (^ard, a good comber man 
and overseer can save much good cot- 
ton for the mill, and prevent also the 
making of weak yarn by changing the 
settings. In some mills, as on the 
card, the settings remain the same, 
regardless of the stock being run, while 
in other mills the settings are chang- 
ed as the staple changes, and also for 
the different grades of cotton. 

As we have stated before, the best 
comber man is one who understands 
the construction of the cotton fibres, 
and also knows a little about the dif- 
ferent grades of cotton. The amount of 
waste taken out of Sea Island cot- 
ton is usually from 20 to 22 per cent, 
and for peeler stock from 15 to 17 per 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



257 



iCent. One good rule to ascertain the 
per cent is to carefully move all the 
stock, run the machine for a short 
time — a half-minute — and then careful- 
ly weigh in grains both waste and good 
cotton. Add the two weights together, 
and divide the number of grains of 
waste by the sum. The quotient will 
be the per cent of waste. Another 
method is to run the comber for a 
number of nips. The cotton delivered 
is kept in one portion, while the waste 
delivered is taken as another portion. 
They are then both placed on a pair 
of scales which denote the 

PERCENTAGE OF WASTE. 
The following give the approximate 
settings for combers most frequently 
used in America: 

When setting a comber, the cylinder 
shaft is primarily the base of all set- 
tings, for the reason that the cylinder 
is centred on that shaft. A more con- 
venient way from which to work when 
making certain settings Is to set the 
delivery roll given at a true and accu- 
rate setting with a certain definite re- 
lation to the cylinder. Then the bear- 
ings should be fastened, one by one, 
and the delivery roll should be tried 
to ascertain whether or not it will re- 
volve freely by passing the hand over 
its surface. When the delivery roll is 
properly set and rotates freely, it be- 
comes the base of certain settings of 
the comber. 

In order to have the cylinder and 
delivery roll in their proper relative 
positions, the comber must first be lin- 
ed up. The comber should first be scour- 
ed, and all top rolls that are grooved, 
or that have any sign of looseness, 
should be recovered. Set the index 
wheel to five, and with gauge li be- 
tween flute's of detaching roll and front 
edge of segment, make the cylinder 
fast on the shaft, and then set the de- 
taching roll flutes to 23 gauge from 
flutes on segment setting nippers. 
Then set the cushion plates up to one 
thickness of thin paper from the nip- 
per knife and to gauge IJ from fluteb 
of detaching roll to front edge of cush- 
ion plate. 

The setting of 

THE CUSHION PLATE 
to the fibrous packing so that it will 



bear evenly is properly adjusted by 
filing the bracket which holds the 
cushion plate, or by adjusting the 
knife. It should be the aim always to 
have the cushion plate rigidly in place, 
because, by holding the cushion plate 
rigid, the feed rolls can be set closei 
to the bite of the nipper knife, allow- 
ing short-stapled cottons to be comb- 
ed, and making " the combing field 
larger when using long-stapled cotton. 

It also eliminates the vibration and 
aids toward making a smooth, easy 
running machine. After the setting of 
the cushion plates up to one thickness 
of thin paper from the nipper knife 
and to gauge 1| from flutes of the 
detaching roll to front edge of cushion 
plate, the nipper must be open and 
the stop screws about one-half way 
through. Next set the edge of the 
knife to 21 gauge from cylinder, need- 
les, and see that the disitance between 
detaching roll- and cushion plate are 
not altered; there must be a one-quar- 
ter gauge between the points of stop 
screws and nipper stand. Then put on 
the springs, move the cam until the 
bowl is on the circular part, put the 
gauge one-quarter again, between stop 
screws and stand, and then screw up 
the nuts on one connecting rod until 
the gauge is just eased. Turn the cam 
back again as it was, and try your 
gauge between 

NIPPER KNIFE 
and cylinder needles. Be sure that 
you are clear here and to gauge. Have 
gauge 1 13-16 between flutes of feed 
and detaching roll (at bearing). 

In setting brushes, let the bristles 
touch brass of the combs of one cyl- 
inder, then make a gauge to go be- 
tween brush and cylinder shafts and 
set to it. Set brush tins about one- 
quarter clear of the cylinder and dof- 
fer and about one-half clear where the 
tin and doffer meet. The lap plates 
should be set clear of wood and feed 
roll, but see that brush is set near 
enough to feed roll to keep it clean 
and prevent lapping. In setting of 
top detaching roll, move the 80 gear 
on cam shaft and turn round the cam 
shaft until the quadrant moves for- 
ward, then set the index wheel to 6i 
and put the 80 gear in gear again, then 



258 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



turn again and see that quadrant 
moves forward at 6i. Top combs 
should be set as close to the roll as 
possible without rubbing. If the back 
row of needles is set as close as the 
front row, it will be found to be the 
cheapest way of using top combs. 

Following are the settings of a Ma- 
son comber: 

Comber. Gauge Dial. 

Edge of fluted segment to detach- 
ing roll 11^ 5 

Feed roll to detaching roll (at bear- 
ing) 113-16 ... 

Feed roll starts AV* 

Edge of cushion plate to detaching 

roll m. 

Edge of cushion plate to cylinder 

combs 20 

Nipper close 9 

Nipper screws open from bracket.'... % 

Pawl drops in notch wheel 1% 

Leather roller touches fluted seg- 
ment 6% 

Leather roll leaves fluted segment 9Vi 

Brass roll to leather roll 14 

Top combs down hM 

Top combs to fluted segment 19 

Settings of within comber...- Index 

Nippers open at , 3V6 

Nippers close at 9% 

Lifters down at 6% 

Lifters up at ....8% 

Top combs down 5 

Detaching roll comes forward at 6 

Peed roll comes forward at 4 

SETTINGS OP DOBSON & BARLOW 
COMBER. 

Gauge Dial. 

Clutch closes iWi 

Steel detaching roll comes forward 6 

Nipper close 9 

Star gear begins to feed 4% 

Top comb down 5 

Nippers to needles 19 

It should be remembered that close 
setting makes more waste, and feeding 
late also makes more waste. 

No. 48. 



furnished by the builders, and it is 3 
waste of time and space to give what 
has already been seen many times. 
As on the card, we will give a 
short practical method of drafting a 
comber. 

Suppose that a comber has six laps 
up at tlie back, each lap weighing 250 
grains per yard, and it is desired to 
find the draft of the comber. For the 
convenience of calculation, we will as- 
sume that the sliver delivered weighs 
60 grains per yard. Multiply the 
weight of the lap fed in by the number 
of deliveries and divide by the weight 
of the finished sliver. Example: 250 
multiplied by 6 divided by 60 equals 
25 draft of comber. To obtain the 
figured draft add the per cent 
of the cotton that passes through the 
machine as waste. 

When using the builders' catalogue, 
the per cent of the cotton that 
passes through the comber must be 
taken out as waste, and 

THE FIGURED DRAFT 

must be diminished correspondingly, 
in order to obtain the actual weight 
per yard of the sliver delivered. It 
can be seen from the method above 
that it is a waste of time drafting a 
comiber by gears. 

As on other machines, the produc- 
tion of a comber depends on the speed. 
weight of sliver and amount of waste 
removed. 

Below we give a fair speed, also pro- 
duction for 10 hours. Nips, per 
minute. 85. 



Grains per yard of the combed sliver. 
Pounds In ten hours 



40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 
42 44 46 48 50 53 55 57 59 



XLIX. COMBER PRODUCTION. 

On a comber there are two places 
where there is much' draft, and many 
other places where there is but lit- 
tle. The first is between the steel 
roll and first calender roll, which is 
usually from five to six. The second 
between the back roll in the draw box, 
and the second calender roll, which is 
usually from four to five. The total 
draft is usually from 20 to 30. As we 
have stated before, all draft calcula- 
tions for different machines In a cotton 
mill are found in machine cataloguea 



A double nip comber will give a 
greater production than a single nip 
comber, but does not clean the cotton 
so well, and light impurities can be de- 
tected in the yarn from a double nip 
comber. The reason is because of the 
smaller number of needles acting on 
the fringe. The parts of a double nip 
comber, owing to some of the parts 
running at such a high speed, quickly 
get away from their proper settings 
and timings, and besides, will wear 
more quickly. With the results of the 
wearing and disarrangements of the 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



2Sd 



timings and settings, bad work is pro- 
duced. We have stated elsewhere that 
the settings must be changed even for 
the construction of the cotton. The 
reason can be studied by the reader 
from the explanations already given. 
The reader should firmly fix in his 
mind while reading the following sum- 
mary how a different constructed fibre 
will 

AFFECT THE SETTING 
on a comber, that is, if the fibres are 
not matured, the convolutions are less 
frequent, and almost altogether absent 
in the immatured fibre, which afEects 
its length. No. 49. 



L. COMBING EFFECT. 

It should be seen that when the fi- 
bres are ripened, they are twisted 
many times, and that after passing 
each process their length is increased 
some, as was explained. On the other 
hand, if the fibres are immatured, they 
have the appearance of a flattened rib- 
bon, when examined under a micro- 
scope, and their lengths at each proc- 
ess are not affected, wing to the ab- 
sence of the convolutions. 

Again, the reader should try and 
think what happens in the combing 
field during one revolution of the cyl- 
inder. When the cylinder has revolv- 
ed until the fiuted segment is in a po- 
sition to enable the detaching action, 
the detaching roll descends on the 
fluted segment, which forms a grip be- 
tween the detaching roll and the fluted 
segment that grips the cotton firmly. 
The fluted segment and detaching roll 
revolve nearer together, and the fibres 
that are not held by the grip of the 
feed-rolls are drawn away. As the fi- 
bres are detached, the top comb is in 
its lowest position, and the fibres that 
were held by the nippers are drawn 
through the oomb by the detaching roll 
and segment, and the 

DIRT AND SHORT FIBRE, 
too short to be held by the segment 
and detaching roll are removed. 

The reader must understand here 
that particular care must be taken to 
.have the top comb set so that it will 
not come in contact with the nippers 
or leather detaching roll. Many mill 
men advocate using two rows of needles 



on the top comb. They olaim that two 
rows of needles give a more effective 
comibing. This is erroneous, because 
the dirt and short fibres will lodge be- 
tween the two rows of needles that 
afterwards will drop back into the 
web of cotton. Again, the proper an- 
gle of the top comb is not so easily 
obtained, besides it is more difiicult to 
straighten the needles if they become 
bent or hooked, than when a single 
row is used. As the fibres are detached 
and drawn through the top comb, 
the forward ends of the fibreo receiving 
a combing are carried forward suf- 
ficiently to overlap the fibre ends that 
were returned. It should be seen by 
the reader here that the forward ro- 
tation of the delivery roll, which oc- 
curs while the segment and detaching 
roll grips the cotton, assists in piecing 
up the fibres just detached to those 
previously combed. In order to clearly 
understand what happens in the comb- 
ing field, the reader must know that at 
this point all fibres 

DO NOT PROJECT 

fro'm the feed-rolls to the same extent 
at the one time, no matter how uni- 
form the staple may be. At this 
point, some of the fibres may not be 
held by the feed-rolls at all, while 
others may project beyond the feed- 
rolls a quarter of an inch, a half-inch, 
or more. 

It should be seen from the above 
that when the detaching takes place, 
only those fibres that project beyond 
the feed-rolls are gripped and drawn 
forward by the fiuted segment and 
detaching roll, while all fibres that 
projecl only partly beyond and are 
still held by the feed-rolls may now 
project entirely beyond the rolls. 

The reader should see from the 
aibov^e explanations that a wide comb- 
ing field should always be the aim 
in the combing operation. This is ac- 
complished by having the cushion 
plate held rigidly to enable the feed- 
roll to be set veiy close to the nipper 
knife. Again, in order that the fibres 
may be held the proper distance from 
the cylinder and that the cushion plate 
may be set the proper distance from 
the steel detaching roll, so as to 
make a good piecing, the nipper bracket 



260 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



should be given a horizontal and also 
a vertical adjustment, thus allowing 
the cushion plate to be set to the 
detaching roll "which again 
INCREASES THE COMBING FIELD. 

The above setting is mostly under- 
stood and can be done only by practi- 
cal comber men, because it is an im- 
portant setting, as it requires two ad- 
justments that should be made at the 
same time, because the adjustment in 
one way influences the other adjust- 
ment. 

Combed yarns are much stronger 
than carded yarn, and can be detected 
by the naked eye, because they are 
smoother than carded yarns. On ac- 
count of the large per cent of the 
value of combed cotton in the waste 
which is taken out from the cotton, 
many fine goods mills run the comber 
waste over again, which is only card- 
ed and prepared for a coarse filling 
yam. No. 50. 



LI, CARE OF COMBER. 

In the comber, as in other machines, 
certain parts must be oiled, and the 
needles on the half-lap should be ex- 
amined often, and all those that are 
found bent or crooked should be 
straightened at once. 

In mills where every delivery must 
be kept in operation at all times, there 
should be extra half-laps, so that if 
there are too many needles on the 
half-lap bent or broken, the machine 
will not have to remain stopped dur- 
ing the time that a half-lap is being 
repaired. 

All parts of a comber should be 
taken down, and 

THOROUGHLY CLEANED, 
and repairs made, such as changing 
the half-laps, renewing the brushes, 
'recovering the doffers, and the cushion 
plate about twice a year. The brushes 
that clean the half-laps should have 
the waste removed from their bristles 
about every two weeks. The top 
combs should also be examined very 
carefully, because, if the needles are 
bent or deformed in any way, the 
web will be stringy on account of the 
cotton passing through the top comb 
not receiving a proper combing. The 
leather detaching roll must at all 



times be perfectly true, and should be 
varnisheid every week, because the con- 
dition of this roll has much to do with 
the quality of the yarn. Any defects 
of the leather detaching roll will cause 
thick and thin places in the web. All 
the polished parts of a comber should 
be cleaned and polished every week. 

The overseer and comber man should 
look at each web often and examine 
the different settings while passing the 
comber. For instance, if too much 
pressure is applied, the nippers will 
pound, and in time, destroy the set- 
tings. On the other hand, if too little 
pressure is used, it can be seen that 
many long fibres will be drawn and 
discarded as waste, and an uneven 
sliver will be the result. 

The proper care of the laps has also 
much to do with saving top combs. 
The tender of a sliver lap machine 
should not be allowed to twist the 
sliver in piecing. The comiber ten- 
der should take great care in putting 
in a new lap and not double the ends. 
The lap should be broken out and a 
new lap put in before the end leaves 
the spool, as it is sure to double up 
before it is drawn through the feed- 
roll and spoil the top comb. The 
has, from time to time, branded the 
letting of a lap run out on a card a 
crime, so the same can be said of a 
comiber, because the combing parts on 
a comber are still more delicate than on 
the card. In the comber, as on the 
drawing, if an end breaks on the table 
or in one of the pans, like a sliver 
breaking from the delivery of a draw- 
ing, it makes the resulting sfiver too 
light. When a sliver is pieced up, the 
defective sliver that has been delivered 
into the can for the period that the end 
was broken should be removed. 

Remember this, the amount of waste 
may be increased: First, by feeding 
later. Second, by closing the nipper 
later. Third, by setting the top combs 
at a greater angle. Fourth, by setting 
the top combs nearer to the fluted seg- 
ments. 

Also remember that curling is pro- 
duced because the leather rolls 
are badly covered or badly varnished- 
or short of oil, and the timing may 
not be right or the top rolls out of 
place, or not weighted properly. 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



261 



PRODUCTION OF COMBER. 

The production of a comber is gen- 
erally obtained by breaking the end ai 
the coiler and running the comber for a 
minute. The end is again broken 
and the amount weighed. Multiply 
the weight delivered in a ^minute by 
the number of minutes the comber is 
run and divide by 7,000. A certain 
per cent is aPowed for stoppages, and 
this allowance varies according to the 
number of operatives and the deliveries 
of the comber. However, 5 per cent is 
generally allowed. Example: If a 
comber will deliver 500 grains per min- 
ute, how many pounds will it deliver 
in a week of 58 hours? Sixty mul- 
tiplied by 58 mutiplied by 95 multi- 
plied by 500 divided by 7,000 equals 236 
nounds. No. 51. 



Lll. FURTHER COMBER SETTING. 

Proper treatment of the fibres 
while passing the combing field 
depends on two subjects closely re- 
lated to the m.achine and very im- 
portant to the success of the combing 
process. Most mill men conceive 
the idea that there is very little dif- 
ference between setting and timing, 
which are the two subjects that must 
be considered in the combing process. 
Setting m^ans regulating the distance 
between its working parts by dilT- 
ferent kinds of gauges as follows: (1) 
Comber gauge, which is about i inches 
wide, and usually about iy2 inches 
long, the blades at each end varying so 
as to obtain two different settings with 
the one gauge. The comber gauges 
vary from No. 12 to 28 in thickness. 
The gauges are numbered according 
lo a wire gauge and decrease in thick- 
ness as the numbers increase. (2) 
The step gauge consists of one piece 
with each successive step 1-16 inch 
thicker than the preceding one. The first 
step is generally i inch, second, 5-16; 
third, i; fourth, 7-16. It is usually 1 
inch wide. (3) The finger gauge con- 
sists of one piece, one end being 
straight, w^hile the other has a 
curved portion resembling the por- 
tion of the human hand between 
the thumb and forefinger. It is 
generally 3-16 inch in thickness. It 
is measured from the centre of the 



straight end to the centre of the curv- 
ed portion, the distance varying from 
II to 2 inches. (4) The quadrant 
gauge consists of a hai'p shaped piece 
with a plumb line hanging to the op- 
posite end which is fastened to the 
machine. The curved part on the 
side on which the line hangs is num- 
bered and indicates the angle of the 
top comb, which should be from 25 
to 30 degrees. (5) The 

CRADLE GAUGE 

cnusists of a casting having two bear- 
ing points for ths top comb to rest on, 
besides two set screws that bear 
against the blade of the comb. The 
top comb may be held at any angle 
by simply moving these set sere .vs. 
In other words, the cradle gauge is 
used to hold the top comb in position 
while it is being secured to , the 
comb arms. (6) The brush gauge 
is used for setting the brusn 
shaft the required distance from 
the cylinder shaft, and the shafts aie 
made to occupy a parallel position. 
The brush gauge consists of two cast- 
ings, one casting having a slot cut 
into one end for the reception of the 
set screw on the other casting, by 
which the gauge length can be in- 
creased or decreased. Timing is a 
process that is employed after all the 
parts are set. The fact that a comber 
is intermittent, makes necessary the 
adjustment of the cams, so that 
they will operate the different mo- 
tions, or bring into position the dif- 
ferent parts under their action. 

Very few persons in charge of comb- 
ers set alike, and it must be under- 
stood by the reader that the settings 
and timings on a comber vary under 
different circumstances. The set- 
tings and timings in these articles are 
aiven so that they may be used as a 
basis from which to work and obtain 
an approximate idea. 

The extensive correction of the un- 
evenness of the sliver ends at the 
drawing frame is the most im- 
portant point in a mill, to get even, 
smooth yarn. A drawing should have 
as many doublings as can be afforded, 
by running a light sliver with a short 
draft, and at least three processes of 
drawing should be installed in a 



262 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



print cloth mill, ivith six into one on 
pRch head. The object of the drawing- 
frame process is tlie elimination of 
irregularities found in the sliver. This 
is accoanplished (1) by doubling the 
slivers, the more doublings, as stated, 
the better; (2) by pulling the fibres 
from one another. The most of the 
fibres are made to lie in a parallel 



not used, then three processes would 
be sufficient. No. 52. 



Llll. STOP-MOTIONS. 

The most inexperienced help, as 
a rule, operate drawing frames, and 

the consequences are frequently disas- 
trous, because, as was pointed out on 




hig. 19. Drawing Frame with Electric Stop-motion. 



position, besides it reduces the un- 
evenness in the sliver and also reme- 
dies bad and faulty piecings made 
in the previous processes. Drawiug 
frames are the simplest machines in 
the niiii, and for this reason, theiir 
importance in the making oi even, 
smooth yarns is often overlooked. As 
stated, at least three processes of 
drawing should be placed in every 
mill. 

For fine counts, four processes 
should be used; that is, if combers are 



combers, if one end breaks from a de- 
livery, the resultant sliver is made too 
light, and, as we have pointed out, 
this defective sliver should be re- 
moved when the broken isliver is put in 
at the back. Inexperienced labor, as 
a rule, do not understand this impor- 
tant point, and it is up to the overseer 
to watch and see that this is done. 
The drawing frame (one head of four 
deliveries) electric stop-motion is 
shown in Figure 19. Figure 20 shows 
a drawing frame (one head of four 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



263 



deliverieis) mechanical stop-mations. 
Jt can be seen from the above that two 
Kinds of drawings are generally used 
in most mills, namely, the mechan- 
ical and the electrip-al. Both have their 
advantages and disau vantages. 

By referring to Figure 21. which 
pliows the sectional elevation of a 
drawing equipped with metallic rolls, 
it can be seen that on a drawing 



guide A to the dead and preventer 

rolls. The advantage here should be 
seen, because through the help of 
these two rolls 

THE DR.'^G 

from the can to these rolls is not as 
great as on the mechanical stop-mo- 
tion, and the weight of the sliver is 
not as greatly reduced. 




Fig. 20. Drawing Frame with iVIechanical Stop-motion. 



frame equipped with the mechanical 
stop-motion, the stock has to pass 
through a guide A, over a plate B and 
the spoon C, then over another 
guide plate to the back drawing roll. 
In this process, it is claimed that the 
drag on the sliver is so great that the 
weight of the sliver is reduced, es- 
pecially when the cans at the back of 
the drawing are nearly empty, thus 
making uneven yarn. 

On the electric drawing frame. Fig- 
ure 22, the stock passes over a 



Aga'n, with the mechanical stop-mo- 
tion drawing, if a heavy drawing 
sliver is run, the draft between the 
spoons and the back drawing roll is 
increased. This affects the sliver more 
as the back can becomes emptied on 
account of the greater distance from 
the cotton in the can to the spoon. 
The greater distance that the 
sliver has to be carried makes the 
sliver hug the bottom of the spcoi. 
It nan be seen that if the distance be- 
tween the guide and the can at the 



264 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



back was always the same, a draft be- 
tween the spoons and back rolls (al- 
though not gradual) would not affect 
the weight of the delivered sliver 
much, but, as stated above, the lower 
the cans are at the back, the lighter the 
delivered sliver. We know that many 
leaders will take exception with the 
writer for making 'SUch a statement. 
that exists in all processes of draw- 
ings often through its columns, and 
the readers were asked to size the 
finished drawing when all tna cans in 
back were full, and then size the same 
delivery when the cans in back were 
nearly empty. Surely we must be 



When deciding on the proper draft 
of a drawing frame, there are many 
points to consider: (1) the number of 
cards to one delivery; (2) the speed 
of the front roll; (3) the weight of the 
finished sliver. An ideal cotton mill 
should be equipped with one card to 
each delivery of drawing in order noi 
to have the draft exceed the doublings. 
When a mill has less cards 
than drawing frame deliveries, 
the sliver on the card, as a rule, is 
made heavy, which necessitates a 
longer draft on the drawing. On the 
other hand, when a mill has moie 
cards than deliveries' of drawing, the 




ELEVATION- 



Fig. 21. Drawing Frame — Sectional Elevation — Metallic Rolls. 



right, because most mill men do try 
suggestions, and this is the only way 
to 

IMPROVE THE WORK. 

If what we said was not true, many 
would have corrected us, and we al- 
ways invite our readers to do this. It 
should be seen from the above that 
the cans lunning in back of a drawing 
should not be allowed to empty to- 
gether. No. 53. 



LIV. MECHANICAL STOP-MOTION. 

The desired weight per yard 
of each sliver fed depends upon the 
doublings at the back of one delivery 
and the total draft of. the machine. 



front roll must be made to revolve at 
a greater speed, or the finished sliver 
must be made heavier, in order to put 
through the work of the extra cards. 
In the latter case, the speed of the 
front roll should be sacrificed instead 
of the draft, that is, instead of making 
the finished drawing sliver heavy in 
order to put through the work, run 
the front roll faster and make the fin- 
ished drawing sliver as light as pos- 
sible. 

When the speed is sacrificed, nothing 
will suffer other than the wearing of 
parts not given proper care. Whereas 
if the 

FINISHED SLIVER 
is made heavier (say from 60 to 75 



COTTON MILL MANAGEIMENT 



265 



grains per yard) the drafts in the next 
preparatory processes must be made 
correspondingly longer. Thus, the rolls 



of most uneven yarn. The Ameri- 
can Wool and Cotton Reporter has re- 
peatedly pointed out that a fin- 




in after processes are called on to do 
more work, which produces a greater 
amount of friction, which is the cause 



ished drawing sliver in any 
print cloth mill should not 
exceed 60 grains. What we have said 



266 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



about the cans emptying out together on 
the drawing can be tested by the reader, 
so also can our satements concerning a 
light sliver be proved^ — try it. It will 
make the bobbins more compact, which 
proves that the work is more even. 
When drafting a drawing frame equip- 
ped with metallic rolls, it must be 
remembered that an allowance should 
be made for the meshing of the flutes, 
because the diameter of the roll is in- 
creased. A l|-inch diameter roll, lb 
pitch, should be figured as ten-sixths 
inches in diameter; li-mch diam- 
eter roll, 32 pitch, should be 
figured as nine-sixths inches 
in diameter; li-inch diameter roll 
should be figured as eleven-sixths 
inches in diameter. In figuring the 
draft of the metallic rolls, for example, 
if you wanted a draft of 6, you would 
have a figured draft of about 5.5. So, 
in order to obtain the actual draft, a 
good rule is to add nine per cent to 
the figured draft. 

Following is the draft calculation of 
the common and metallic rolls of the 
Howard & Bullough drawing. 

THE CALCULATIONS 
will be of value to all who wish to use 
metallic rolls. The first figures 
are to be used in the draft calculation 
for metallic rolls, the second, for com- 
mon rolls. 

Calender roll diameter 3 inches, 
equals eighteen-sixths inches; cal- 
ender roll gear 30, front roll 
gear driving calender roll 19, 
front roll gear 22, crown gear 
PS, draft gear 46, back roll gear head 
end 71, back roll gear meeting with in- 
termediate gear driving electric roll 20, 
electric roll diameter 1| inches, fig- 
ured ten-sixths; intermediate gear 
meshing into back roll gear 30, inter- 
mediate gear meshing into gear on the 
♦^hird roll foot end 23, gear on second 
roll 30, intermediate gear meshing into 
gear on second roll 28, intermediate 
gear meshing into front gear foot end 
40, front roll diameter 11 inches, 32 
pitch, figured elevenrsixths ; second 
roll diameter, 1| inches, 32 pitch, fig- 
ured nine-sixths; third roll diameter, 
Ig inches, 24 pitch, figured nine-sixths; 
back roll diameter 11 inches, 16 pitch, 
figured ten-sixths; 18x19x98x71x20 di- 



vided by 30x22x1x27x10 eauals 257.53, 
draft constant; draft desired, 6.05; 
6.05X.91 equals 5.5, figured draft; 
257.53 divided by 5.5 equals 46.8, or 
47 draft gear must be used to give an 
actual draft of 6.05. As stated above, 
when the draft is figured at 5.5 to ob- 
tain the actual draft 5.5 times 1.09 
equals 5.99 or practically 6 of a draft. 

MORE CALCULATIONS. 

For common rolls: calender roll di- 
ameter 3 inches, calended roll gear 34, 
front roll gear driving calender roll 
16, front roll gear 22, crown gear 98, 
draft gear 60, back roll gear 65, back 
roll gear meshing into intermediate 
gear driving electric roll 24, electric 
roll diameter (and all other rolls) as 
given above, electric roll gear 24, in- 
termediate gear meshing into back roll 
foot end 30, intermediate gear meshing 
into gear third roll foot end 36, gear on 
third roll 24, gear on second roll 38, 
intermediate gear meshing into gear 
on second roll 24, intermediate gear 
meshing into front roll gear foot end 
40, front roll gear 20. 

EXAMPLE. 
24x16x98x65x24 divided by 34x22x1x24x9 equals 
draft 
3B3..^5. 
constant. 

363.35 divided by 60 equals 6.05 draft. 

The above figures will be found 
valuable to those changing from com- 
mon rolls to metallic rolls. The me- 
tallic rolls are increasing in favor, 
because they certainly do give a con- 
stant draft, and on heavy work this la 
attained with light weighting of the 
top rolls. No. 54. 



LV. STOP-MOTION OPERATION. 

Figure 21, as shown in our issue of 
November 10, represents a cross- 
section of one delivery equipped with 
mechanical stop motions. Each sliver 
(usually six in number) passes 
through the guide A, over the plate B, 
and the spoon C, each sliver passing 
over one spoon. The slivers next pass 
over another guide D, and then to the 
dra,wing rolls. From the drawing rolls 
the slivers pass to the trumpet E, 
where they are combined Into 
one, then through the calender rolls 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



267 



F and F-1, through the coiler tube G, 
into the can. The trumpet E is sup- 
ported by the lever, E-1. The spoon is 
supported at point 02, and is free to 
swing up or down, its lower end be- 
ing always slightly heavier than its 
upper end. As stated, the 

TENSION OF THE SLIVER 
passing over the spoon keeps the 
heavy end CI of the spoon out of con- 
tact with a projection on the arm 
C3, which being set screwed to the 
shaft C4, oscillates with that shaft. It 
can be seen then that when an end 
breaks, the end of the spoon 01 engages 
with the projection on arm 03, and the 
shaft C4, is prevented from oscillat- 
ing, which causes an arm to be forced 
against a casting, which indirectly 
ships the driving belt from the tight 
to the loose pulley. 

When the sliver breaks in front, 
the action is somewhat the same as in 
the back. A lever, E3, is pivoted at E5, 
and carries a weight E4, which tends to 
lower its outer end. The lever at its 
forward end carries a lug E2, that 
bears against the lever E7, carried by 
the lever El, which also bears against 
an adjusting screw E8, carried by the 
lever El, that supports the trum- 
pet. It can be seen that the 
action here is the same as in the 
back, because in case the sliver is 
running through the trumpet, it 
causes enough tension to hold down 
the lever E7, and as this lever rests 
on the lug E2, the weight, E4, is pre- 
vented from lowering the end of the 
lever E6, and it cannot engage the pro- 
jection on the arm 05. On the other 
hand, if the web should break, the 
outer end of the lever E3 is forced 
down by the weight E4, and E6 comes 
In contact with the projection on the 
arm C5, which prevents the shaft 04 
from oscillating, and stops the ma- 
chine, as explained. The drawing 
frame equipped with 

MECHANICAL STOP-MOTIONS 

stops automatically when the sliver 
runs out or breaks at the back, when 
the web breaks in front, and when the 
cans at the front become full. 

Only a brief description is given 
of the mechanical stop-motions, be- 



cause they are the oldest type of 
stop-motions, and are understood by 
most mill men. As we have stated 
before, our aim is to point out the 
defects existing in the differ- 
ent processes, instead of only ex- 
plaining the operation of ma- 
chines which are understood by almost 
all persons laboring in a cotton mill. 
The spoons C, Figure 21, are changed 
when the weight of the slivers are 
altered over 10 grains per yard. It 
should be seen that the spoons 
should be lighter at CI, when running 
a light sliver, and besides the spoon 
at C should be closed a little more. 
On the other hand, if the sliver is 
made heavier, the spoon should be 
opened a little more, and CI made 
heavier. 

If the same spoon running a light 
sliver is used for a heavy 
sliver, what we have pointed 
out about a draft being caus- 
ed between C and the back roll is 
true; because the smaller the cnannel 
in C the more resistance it gives 'to 
the sliver passing into it. Again, 
think what a distance the top of the 
can is from when using 12-inch cans. 
Such cans occupy a much larger floor 
space than the 10-inch cans, which 
makes the distance from the outer 
row of cans to C very great. Thus, 
even when the cans are all full, there 
is more of a drag on the outer row of 
cans, which makes the work uneven. 

No. 55. 



LVI. MECHANICAL STOP-MOTION 
DISADVANTAGES. 

But think, when standing at the 
back of a drawing equipped with me- 
chanical stop-motions, what a great 
distance the sliver has to be carried 
from the bottom of the can in the out- 
er row to C. As we have stated, if 
the skeptic would size the delivered 
sliver when the cans are nearly 
empty (especially when 12-inch cans 
are used), if he is a carder, he would 
not care to admit the variation. On 
the other hand, the writer has lately 
visited mills where a light carded 
sliver is run, which is the proper thing 
to do, but the spoon, if left at liberty, 
will continually be overbalanced on 



268 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



account of the ligM sliver decreasing 
the tension on C. So some mills "place 
a speeder bobbin between C and D, 
Figure 21 ; other mills cut broonii sticks 
in small lengths and use a wire passed 
through its centre, which serves as an 
axis for the small wooden roll made 
from the broom stick. The ends of 
the wire forming the axis are bent 
and fulcrumed at D, so that the small 
wooden roll will rest on the slivers 
between C and D. In other mills the 
writer found the same wooden roll, 
only instead of being fulcrumed at D, 
holes were bored into the plate at C2 
and they were fulcrumed at that 
point. 

The writer is willing to admit that 
the builders are not to blame for such 
existing conditions, because they al- 
ways have on hand 

THE PROPER SPOONS 
for any weight sliver generally used in 
cotton mills. And in justice to the 
overseers in some of the mills, the 
writer has visited, it must be said that 
they too are blameless, because the 
superintendent thought it was a waste 
of money to buy such spoons. Let 
us see the evil this defect will cause. 
It takes away the advantage the 
mechanical stop-motion has over the 
electrical stop-motion; that is, when 
the proper spoons are used, if the 
sliver running in at the back does not 
contain the necessary doublings of 
laps, which is termed single, 01 will 
overbalance C, I''igure 21, and the 
frame will continually keep knocking 
off until this defective sliver is re- 
moved. Thus it can be seen that when 
the proper spoon is used, it is im- 
possible to run single, a feature that 
makes the mechanical stop-motiou 
drawing superior to the electrical stop- 
motion at this point. On the 
electric stop-motion drawings, no 
stock whatever must be between the 
preventer roll and dead roll to enable 
the frame to stop. It can be seen 
that when using a bobbin or a wooden 
roll between C and D, that besides 
allowing the spoon to run single, the 
draft is increased still more at this 
point. It must be understood that 
what we have said regarding the ten- 
sion of the sliver increasing 



as the cans become lower, applies to 
the electrical stop-motion as well, only, 
as stated, this defect does not affect 
the sliver as much, owing to the 

AID IT RECEIVES 
from the preventer and dead rolls with 
the electric stop-motion. In most 
mills the writer has visited, the cans 
in back of the drawings running in one 
delivery, are put in altogether and 
they wonder why they have soft and 
hard bobbins on the speeders. One 
of the carders said that when all the 
cans were full at the back, he 
very seldom had a variation of more 
than one grain. I was ushered to the 
finished drawing, and here he sized six 
deliveries separately. Following are 
the weights of the slivers in grains: 
65, 65, 65, 64, 65, 64. I admitted that that 
was very good, and for his own good, 
I asked that he size the same slivers 
when nearly empty. This was done 
with the following results: weight in 
grains, 61, 62, 63, 61, 61 and 63. 
There was a difference of 17 grains 
in six yards of sliver from full 
and nearly empty cans. 

When sizing, some carders gather 
all the slivers of one head together, 
placing them on a measuring board 
then cut and weigh in bulk. In this 
case the bad work of a single delivery, 
caused by a lap on the back rolls, or 
the rolls not being properly oiled, or 
the weight hooks haviilg been dis- 
turbed, or one of the deliveries not 
having the proper number of slivers 
at the back, is not discovered. If 
the slivers are weighed separately 
and any of the above evils 
should exist, the sliver will be either 
too light or too heavy. The rolls pro- 
ducing a sliver not of standard weight, 
should receive immediate attention in 
order to locate the cause. No. 56. 



LVII. SIZING THE SLIVER. 

When sizing the drawing sliver, the 
cans at the back should be examined 
to see that they all empty in intervals, 
that is, when running six into one, one 
can should be 1-6 full, the next 2-6 
full and so on. They should be 
arranged so that when the six cans 
of the previous process are doffed, the 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



269 



six cans will be put into six deliv- 
eries. This is the only way to keep 
the work even. For instance, assum- 
ing that a certain mixing of cot- 
ton is very fluffy, which all carders 
know makes the work run very light, 
it can be seen that when the carded 
slivers are made lighter by such a 
mixing of cotton and put up at the 
back together, the variation in 
front of the first process of drawing 
is six times greater. 

Again assuming that all the slivers 
from the first head of drawing are put 
into a delivery in the second head of 
drawing, it cah be seen that the de- 
livered sliver is made very much light- 
er than the other slivers on the same 
head. 

On the other hand. If the six cans 
were divided and one can put into 
each delivery, as stated above, the 
variation -will be slight. So it should 
be seen from, the above that it Is this 
variation in the sliveris that causes 
hard and soft bobbins which makes 
the warping very bad. 

Again, when sizing, if 

THE SLIVER 
delivered is from nearly empty cans, 
the sliver will show light, which is 
very misleading. The gears are 
often changed to make the 
work heavier, then when the 
sliver is again sized and the cans at 
the back are nearly full, the sliver 
will be found too heavy and the gears 
are changed back again. This makes 
very uneven work. If every carder 
will arrange the drawing cans so they 
vill empty in intervals, it will be 
found possible to obtain an even 
sliver. But, as stated above, it is a 
good method to examine the cans in 
back every time the drawings are 
sized, and if all the cans are found to 
be running low at the same time, the 
tender should be made to understand 
the variation this arrangement will 
cause to the finished sliver. Changes 
should be made at the finisher draw- 
ing as much as possible, because 
changing draft gears on fly and jack 
frames causes more or less cut roving, 
due to the back lash in the 
gears, besides changing the diameter 
of the .roving during^ the building ol 



a set often necessitates changing the 
rack gear. Drawing tenders should 
be trained so as not to make piecings 
that are too long at the back, because 
such piecings will extend through the 
drafts in the after processes and will 
make heavy lengths of yarn that can 
be detected in the cloth. Some mills 
change from a heavy to a light sliver 
without considering the size of the 
trumpet. 

When changing from coarse to fine 
work, and the drawings are not 
equipped with trumpets (a mistake, 
the builders are continually making 
by not having changeable trumpets), 
the plates should be bored and a 
trumpet made of brass inserted. For 
50 to 60 grain sliver, the hole in the 
small end of the trumpet should be 
five thirty-seconds inches in diame- 
ter; for 65 to 80 grain sliver, 
three-sixteenths inches in diame- 
ter. Having the proper size 
trumpet is important, because 
a large hole in the trumpet will 
allow bunches and clearer waste to 
follow the sliver to the can. On the 
other hand, a small hole will allow 
only the passing of the sliver, besides 
condensing it. No. 57. 



LVIII. .DRAWING FRAME DEFECT. 

A great mistake that is made in the 
construction of a drawing frame (ma- 
chine builders take notice), is in 
having the end of the trumpet too 
near the bite of the calender rolls. 
What we mean is that when a strong, 
wiry cotton is used, the distance be- 
tween the end of the trumpet and the 
bite of the calender rolls is so small 
fugually one inch, which is shorter 
than the average staple) , that the eon- 
tact of the two calender rolls which 
form the bite is not sufficient to either 
break or pull the heavy defective part 
through the trumpet, with the fol- 
lowing results: that the surface of the 
two calender rolls only slips over the 
part of the sliver held between the cal- 
ender rolls, the resistance offered by 
the trumpet combined with the 
strength of the staple preventing the 
trumpet from operating the stop- 
motion on the mechamcal drawing, 



270 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



and also on the electric drawing, by 
the calender rolls being kept out of 
contact. All carders know that this 
defect is the cause of most all bad 
roller laps that result in the bending 
of the drawing rolls and the breaking 
of gears. When the 

CALENDER ROLLS 
fail to break the sliver between the 
end of the trumpet and the bite of 
the calender rolls, and the trumpet 
becomes clogged up, the web accumu- 
lates, until caught by either the top 
or bottom front rolls, with the results 
as .stated above. If the machine 
builders would increase this distance 
by making the tube in the trumpet 
shorter by one-fourth of an inch, most 
of this knocking-off failure would 
be eliminated. The writer experi- 
enced the above trouble, but fortunate- 
ly the trumpets were made of brass 
and inserted in the holes in the plates 
instead of only having holes in the 
plates iserving as trumpets. One- 
quarter of an inch can be cut off 
each trumpet, with the result that not 
a single drawing roll will be sent to 
the machine shop to be straightened. 
Another important point to watch 
about the drawing, is the 
tendency of drawing frame tend- 
ers to pass the cans from the first 
process to the third, skipping the 
second process. If the second process 
that is skipped has a draft equal to 
the first process, it will not make 
any difference to the ultimate weight 
of the yam, but if the frame skipped 
has a different draft, the omission of 
this process is serious and causes 
much uneven work. In either case 
this should be branded as a crime. 

No. 58. 



Lix. Electrical stop-motion 

In considering the electric stop-mo- 
tions, the reader should give some at- 
tention to certain laws of electricity, 
in order to understand how it is pos- 
s'ble to apply this class of stop-mo- 
tions to cotton mill machinery. The 
action of the ,stop-motion is dependent 
upon some suitable apparatus, which 
generally consists of a small dyna- 
mo placed on a mill post above the 
frames. By referring to Figure 



22 (in our issue of November 10), A 
is one terminal of the generator, and 
B is the other. There are two classes> 
of substances, conductors and non- 
conductors: (1), a conductor is a sub- 
stance through which an electric cur- 
rent can readily pass; (2), a non-con- 
ductor is a substance that offers great 
resistence to the flow of electricity. 
Metals are good conductors, while 
glass, oil or cotton are non-conductors. 
The electric current must flow from 
one part of the dynamo througJi the 
electro magnet T, Figure 22, through 
the various connections and back 
again to the dynamo in order to have 
a complete electrical circuit. By re- 
ferring to Figure 22, the parts that 
be seen that the cross section of the 
by means of Insulations (indicated by 
of drawing rolls, and the back calen- 
der roll M, are all directly connected 
to the framing of the machine which 
in turn is connected to terminal B. 
The parts that have their cross sec- 
tion double lined, as the front calen- 
der roll L, the preventer roll C, and 
the cover or top clearer H, 
are all connected to pole A. By 
have their cross section single lined, 
drawing is divided Into two parts 
such as the dead roll E, the four sets 
again referring to Figure 22, it can 
the solid black portions). One part, 
as stated above, is connected to the 
magneto through the down rod A, and 
the other part through the down rod 
B. 

It will be seen that in case of 
each stop-motion the parts are kept 
from coming into contact by cotton 
passing between them (cotton being 
a non-conductor), the circuit is not 
completed, and the magnet will not 
attract the finger U into engagement 
with revolving clutch V. On the other 
hand, if any part of one pole is 
brought into electrical contact with 
the other, the electric current is com- 
pleted, allowing the current to flow 
through magnet T, which attracts 
finger TJ into engagement with re- 
volving clutch V, and by a mechanical 
arrangement, shifts the belt on to 
the loose pully. The magnet box is 
bolted to the framing of the machine. 
The block B, Is Insulated from th« 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



271 



magnet box by a fibre insulator which 
is placed between the block and the 
magnet box, and also by a fibre bush- 
ing for the reception of the bolt that 
fastens the block to 

THE MAGNET BOX 
A spring J is fastened to the fram- 
ing. Between the spring Z and J, is 
an eccentric Y, which serves for what 
may be termed a switch, because when 
the frame is running, Y is in contact 
with both springs. As the machine 
stops, the movement of Y takes it out 
of contact with Z, but should always 
be made to press against Y. The 
spring J, as stated, is bolted to the 
framing and is not insulated from 
it. As cotton is a nonconduc- 
tor of electricity, it can plainly 
be seen that when cotton passes be^ 
tween dead roll E and preventer roll 
C it insulates them, as it does also the 
calender rolls M and L, and prevents 
any electrical connections. On the 
other hand, if the frame is in opera- 
tion and a sliver should break or one 
of the cans at the back should become 
empty, it can be seen that the preven- 
ter roll C would come in contact with 
the dead roll E, which will allow a 
current to flow through the magnet 
T, which attracts finger U into en- 
gagement with revolving clutch V, 
and by mechanical means, the driv- 
ing belt is shifted onto the loose pully. 

The finger U is supported by a small 
wire, which is set-screwed to it, and 
is free to swing. The distance be- 
tween the core of the magnet and 
the finger should be about one-eighth 
of an inch. This will be close enough 
to attract the finger, and at the same 
time allowing enough space so that 
the lower end of the finger will en- 
gage the revolving clutch V. 

When the finger U engages revolv- 
ing clutch V, the 

CLUTCH WILL STOP 
at the point of engagement if the 
magnet is set so as to give enough 
space for the finger to be drawn far 
enough. This throws out the back 
half of the clutch of which it is a 
part. If the magnet is set too close 
to the finger, the engagement of the 
finger and clutch will not be as ©ef- 



fective, owing to its swinging space 
being reduced. When such conditions 
exist, much single is allowed to run 
through. 

The back part of the clutch, when 
thrown out, comes in contact with 
a forked sliaped lever supported and 
fastened to the cross shaft. When 
this forked lever is forced back, 
the shaft is turned slightly, which in 
turn acts on a linkage, which moves 
the shipper and stops the frame. 

No. 59. 



LX. ELECTRICAL STOP-MOTION 
TROUBLES. 

When the shaft is turned 
slightly, Y is thrown out of 
contact with spring Z. It must be 
understood that in order to operate 
all other heads, the circuit at this 
point must be broken as soon as a 
short circuit has stopped the machine, 
because from what we have said 
above, it should be seen that if the 
circuit was not broken between Z 
and J, a steady flow of electricity 
would be passing through the magnet 
when the frame is stopped, which 
would rob the other heads from the 
current necessary to attract the finger, 
with the result that, owing to the weak 
current, a frame would run a con- 
siderable length of time, in some case? 
the current being so weak as to nor 
attract the finger at all. Sometimes 
the cotton laps around the rolls in 
such a way that screw K comes In 
contact with the cotton, and is kept 
insulated from the roll. When this 
happens, the frame may run until 
the consumption of .power is too great 
for the small driving belt, and the 
frame stops with the driving belt on 
the tight pulley. Thus Y is in con- 
nection with both spring Z and J. If, 
with the machine in this condition, 
anything connects electrically the two 
parts of the machine which are nor 
raally insulated from each other, a 
short circuit results, which, as stated, 
robs the other heads of the necessary 
power to draw the finger and knock 
off the frame. 

The writer has seen 

THE OVERSEER, 
second hand and grinder hunt a long 



272 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



time to locate the cause of all the 
heads having no power, when the 
above condition was the cause of all 
the trouble. Another cause for 
trouble of this kind when the frame 
is stopped, is by Y being 
moved slightly to occupy an- 
other position on the shaft, so as 
to keep it in contact with springs 
Z and J at all times. It pays to watch 
Y and see that it clears Z when the 
frame is stopped. 

As the frame stops, the part X 
forces the finger U away from the 
clutch, which leaves the clutch free 
to turn when the frame is again 
started. The underclearer P presses 
against the bottom electric roll E. In 
case the cotton laps around E or P, 
-he screw Q is lifted and touches the 
back plate G, which completes the 
circuit, and the frame knocks off. The 
top clearer cover H has a screw K on 
the underside. If the cotton laps 
around the top or bottom front roll, 
the top roll is lifted and comes in 
contact with screw K, which completes 
the circuit and the frame is knocked 
off. When the cans at the front are 
full, the cotton presses against the 
co'ler top N, is lifted into contact 
with the spring O, and the circuit is 
completed, thus stopping the machine. 
If the frame continually stops, the first 
ihing to do is to raise all top clearers, 
and to try the machine with the 
clearers raised. If the machine does 
not knock-off with the covers raised, 
then lower the covers, one at a time 
until the cover making the trouble 
is found, when the screw K should 
be then adjusted. On the other hand, 
if the frame continues to knock-off 
with the top clearers rapped, then the 
preventer rolls C should all be re- 
moved, and if this stops the trouble, 
they should be placed in position one 
by one, until the roll making the 
trouble is reached, when the guide 
D should be so set as to keep it in 
a proper position. 

THE CHIEF TROUBLE 
in the operation of the electric stop- 
motion, is short circuits, either in the 
machine itself or before the current 
reaches the spring J. If the wires A 
amd B come in contact, or if a con- 



ductor is accidentally laid on the 
frame so as to connect the two poles, 
the generator is short-circuited, and 
every drawing frame connected with 
the current, will fail to stop. In such 
a case, the first thing to do is to place 
a piece of metal between the insula- 
tion bodies (a good place is between 
the conductor A and the magnet box) 
and if sparks can be obtained, they in- 
dicate that the dynamo is in proper 
order. The second thing to do is to 
disconnect all the feed rods A at every 
head, taking care that the end of the 
feed rods are clear from any part of 
the drawing frame. Then connect the 
feed rods one by one until the head of 
drawing causing the trouble is de- 
termined. A drawing frame, which 
keeps stopping when the feed rod 
is connected, indicates that it is the 
head causing the trouble. The rod 
should be disconnected again, and 
that certain frame left stopped until 
repaired. 

It should be seen that the stop-mo- 
tions on a drawing frame are impor- 
tant agents for the eveness and quality 
of the work, and it is the sensitiveness 
of the stop-motions that makes the 
most even finished sliver. No. 60. 



LXI. DRAFTING CALCULATIONS. 

As we have said in the beginning of 
these articles, the writer assumes 
that the reader is familiar with cot- 
ton mill machinery. But for the bene- 
fit of those that are familiar with 
cotton mill machinery and who do 
not understand the art of drafting, 
we will fully explain it here. 
We have given elsewhere the different 
methods of drafting, and the rule 
for calculating one machine is the 
same as for others. When drafting 
a machine, consider the back roll a 
driver. For instance, when drafting 
a drawing, multiply the diameter of 
the calender roll, and all the driving 
gears together and divide this product 
by the product of the diameter of the 
back roll and all the driven gears. 
The draft of the latest type of draw- 
ings is in four places, between the 
back and third rolls, the third and 
(usual the break draft) second rolls, 
the second and first rolls, and bet^ween 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



273 



the front and calender rolls. All be- 
ginners learning drafting should first 
find the draft between the rolls, and 
then multiply these drafts together to 
obtain the total draft. All learners 
should know that the total draft is the 



using the gearing connecting the two 
rolls we have 30x26x33 divided by 28x 
20 equals 45.95 plus revoluitions of the 
third roll; 11 (inches) x3.1416 equals 
4.3197 circumference of the back roll; 
li (inches) x3.1416 equals 3.5343 cir- 




Main Shaft 



SO— mill I III 



nil 



Fig. 23. Drawing Frame — Diagram of Gearing. 



product of these, and not the sum, 
as many bel'eve. Referring to Figure 
23. the draft between the fourth and 
third roll is 9x33x26 divided by 
20x28x11 equals 1.253 draft. To prove 
the above draft, find the surface speed 
of the back roll and divide into the 
surface speed of the third roll. 
CALCULATION. 
For the convenience of calculation w« 
will assume that the back roll is mak- 
ing 30 revolutions per minute, then 



cumferemce of the third roll; 30x4.3197 
equals 129.591 inches delivered in one 
minute by the back roll; 45.95x3.53- 
43 equals 162,401 inches delivered in 
one mnnute by the third roll; 162.40 
divided by 129.591 equals 1.253 draft 
between the back and third roll, thus 
proving the draft at this point. 

It can be seen from the above 
that any beginner can employ the 
above method which will give him con- 
fidence when otherwise he may be in 



274 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



doubt of ttue figured draft. Such 
methods should be used in textile 
schools; that is, eivery student should 
learn not only going one way, but 
should be able to come back and prove 
his figures, besides employing a 
second m:ethod described above to 
prove the figured draft. Some may 
say that such methods take up too 
much time, but it .should be remem- 
bered that the above method is used 
only to find the constant draft, be- 
cause if the constant is wrong, you 
are all wrong. The draft between the 
third and second roll is obtained by 
the diameters of both rolls, and fol- 
lowing the driver and driven gears. 
Be sure, when drafting, to put the 
second roll diameter on the divi- 
dend line. 9x28x20x100x60x28x20 divi- 
ded by 32x37x24x44x26x33x9 equals 
1.753 draft between the second 
and third roll, which is known as 
fhe break draft. Next we find the 
draft between the second and first 
roll: 11x37x32 divided by 20x28x9 equ- 
als 2.584 draft. The draft between the 
calender and front roll: 16x30x24 div- 
ided by 24x45x11 equals .969 draft. 

DRAFT CONSTANT. 

Then to obtain the total draft: 
1.253xl.753x2.584x.969 equals 5.4998 or 
5.5 total draft. To prove the above 
figure, the draft from the calender roll 
to the back roll, 2x30x24x100x60 divi- 
ded by 24x45x24x44x11 equals 5.509 
total draft. As stated, the best meth- 
od is to first find the draft constant 
and prove the draft constant found 
by the method given above; then the 
constant can be used for a dividend. 
To find constant call draft gear 1. 
2x30x24x100x60 divided by 24x45x24x1 
xli equals 242.42 draft constamt. Di- 
vide back gear into constant to obtain 
the draft: 242.42 divided by 44 equals 
5.5 total draft. If a draft of 5.5 is desir- 
ed, divide the draft desired into con- 
stant to ohtain the draft gear: 242.42 
divided by 5.5 equals 44 draft gear. 

The reader will notice that there is 
only a draft of .969 between the front 
roll and calender roll. Such a draft 
is only possible when a very 
heavy sliver is run. The gear 30 can 
be changed from 30 to 33 on common 
rolls, the lighter the sliver and the 



less friction on the front roll, the 
larger the gear used must be to take 
up the amount delivered by the sur- 
face of the front roll. This is a prob- 
lem that many do not understand, that 
is, to have the figured surface speed 
of the front roll (as above) greater 
than the surface speed of the calen- 
der roll. The American Wool and Cot- 
ton Reporter has continually pointed 
out this evil which is the cause' ot 
so much uneven work in a cotton 
mill. Such conditions are not found 
when using metallic rolls, and for this 
reason they are preferred. If the 
reader will go back to our article 
entitled, "The Well-managed Mill 
and the Ill-managed Mill," he 
can then form an idea as to 
what happens between these two rolls 
when the finished sliver delivered 
weighs 85 grains to the yard. When 
a draft less than one exists between 
the front roll and calender roll, owing 
to the frictional contact not being posi- 
tive between the front steel and 
leather roll caused fy running a heavy 
sliver, it can be noticed that such a 
draft exists. When the frame 
is started, the slivers 

WILL SLACKEN 
sl'-ghtly and the sagging will disappear 
iis soon as the front roll is at full 
speed, when the friction is felt on 
the web. The reader can prove what 
we say here is true, by proving the 
draft here, as between the last and 
Ihird roll giVan above: li (inches) 
X3.1416 equals 4.3197 circumference of 
Ihe front roll. 2 (inches) x3.1416 
equals 6.2832 circumference of the 
calender roll. Now it is assumed, as 
ia the previous example, that the front 
toll is making 30 revolutions per min- 
use: 30x24x30 divided by 45x24 equals 
20, speed of calender roll; 4.3197x30 
equals 129.591 inches, delivered by the 
front roll in one minute. 6.2832x20 
equals 125.664 inches delivered by the 
calender roll, which is less than the 
number of inches delivered by 
the front roll. It can be seen 
that there must be a great 
deal of friction on the front roll 
to cause the front leather roll to lag 
behind to enable the calender rolls 
to .takei in all the web delivered: 



A 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



276 



125.664 divided by 129.591 eiquals .969 
draft. No. 61. 



LXII. RULES AND SUGGESTIONS. 

The reader should see that metaliio 
rolls should be used on all machin&s 
previous to the speeders. And, as stat- 
ed, if the reader will refer back to the 
issue of the American Wool and Cot- 
ton Reporter which contains the ar- 
ticles of "The Well-managed Mill, and 
the Ill-managed Mill", he will find 
what we have said is true, and that 
such articles help many mills where 
the management is willing to reason. 
Again, we say if you have a sliver 
weighing over 60 grains per yard at 
your finished drawing, reduce it at 
once, even if you are compelled to 
install more deliveries of drawing. All 
mills running a light finished drawing 
sliver, are well repaid in after proc- 
esses, for reasons we have explained 
elsewhere. 

By what has already been said, it 
can be seen that the four lines of 
rolls are driven at a different speed. 
The object of this variation in the 
surface velocity is to procure a con- 
tinuous attenuation of the sliver as 
it passes, and of course, the amount of 
attenuation depends entirely upon the 
ratio of variation. 

Now if the above is true, and it 
surely is, the reader should see 
that when leather covered rolls are 
used, the proper attenuajtion be- 
tween the calender and first roll is 
not oibtained as when using me- 
tallic rolls; thus, it oan be seen that 
an even strand with leather rolls is 
an impossibility, unless a 
VERY LIGHT 

sliver is ruiL 

It is customary to have the greater 
part of the draft between the front 
and second rolls, as oan be seen by 
referring to figured drafts. The rea- 
son for this is that the sliver is bulky 
and a slight draft between the first 
pair of rolls first acting upon the cot- 
ton compresses and flattens out the 
sliver, then between the second and 
third roll the slivers are drawn a 
little more, and this gradual accelera- 
tion results in the establishment of 



an approximately parallel order, which 
enables the front rolls to perform a 
better attenuation. An excessive 
draft at any point upon the sliver 
would be destructive to the staple. 
Too great a draft will cause cut 
drawing slivers, ©specially when the 
draft is excessive between the front 
roll and calender roll. In order to 
test, if there is too much draft be- 
tween the front and calender rolls, 
place a lead pencil under the web 
and raise or lower it. If the slack 
is taken up quickly, it indicates too 
much draft. This trouble is felt more 
in damp weather, because the fibres 
are more coherent and harder to 
draw when in this state, which causes 
friction on the front roll, which in- 
creases the draft at this point. On 
the other hand, om account of 
having to b© drawn through a 
small hole in the trumpet, the least 
expansion will make the hole smaller, 
which causes the web to sag slightly. 
The writer knows carders that have 
increased the draft between the front 
and calender rolls on hot summer 
days^ on account of the 

WEB SAGGING 
slightly, and when the atmosphere be- 
came dry, they forgot about it, and 
the consequence was a cut web. If 
a web will sag and run all right on 
a drawing or card, it should not be 
disturbed. 

In starting a room or changing over 
from very coarse to fine work, 
most carders find it diflBcult to find 
the proper drafts on each head to 
give the proper weight sliver at the 
finished drawing; therefore, we give 
the following rule: 

RULE. 
Multiply the hank drawing in- 
tended by the doublings and divide by 
the hank carding, extract the cube root 
from quotient, and the answer will be 
the draft that should be on each head 
to give the desired finished drawing. 
Example, 60 grains sliver desired at 
the finished drawing from a 50-grain 
card sliver: 8.33 divided by 50 equals 
166 hank carding; 8.33 divided by 60 
equals .138 hank or finished drawmg 
wished. Three processes of drawimg, 



276 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



©ach delivery containing 6 doublings, 
6x6x6 equals 216x.l38 equals 29.808 di- 
vided by .166 equals 179.56; cube root 
of 179.56 equals 5.64 draft tha<t should 
be on each head of drawing. 

To prove the above, work it out in an- 
other way: thus, 5.64x5.64x5.64 equals 
179.406144; 179.406144x.166 divided by 
216 equals .138 hank drawing. 

The best method to find the produc- 
tion on a drawing frame is to first find 
the constant for production, and then 
the production is always 

EASILY FOUND. 
Multiply the circumference of the 
front roll by the minutes the front roll 
is run, divide by 36 (inches) and 840. 
Diameter front roll IS (inches) x3.1416 
equals 4.3197 circumference. 56x60 
equals 3360 minutes in a week. 4.3197 
x3360 equals 14514.192 divided by 36 
equals 403.172 divided by 840 equals .48 
constant. Now divide the hank sliver 
into constant, and multiply by the rev- 
olutions of the front roll and the quo- 
tient will be the production turned 
off one sliver 100 per cent. 

Sixty grain sliver, 8.33 divided by 60 
equals .138 hank sliver; .48 divided by 
.138 equals 3.47. Revolution of front 
loll 400; 3.47x400 equals 1,388 pounds 
in 56 hours from one sliver. Then mul- 
tiply the weight turned one sliver by 
the total number of deliveries 
to get the total production. We 
give no per cent allowance, because 
the allowance made depends on 
the skill of the drawing tend- 
er, also the number of deliveries 
the tender is called on to operate, the 
weight of the sliver, and the speed 
of the front roll. When running a 60- 
grain sliver on all heads, however, 5 
per cent is a good allowance with a 
good draw-in tender. No. 62. 



LXIII. FURTHER SUGGESTIONS. 

It should be remembered that a high 
speed on a drawing does not always 
pay. There is a limit to the capacity 
of a drawing frame like every other 
machine, beyond which the work 
don'p deteriorates or the excessive 
number of stoppages, through break- 
ages and stock running out, prevents 
any advantage helng gained by axi 



excessively high speed. Because the 
operation of a drawing is simple, due 
to the simplicity of the different mech- 
anisms, the drawing frame is often 
abused and neglected. The back of 
each drawing frame requires watchful- 
ness on the part of the overseer or 
second hand to see that no dirt and 
waste accumulates between 

THE SPOONS 
on the mechanical stop-motion draw- 
ings, because when the spaces be- 
tween the spoons are clogged with 
dirt and waste, and an end is light. 
or even when the sliver breaks, the 
spoon will not drop immediately, 
which causes single in the delivered 
sliver. Crossing the ends should not 
be allowed at the back of a draw- 
ing, because the ends will not be 
separated as they should be at the 
guide, which causes one end to ride 
another. On the 

ELECTRIC STOP-MOTION 
the dead roll should he examned 
often to see that no waste has gath- 
ered between it and the preventer 
rolls, because from what we have said, 
it should be seen that any cotton or 
waste at this point will insulate the 
dead roll and preventer rolls. The 
switch Y, Figure 22 (as shown in our 
issue of November 10), should be 
wiped and also the springs on 
each side of Y. The finger should 
be removed often and Tviped, 
because oil, as a rule, accumu- 
lates very fast between the finger and 
the magnet, which makes the stopping 
of the frame less reliable. A good 
method is to wipe all the fingers every 
Monday morning in order to make 
the stopping of the frames more sen- 
sitive. 

Sometimes the calender rolls 
are not allowed to come together, ow- 
ing to the driving gears 

BEING CLOGGED 
up with dirt. Sometimes it is the 
cause of a little slackness in the bolt 
that holds the rolls together. The 
turn tables that turn the cans should 
also be cleaned every four weeks, be- 
cause when waste accumulates under 
the turn tables, it gives the can an 
angular position, which causes much 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



277 



breaking back of the sliver at the 
slubber, and it causes the can to 
rail from under the coiler, when nearly 
lull. Electricity will give a great deal 
oi trouble at times, especially at the 
tube of the coiler. When the coiler 
tube is cold, it offers much resistance 
to the passage of the slivers, which 
continually keep clogging up between 
the top of the tube and the calender 
rolls. Then instead of using a soft 
wire hook to remove the cotton col- 
lected at this point, the teinders usually 
use their fingers which makes mat- 
ters worse. 

When the tube of any coiler keeps 
giving resistance to the passage of the 
stock, the best method is to cover 
part of a broom handle with flannel 
and use whiting or graphite freely. 

The stick should be worked in the 
tube with quick strokes in order to 
beat the tube as much as possible. 

The flannel on the top clearer should 
be moved a little every month, so 
that the same part of the flannel will 
not bear on the front roll. This will 
save the flannel; besides, having an- 
other part of the flannel bear on the 
front roll, it will keep it much cleaner. 
Tcp clearers for the rolls should re- 
ceive more attention than they gen- 
erally do in most mills, because if 
tlie waste is allowed to accumulate, 
and is not removed from time to time 
as it should, much cleaner waste will 
follow the - web if the hole in the 
tnimpet is large. No. 63. 



LXIV. DRAWING AND TWISTING 
PROCESSES. 

The scheme of operations of slub- 
bing and roving are defined as draw- 
ing and twisting processes. The slub- 
ber like the drawing frame attenuates 
or di-aws out the strands. The slub- 
ber is the first stage in the formation 
of the twisted thread to which the 
name of "roving" is given. The mat- 
ter of twisting and winding the 
twisted strand on suitable bobbins is 
simply to facilitate the subsequent 
processes. The twist given is only suf- 
ficent to impart a certain cohesion 
and strength to the roving which will 
enable it to withstand the unwinding 
of itself at the next process. Even- 



ness of roving has always been a sub- 
ject of importance, and a most potent 
factor in the production of good yarn 
and cloth. Much has been said and 
written upon uneven roving caused 
by disarrangements of the preparatory 
machines, hut too little attention has 
been given to a thorough understand- 
ing of the working parts of the ma- 
chines. 

After the sliver has been formed 
at the finisher drawing, it is still too 
bulky and must be 

FURTHER ATTENUATED 
by the slubber and fly frames. As 
this sliver has to be reduced in 
weight in about the proportion (for 
fine work) of 150 to 1, it will be seen 
that it would be impossible to per- 
form this drafting by one process, 
and thus the cotton must pass through 
three or more machines. What we 
mean by too little attention 'being given 
to a thorough understanding of the 
working parts, is that most carders 
give very little attention to the most 
important parts of the slubbers and 
fly frames, which are the cones and 
connections from the bottom cone to 
the bobbin, and between the second 
Con a slubber) and first rolls. The 
cones and their connections which 
regulate the tension will be explained 
later. 

As we have stated many times, 
the drawing sliver from the finisher 
drawing should never exceed 60 grairs 
per yard in a print-cloth mill, and for 
fine work, would be too heavy; there- 
fore, we give the following as an ex- 
ample. Suppose as we have pointed 
out in the article of the Ill- 
managed mill that the finished 
drawing weighs 8'5 grains per 
yard, and it is desired to make 
a .57 hank slubber roving. A draft 
of 5.83 is the proper draft to 
make .57 hank from an 85-grain sliver 
not considering the twist per inch, and 
the friction between the second and 
first roll. Referring to Figure 24. 
which is a slubber draft most com- 
monly used in most print cloth mills, 
we find the draft between the last 
and the second roll 25 divided by 23 
equals 1.08. The draft between the 
second and first roll 5.37. 1.08x5.37 



278 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



equals 5.85 total draft, or 10x100x56 
divided by 40x30x8 equals 5.83 total 
draft. 

In times past, many mill men have 
taken exception with the writer 
because he advocated a draft of six at 




DRAFT GEAR^'l 
FRONT ROLL I 'A 



Fig. 24. Slubber Draft Gears. 

each head of drawing. The writer 
visited some of these overseers and 
found a draft of 5.83 

ON THE SLUBBER. 
Now readers, let us reason together 
and let me ask if it is not more in- 
jurious to the staple to have a draft ot 
5.83 on the slubber than it is to have 
a draft of six on the drawing frame? 
It. is possible to have a draft of six 
on the latest type of drawing frame 
and still at no point between the 
lines of rolls will the draft exceed 
three, which is always greatest be- 
tween the second and third rolls, 
and between the other pairs seldom 
exceeds 1.5. It can be seen from 
the above that the very men that O'b- 
ject to having a draft of six on the 
drawing which does not exceed 3 be- 
tween the second and first roll, will 
bave a draft of 5.83 on the slubber, 
which exceeds five between the sec- 
ond and first roll. What we have said in 
the articles on drawing (frames 
should be rememibered here, that 
H,n excessive draft at any point be- 
tween the rolls is very injurious to 
the staple, especially when the sliver 
is bulky. 

It must be admitted that the finished 
drawing sliver contains as many 
fibres in its cross-section as the 
carded sliver, and surely if we are 
wrong by advocating a draft of six 



amount, it must be remembered that 
on the drawing, it is doubly wrong 
to have a draft of 5.83 on the slubber. 
Mill men must agree that the Amer- 
ican Wool and Cotton Reporter has 
pointed out one of the worst evirs that 
ever existed in a cotton mail whea it 
advocated not having the hnished 
drawing heavier than 60 grains per 
yard. No. 64. 



LXV. MISTAKES IN DRAWING 

Again we ask the mill men to con- 
sider this point for their own 
benefit. If a sliver is drawn six by 
four lines of drawing rolls, and an- 
other sliver is drawn 5.83 by three 
Lnes of rolls, both having the same 
r umber of fibres in their cross-section, 
it can be seen that the staple in most 
cotton mills is injured. What we have 
said above can easily be proven by 
mill men, that are running a heavy- 
finished drawing sliver, by making a 
light carded and 

FINISHED DRAWING 
sliver not to exceed 60 grains. Just 
run only one drawing of each process 
for a trial and notice the difference 
in the compactness of the roving be- 
tween the bobbin containing the rov- 
ing made from an 85-grain sliver, and 
the roving made from a 60-grain sliver. 
If the above is tried, it will be found 
that a bulky finished drawing sliver 
is very detrimental to the making of 
an even compact strand of roving. 
No mill man can deny that a heavy 
finished drawing sliver demands more 
unnecessary work from the drawing 
rolls in after processes, which causes 
more frictional contact between the 
leather and steel front roll. A 
heavy sliver offers so much iresis- 
tance to the top leather roll that its 
surface speed is unable to follow the 
surface speed of the steel roll, thus 
lagging behind and straining the 
strand and many times breaking It. 

The friction between the first and 
second roll on a slubber must be double 
that on the drawing frame, because, be- 
sides acting on a sliver having the same 
number of fibres in its cross-section 
with only three lines of rolls and draw- 
ing the strand to almost the same 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



279 



there is only one weight of 18 pounds 
on the front roll, while on the drawing 
front roll, there are two 24-po'und 
weights, making a total of 48 pounds. 
Of course, many readers will consider 
the numher of slivers that the front 
roll on the drawing acts upon, which 
is usually six. It must be remembered, 
however, that the diameter of the top 
roll on a slubber is much smaller than 
the drawing front roll, and that the 
smaller the roll, the smaller the 
working surface offered to the bottom 
siteel roll. The reader must under- 
stand that we recommend a short 
draft at the slubber for the reasons 
explained; that is, that three lines of 
rolls are called upon to do the work 
that is usually done with four lines of 
rolls when a strand contains a large 
number of fibres in its cross-section. 
On the intermediate, a draft of 5 to 
.5.5 is about right, while on the fly 
frame and jack, a draft of 6 to 7 gives 
good results. 

It may be asked if a draft of 5.37 
between the first and sfecond roll will 

INJURE THE STAPLE 
at the slubber, why it is that we advo- 
cate a draft of 6 to 7 on the fly and 
jack frames? We have already ex- 
plained this elsewhere, but will further 
explain here. We have said many 
times that the staple is injured when 
the strand is bulky, because it neces- 
sitates an excessive draft, which pre- 
vents the flbres from freeing them- 
selves owing to so many fibres being 
acted upon and too great a length 
made from one inch of strand. It can 
be seen from the above that the slub- 
ber is the machine that should have 
the shortest draft. To prove the 
above, if you are running a heavy- 
finished drawing sliver, weigh your 
slubber roving at doffing time and 
notice the variation and you will agree 
that the American Wool and Cotton 
Reporter has pointed out the 
worst evil existing in most mills to- 
day. No 65. 



LXVI. DRAFT AT FLY FRAME. 

On a fly frame, a draft of 6 or 7 is ad- 
vocated, because, although the oppor- 
tunity is taken in multiplying the 



strand by running two into one at 
che back, it must be understood thai 
owing to the small number of fibres 
contained in the cross-section of the 
two strands, veiry little resis- 
tance is offered to the front roll. 
The front roll is usually weighted 
with a 14-pound weight, and if the 
strand in back has the proper turns 
to the inch, a maximum draft of seven 
win not injure the fibres if the rolls 
are properly set. On the other hand, 
if the rov-ng fed in contains too much 
twist to the inch the action between 
the rolls will be almost like that of 
a bulky sliver, because the turns in 
the roving will prevent the flbres from 
freeing themselves, and if the fibres 
are not strong enough to stop the 
front roll, they are broken. Some- 
times the staple is very strong, which 
stops the front roll and makes what 
is termed a hard end. The draft on 
a slubber should never exceed 4i, 
which will make .61 to .62 
hank roving from a 60-grain sliver. 
A .62-hank slubber roving (two into 
one) at the intermediate calls for 
about 5.3 draft, for making 1.65 hank 
intermediate roving. 

A 1.65 intermediate hank roving 
(two into one) at the fine speeder, 
calls for about 6.5 draft for making 5.5 
hank roving. A 5.5 hank roving (two 
into one) at the rig frame for mak- 
ing 28s yarn calls for a draft of al- 
most fourteen. No 

ALLOWANCE IS MADE 
for twist and friction, which will be 
explained later. The figures given 
are simply to show how the proper 
drafts can be obtained from a 60-grain 
Sliver. By referring again to Figure 
24, it can be seen that with a total 
daft of only 4.5 at the slub- 
ber there is still a draft of about 4.2 
between the first and second rolls. 

A much larger draft exists be- 
tween the first and second rolls of any 
drawing frame of the latest type, or 
drawings that consist of four lines of 
rolls' in operation in most cotton mills. 
We are willing to admit, that as a 
general rule, it is not always possible 
for most carders to arrange a series 
of slubber and fly-frames so as to give 
the best theoretical drafts, because 



2S0 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



one process must keep up with an- 
other, and the carder must arrange 
the dralts so that the production at 
each process wui balance that of the 
other, and to do this, the drafts often 
have to be excessive. When a carder 
is forced to have excessive drafts, he 
should acquaint the superintendent of 
existing conditions, and then he is 
blameless for the uneven w^ork. 

Some overseers when changing the 
drafts of different machines, are con- 
tinually running to the superintendent 
for new gears, when at the same time 
if they understood how different trains 
of gears give the same draft, they 
could make the gears on hand avail- 
able. The following calculation will 
give an idea how 

ALMOST ANY GEAR 
can be used by changing the train of 
gears to obtain any desired draft. For 
example, suppose that we have a 50 
gear oh the back roll of a machine, 
.and a 40-draft gear meshing with the 
back roll, which are the only change 
gears on most frames^ the hank rov- 
ing sizing 4.40 hank and should size 
4.50 hank, either the draft gear or 
the back roll gear must be changed. 
Again, suppose that we have no 
gears on hand larger than 50. ani! 
the 39 gears are in use, it can be 
seen that it is impossible to change 
either gear to give a 4.5 hank 
roving. The first thing to do is to find 
the gear that will make 4.50 hank rov- 
ing by proportion. We will calculate 
the back roll gear and we have 4.40 
divided by 4.50 equals 50 divided by X 
from which X equals 51. To get the 
total draft, we multiply the back roll 51 
by the crown gear 82 and the diameter 
of the front roll for a dividend and 
divide by the diameter of the back 
rrll multiplied by the draft gear and 
front roll gear: 51x82x10 divided by 
9x40x18 equals 6.45 draft that must 
be on the frame to produce 4.50 hank 
roving. As stated before, we are not 
supposed to have 51 

BACK ROLL GEARS, 
Fo we change the train of gears to 
obtain a new draft constant. First 
find a new draft constant by putting 
on a back roll gear that will make 



the gears on hand available. In this 
case we put on a 48-back roll geaj 
and we have 48x82x10 divided by 95 
1x18 equals 242. 9G new draft constant 
Now divide the draft required tc 
make 4.50 hank (which is 6.45J intc 
the new constant: 242.96 divided by 
6.45 equals 37.65 or 38 draft gear. 
It can be seen from the above thai 
with 38 drafts, gears that could not 
be used are now made available hi 
changing the draft constant. The 
overseer who has charge of all the 
carding of a large plant may simplify 
his work by having a chart of draft 
constants and drait gears or twist 
constants and twist gears, so that 
when gears are changed the chart can 
be changed accordingly, and the draft 
and twist per inch is always known 
on every machine. Such a chart will 
be shown when we give the lay-out of 
the coarse, medium and fine goods 
mills. No. 66. 



LXVII. OBJECT OF FRAMES. 

All machines classed under 
the head of fly-frames are practically 
of the same type of construction. The 
only difference is that the slubber 
has no creels, besides the machines, 
from the slubber to the fine speeders, in 
certain parts are made smaller, which 
is necessary, in order to accommo- 
date the decreasing size of the bob- 
bin. The first machine is known as 
the slubber, the second as the inter- 
mediate and the third (when running 
very fine work) as the second inter- 
mediate, the fourth as the fine speeder, 
and the fifth as the jack frame. The 
objects of fly- frames are (1) the 
evening of the strand fed in, which is 
accomplished by doubling; (2) the re- 
duction of the thickness of the strand, 
which is accomplished by roll drafting 
as was explained elsewhere; (3) the 
twisting of the strand, which is ac- 
complished by the spindle being made 
to revolve at a greater number of 
turns than inches delivered by the 
front roll, and (4) the winding of the 
roving on a bobbin, which is accom- 
plished on the 

LATEST TYPE SPEEDERS, 
by having the surface speed of the 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



281 




282 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



bobbin exceed the speed of the flyer 
in the same proportion as the stock 
.s delivered by the front roll at all 
times. 

Figure 25 shows a front view of a. 
slubber, while Figure 26 shows the 
front view of a fly frame. The draw- 
ing rolls of a slubber may be either 
of the common type or metallic, and 
from what has been said it should 
he seen that a slubber should be 
equipped with metallic rolls when the 
drawing sliver exceeds 60 grains- 

From the drawing rolls, the sliver 
passes to the flyer, which can plainly 
be seen in Figures 25 and 26. The 
flyer consists of a boss that contains 
a hollow portion for the reception of 
the spindle top, two legs, one solid 
and the other hollow, in which the 
sliver passes, and also to which the 
pressor flnger is attached. The solid 
serves only to balance the other leg. 
and also flyer, which prevents it from 
shaking. The top of the boss is made 
smooth, and contains a hole on each 
side in which the strand is passed 
to the hollow leg, and to the pressor 
finger. The pressor finger has Its 
inner part flattened and a guide eye 
is cut into the palm. The pressor is 
attached to the hollow leg in such 
a manner that when the spindle re- 
volves at a high rate of speed, the 
finger will hug the bobbin. The hor- 
izontal part, that is, the finger of the 
pressor, is of such a length that the 
guide eye cut into the palm always 
comes about opposite the centre of 
the bobbin at the beginning of the 
bobbin or set. From what has been 
said, it can be seen that the strand 
Is first passed through the top hole 
through the hole on one side of the 
boss to the hollow leg, then from 
the bottom of the hollow leg wound 
around the pressor flnger twice and 
then inserted in the eye. As there 
are different types of flyers, an ex- 
planation of their advantages and dis- 
advantages will follow. No. 67. 



LXVIII. FLYERS. 

Although there are many tyoes of 
flyers, it must be understood that they 
are all carefully constructed of such 
a quality of material as will take and 



maintain a high polish, so that the 
parts of the flyer over which the coi- 
ton passes will be perfectly smooth. 
W'hen the hollow leg of a flyer Is 
roughened either by not being smooth 
or by contracting a little rust caused 
in some mills where humidifiers are 
run when they should be stoppea, 
there is a tendency to develop friction 
as the roving passes down the hol- 
low leg of the flyer. The flyer mostly 
used is called the Bodden flyer, which 
is the type described at the beginning 
of this article. 

As we have said, the centrifugal 
foi'ce causes the finger to exert a 
slight continuous pressure on the bob- 
bin. This is accomplished on the Bod- 
den flyer by having the excess weight 
of the vertical rod, which is cast with 
the finger, a greater distance from the 
spindle than any other part of the 
flyer, which is sufficient to overcome 
the centrifugal force of the flnger, and 
the finger constantly hugs the bobbin. 
Of late, many mill men have discard- 
ed the Bodden flyer, and they are now 
using a new type called "drop" presser, 
shown in Figure 29. 

It is claimed for this new flyer that 
where it is employed a longer bobbin 
can be used, and that the longer the 
shown in Figure 29. 

MAY BE WOUND 
thereon, and the larger the full bobbin, 
the more economically can it be used 
in making yarn and cloth. Some mills, 
in order to make a longer bobbin, have 
had a new drop presser attached to 
their old flyers. 

It is also claimed that by having 
the arm carrying the finger bent, so as 
to enable the finger to travel in a con- 
siderably lower horizontal plane than 
the lower end of the hollow leg, that a 
thread rest is formed which lessens the 
sharpness of the bend in the roving, 
so that the friction on the roving Is 
decreased as it leaves the hollow leg 
on its way to the hole in the pad or 
finger. Again, it is claimed that by n ^ 
decreasing the bend or angle in the fl,; 
roving, being drawn from the end of ^ 
the hollow leg to the flyer head by 
bending the hollow leg to a less ex- 
tent over the lower end of said hollow 
leg, reduces the friction of said roving 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



283 




284 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



on the usual sharp corner at the lower 
end of the leg. Again, it is claimea 
that it reduces the tendency of the 
roving to fly outwards and thus escape 
the threading slot of the hollow leg of 
the flyer. In considering the first 
claim. It must be remembered that if 




Drop Presser Flyer. 



the weight of a bobbin is increased by 
winding on more stock, that more 
twist to the inch must be inserted In 
order to unwind it at the next process 
without breaking, that is, if the strand 
contains the same 

NUMBER OF FIBRES 
in its cross-section. With the drop 
presser flyer not only the inoreasea 



weight must be overcome, but the an- 
gle of draw is more acute in the spin- 
ning creel, being made so by the In- 
creased length of the bobbins. A 
greater strain is, therefore, placed 
upon the roving when the bobbins have 
become unwound to say from a third 
to the empty bobbin. It can be seen 
from the above that the front roll 
speed must be decreased, which de- 
creases the production correspondingly, 
and what is gained by making a longer 
bobbin is lost in the speed of the 
front roll. The second claim is wrong, 
both in practice and theory, to reduce 
the friction between the lower end ol 
the hollow leg of the flyer and the 
finger, because in most all cotton mills 
to date the end is wound around the 
arm twice before it is inserted into 
the eye of the finger, which is the 
proper thing to do. The reason that 
the strand is wound around twice is to 
increase that which the drop press flyer 
decreases; that is, to increase the fric- 
tion between the lower end of the hol- 
low leg and the finger, which is neces- 
sary to form a compact roving. 

The next claim is that the bend ot 
the hollow leg at the head of the flyer 
is lessened, and as the curve is lessen- 
ed, the friction is lessened at the sharp 
turn at the bottom of the hollow leg. 

Now, if the friction is lessened at 
the head of the flyer, and also at the 
bottom of the flyer, how is it possible 
to make the claim that the roving does 
not have the same tendency to fly out- 
wards? Because it should be seen that 
the more friction at the head of the 
flyer and also at the bottom Is going 
to make the strand hug 

THE INNER SIDE 
of the hollow leg. On the other hano, 
it should be seen that the less friction 
at each end of the hollow leg, the 
more freedom the strand has to vibrate 
inside the hollow leg, and at times 
escape the threading slot of the flyer. 
Again, it should be seen that in order 
to construct a compact bobbin there 
must be a certain amount of resistance 
offered to fhe passage of the strand in 
order to create a pull so that each 
coil will be laid as close as possible to 
the previous coil on the bobbin. Now, 
to do this, the friction upon the strand 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



285 



must be applied at the proper place, 
a feature that the drop presser flyer 
eliminates entirely, because if the fric- 
tion is removed from every part of the 
flyer that comes in contact with the 
strand, it should be seen that the pull 
is then betw^een the bite of the front 
roll and the eye in the presser finger. 
Again it should be seen that when the 
pull has such a field the strand 
is liable to be only strained, and ow- 
ing; to the lack of friction at the boc^ 
torn of the flyer, the strained part of 
the strand is wound on the bobbin 
and afterwards run through the spin- 
ning and spooling, and the real trouble 
is felt on the warper owing to the 
stretching field found on all warpers 
on account of the spools being a 
great distance from the beam. 

No. 68. 



LXIX. THE DUNN FLYER. 

The Bodden flyer shown in Figure 
27 is so constructed that a quar- 
ter circle bend is formed at the 
head of the flyer so that the pull at 
the bottom of the hollow leg will make 
the strand hug the inner side of the 
hollow leg if the proper tension on 
the frame is maintained. At the bot- 
tom of the hollow leg is found more 
friction or pull, which again causes 
the strand to hug the lower end of 
the hollow leg. Thus, it can be seen 
that friction is necessary in order that 
the strand will not escape the thread- 
ing slot ol the flyer. As stated, the 
strand is wound around the arm twice 
before it is inserted in the eye of the 
rad or finger. 

By winding the strand around the 
arm twice, friction is caused which 
creates a pull between the surface of 
the bobbin and the eye of the presser 
and causes a slight, continuous 
>ressure on the surface of the bobbin 
which lays the last coil from the front 
roll close to the previous coils. This 
necessary friction between the lower 
end of the hollow leg of the fiyer 
to cause a pull between the surface of 
the bobbin and the pad le^ 
to the invention of another type 



shown in Figure 28, which is known 
as the Dunn fiyer. This type of flyer, 
which is the latest, is so constructed 
that instead of having two legs It 
consists of what may be termed two 
wings, one wing being solid to bal- 
ance the other wing which is hollow 
and contains a threading slot and also 




Fig. 27. Bodden Flyer. 

carries a presser that is fulcrumed ai 
the lower end of the hollow wing ana 

FREE TO SWING 

thereon, so that its position can be 
increased outwardly as the diameter 
increases. By referring to Figure 28, 
it should be seen that this type oi 
flyer does not occupy the space that 
other types occupy, owing to its pe- 
culiar construction, and the space oc- 
cupied by the two legs of other types 
is filled with coils of roving on this 
new type. The reader's attention is 
called to the coniiparison of the num- 
ber of ounces of stock possible to be 
wound on this new type, and the num- 
ber possible to be wound on other 
types. On a flyer 11 by 5i, 
of the new type, 65 ounces of 
combed stock is possible to be wound 
on the bobbin, while on other types, 
the largest bobbin that can be made 
with the same gauge fiyer is 38 ounces. 
Of course, the reader must understand 
that sometimes more ounces than given 
above can be wound on the bobbin and 
sometimes less, because spongy cotton 
will increase the diameter of the bob- 
bin with less stock, while on the other 
hand, wiry stock will make the strand 



286 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



harder and the weight of the bobbin 
is increased with a much 

LESS DIAMETER. 

occupied by spongy cotton weighing 
much less. 

It would be thought that what was 
said about a larger bobbin made by 
the drop pressor flyer holds good 
here; that is, the heavier the bobbin 




Fig. 28. The Dunn Flyer. 

the more twist must be inserted in the 
strand in order to unwind itself at the 
next process. This is not true with 
the Dunn flyer bobbin. The bobbin 
is increased in' diameter which gives 
an increased leverage, which aids in 



turning the bobbin, and it is found 
by actual tests, that twist does not 
have to be inserted. 

As we said before, the advantage of 
having the friction at the proper place 
led to the invention of the Dunn flyer, 
because, by referring to Figure 28, it 
can be seen that the presser serves as 
a leg, and that the presser foot is made 
to press upon the surface of the bobbin 
by the centrifugal force that tends to 
make the weighted upper part of the 
presser fly outwardly. Thus, it can be 
seen that the distance between the foot 
of the presser and the surface of the 
bobbin is much less than the length 
of any staple. Again, it should be seen 
that wherever the strand comes in 
contact with the flyer before it reaches 
the foot, it simply receives a support, 
without drag. 

It should be seen from the above 
that the improvement that makes this 
new type of flyer possible to wind al- 
most twice as much stock as can be 
dons on other types is that the fric- 
tion upon the strand is in only one 
place (See Figure 28B), and 
that is where the distance is 
shorter than any staple that can 
be used. So it can be seen that much 
tension can be maintained at the 
Iiroper place without injury to the 
strand, which enables it to lay the 
coils closer to one another, and a much 
larger number of coils are laid on the 
bobbin with the same gauge than 
is possible on other types of flyers. 

There is one claim, however, 
made for the Dunn flyer that 
is hard for manufacturers to under- 
stand, viz.: That with the Dunn flyer 
a better quality of goods is obtained, 
and it must be remembered that the 
Brdden flyer does not injure the stock, 
but if the principle of the Dunn is 
Ptndied carefully, it will be seen that 
it is possible to produce a very much 
evener roving. This is owing to the 
feature before mentioned of the fric- 
tion being applied at one place and 
that, next to the bobbin and within 
the length of the staple being 
run. That is the feature that 
is making this new type so popular. 
as a firm bobbin is constructed 
unequaled by any other type, with a» 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



287 



easj"^ tension above the foot of tne 
pressor. 

We have noticed of late that mani' 
writers claim that in order to use the 
Dunn flyer successfully, the cones 



would serve for all kinds of flyers, 
and we have been led to believe thi 
is a truism, because one type of 
flyer has been in use for so many 
years that it has been accepted as the 




Fig. 28A. A Dunn Flyer with Empty Bobbin. 



must have a different outline. At first, 
one would think that ttis is erroneous, 
because cones that have a true out- 
line to obtain the intermediate speeds. 



standard. But there is a difference 
even in the same type of flyer, as 
no two builders make them exactly 
alike, even if they look alike, and 



288 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



flyers built by different flyer makers 
of the same type will not run success- 
fully together upon the same frame 
in many cases. 
The reason for a 

DIFFERENT OUTLINE 

of cone, when the Dunn flyer is used 
is. that the pressure of the presser 



tube, tO' the bobbin. As the bobbin 
fills up, this angle changes from acute 
to nothing, so that when the bobbin 
is full tha presser leg is nearly per- 
pendicular; this changing of position 
does not in any way affect the support 
of the strand, or the friction on 'the 
strand as it pasises through the 
two eyes of the presser foot; 





Fig. 28B. Dunn Flyer Presser Foot. 



foot is greater upon the empty bobbin 
than it is upon a full one. This same 
feature occurs in all types of flyers, 
but is more more marked in the Dunn 
flyer. 

In looking at Figure 2 8 A, it will be 
seen that when the bobbin is empty, 
the presser leg is at an angle, from 
the joint upon the end of the hollow 



thus the tension remains the same 
throughout the building of a bob- 
bin. This tension, as said before, 
and as shown in Figure 28B, is the 
feature of the Dunn flyer, as it serves 
to make a firm bobbin with the tension 
applied at the proper place. 

In referring to Figure 28 A again, 
it will be seen that wnile the presser 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



289 



foot is upon the empty bobbin that 
part of the presser that is above the 
joint is far out, and at its extreme 
distance from the centre of the spin- 
dle; therefore, when the frame is 
started at speed, the centrifugal force 
is exerted at its maximum, which 
creates considerable pressure upon the 
condensed strand. As the bobbin fills 
up this pressure decreases until the 
presser leg has reached a perpendicu- 
lar position, at which point the pres- 
sure is nil. 
It is this 

VARYING PRESSURE 

upon the strand that calls for a differ- 
ent outline on Dunn cones. 

This presisure acting in addition to 
the natural draw of the flyer produces 
a very firm and compact bobbin with 
a good foundation upon which to build 
subsequent layeriS- This pressure r^ 
duces the thiclcness of the layers when 
the bobbin is ismall, so that more lay- 
ers are needed to make a given 
diameter of bobbin than with any 
other kind of flyer. When the bobbin 
is most full the pressure being de- 
creased, as it should be, the number 
of layers corresponds very nearly with 
those that other types of flyers lay on. 

All writers upon cones leave the 
reader to assume that the diameter 
of the strand is the same from an 
empty to a full hobbin. They are 
right, for the diameter does not 
change, but the pressure of the pres- 
ser foot does reduce the thickness of 
the layers, so that the bobbin does 
not increase In diameter in the pro- 
portion that we are lead to believe. 

To assume that the thicknesses of 
the layers are the same at both an 
empty and a full bobbin is neces- 
sary when starting to lay out a pair 
of cones; in doing so, we will then 
get an approximate outline. To get 
the true outline, a bobbin of roving 
must be considered layer by layer, 
and the cones as a continuous string 
of separate pairs of pulleys, one pair 
to be used for each separate layer 
upon the bobbin. However, this will 
be explained more fully later. 

No. 69. 



LXX. CARE OF FLYERS. 

The boss of the flyer is tapered and 
has a wire pin fitted. into holes bored 
in the sides of the fiyer. The spindle 
is also tapered and a slot is cut in its 
upper end that is made to fit the wire 
pin in the boss of the flyer. 

When the pin in the boss of the flyer 
is worn or the slot in the top of the 
spindle, the flyer is free to turn slight- 
ly. This slight movement of the flyer 
causes the fiyer to work itself up, and 
when the carriage is working up, it 
will in most cases work the fiyer still 
higher on the top of the spindle. 

This will cause the flyer to vibrate 
and as the gauge on most all speeders 
is narrow the flyer is struck by the 
other revolving flyers, and in most 
cases it will fall among the 
other revolving flyers, with the result 
that it is broken besides break- 
ing the other flyers. The real cause 
of the flyers coming off and falling 
among other flyers in most mills is 
mostly due to the dryness of the spin- 
dle top and the boss of the flyer. 

In some cases it will be found that 
the spindle tops have contracted rust, 
As the flyers have to be removed at 
every doff it can be seen that if the 
spindle tops do not receive 

PROPER CARE 

the pulling off of the flyer so often 
will wear the inner side of the boss, 
the spindle top, and also the pin in the 
boss of the flyer. It should be seen 
that in a short time the surface of the 
spindle .top and the inner side of the 
boss becomes uneven, causing vibra- 
tion, with the result that the flyer will 
work its way to the top of the spin- 
dle and fall among other flyers as was 
explained. All flyers in a cotton mill 
should be swabbed out every four 
weeks and the spindle tops should be 
oiled every Monday morning. It is a 
very small matter to have a speeder 
tender raise the flyers off the back 
row of spindles and add a little oil at 
the first doff every Monday morning. 
Once the above system is put into prac- 
tice, it will be found that the flyer 
bill will be greatly reduced, and the 
spindle tops always in good condition 
and free from rust. 



290 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



One good point we want to give 
when a flyer bothers by contin- 
ually working its way up on the 
end of the spindle, is to remove the 
pin in the boss that will be found 
slightly worn and fit another pin in its 



position being at a greater distance 
from the centre of the spindle, with 
the result that they are in most cases 
detached, and they too fall among 
other revolving flyers and many are 
broken. No. 7fl 




IL 



']■«■>■ 



place that will fit the slot in the top 
of the spindle if it is also slightly 
worn. Another bad practice found in 
many mills Is in spreading the legs of 
the flyers in order to increase the di- 
ameter of the bobbin. In most cases 
it does not pay, because the pressor 
rods strike one another, owing to their 



LXXI. SPINNING ROOM TROUBLE. 

The footstep in which the spindle 
rests is often neglected in many mills. 
They are generally oiled once a month, 
but often many spindle steps 
do not receive any oil once in two 
montbe. 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



291 



To prove what wg say here needs 
only the visit to some cotton mill that 
has been running ten to twenty years, 
and if the spindle steps have been 
neglected, the spindles on each frame 
will, in most cases, all have a different 
height. When spindles have a different 
height, it becomes almost impossible 
to make a traverse of a proper length, 
without bending the pressers up or 
down. When the spindle steps are in 
such a condition, and it is impossible 
to make a long traverse, the best thing 
to do is to line up the spindles. This 
is done by using washers which 
may be made with a belt punch 
the same diameter as the hole in the 
footstep for the reception of the spin- 
dle. Cut leather washers and insert 
them in the footstep until the spindle 
is the same height as the highest spin- 
dle. There is much to be gained by 
making the spindles all one height, be- 
cause this makes a long traverse pos- 
sible. A long traverse means less dof- 
fing and less creeling in the next proc- 
ess, and 

LESS CREELING 

means less waste, because a certain 
amount of roving is generally pulled 
off. There are various types of 
footsteps, some are just bored to re- 
ceive the spindle, while others have 
holes drilled through partitions - be- 
between reservoir and bearing, so that 
oil entering the bottom of the bearing 
is siphoned back into the reservoir 
through the top. It is claimed for this 
new spindle step that the only loss of 
oil is that caused by wearing out anfl 
evaporation, which, it is claimed, is 
very slight. Some types of steps have 
a hook cast that fits over the teeth of 
the spindle gear. The object of this 
hook is to prevent the spindle from 
raising when the flyer is pulled off at 
dofling time. 

There is no doubt that such a de- 
vice does save the wood casings of the 
speeder, but on the other hand, it is the 
cause of many fires that offset the first 
advantage. All practical mill men 
know that when a bobbin is badly 
built and the upper coils protrude to 
the spindle and are wound thereon, 
no harm will result if the rail is go- 
ing down. On the other hand, if the rail 



is making its upward movement, and 
the coils are wound tightly around the 
spindle and the spindle is held in place 
by the hook, it can be seen that the 
upward movement of the rail forces 
the top of the bobbin on th© coils, and 
as the bobbin is made of wood and the 
coils composed of cotton, 

THE BOBBIN REVOLVING, 

at a greater speed will result in much 
friction, which in most cases causes 
fire. We have a mill in mind where 
such fires occurred so frequently that 
the superintendent ordered all hook» 
on the footsteps broken off. 

The bolster that supports the spindle 
in a vertical position requires a little 
attention, because if it is not cleaned 
once every year the dirt that will 
collect in that period, combined with 
the speed of the spindle, will csiuse 
the spindle and bolster to heat. When 
several spindles are heated, the spin- 
dles and bolsters expand and much 
resistance is offered to the revolving 
spindles, in addition to that offer- 
ed to the bobbin rail when making 
its downward movement. Sometimes 
some spindles get heated to such an ex- 
tent that the bolster must be removed 
from the frame in order to extract the 
spindle from the bolster. The car- 
riage or bobbin rail is run by the cone 
belt, and any unnecessary strain upon 
the carriage acts correspondingly on 
the cone belt, and any resistance offered 
to the cone belt means a slack and ir- 
regular tension which makes the work 
run badly. All bolsters on all speeders 
in a cotton mill should be scraped and 
cleaned at least once every year. 

Besides removing much 

UNNECESSARY WORK 

from the cone belt, it will be found 
that very few skew and bobbin gears 
will be broken. Here is another de>- 
feet we wish to point out to mill men, 
and that is the putting on of split 
skew gears in the place of a broken 
gear. We have s^een as many as fifty 
split skew gears on the bobbin gear 
shafts. Of course, when a split skew 
gear is put on the spindle shaft, the 
resistance is offered to the driving 
belt, but with a large number of split 
skew gears weighing almost double 



292 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



the weight of a single piece skew gear, 
it can be seen that much resistance Is 
offered to the cone belt, which affects 
the tension. The bobbin that fits the 
bolster should be of the same diameter 
as the other bobbin on the frame. 
When ordering bobbins, a bobbin gear 
should be sent to the bobbin shop with 
a bobbin that fits the bobbin gear and 
bolster and the bobbin should be of a 
proper diameter. Bobbins having a 
different diameter cause a great loss 
in production, because the surface 
speed of the front roll and the excess 
surface speed of the bobbin over the 
flyer should be equal, and if bobbins 
of different diameters are used, the re- 
lationship of the surface speed of the 
front roll is destroyed on all bobbins 
not having a proper diameter, thus 
causing some ends to become too tight, 
or too slack, making waste, because 
the layers on such bobbins are cut off, 
besides losing production. The inside 
of a bobbin should touch the bolster 
slightly, because if the bolster fits the 
bobbin tightly it will continually raise 
on the bolster and give much trouble. 
To prove the above, insert a little 
M'aste inside of a bobbin and it will 
be found that as soon as it revolves it 
will raise on the spindle. No. 71. 



LXXII. STAPLE AND TWIST. 

We have explained how the drag or 
friction on a flyer will make a hard 
bobbin. But it must be understood 
that the strand that forms the coils 
in the above explanation is supposed 
to contain the proper amount of turns 
to the inch. No matter how much the 
finger is caused to press on the sur- 
face of the bobbin, if the strana 
which forms the coils does not have 
the proper turns to the inch the bob- 
bin will be soft. The amount of twist 
that should be inserted in a certain 
hank roving is an important consid- 
eration, and it is something that can- 
not be learned from a book or textile 
school. The proper amount of twist 
that should be inserted in roving or 
yarn is obtained only by experience, 
judgment and diligent study. 

We like to see a carder that will 
sample a bale in the mixing room and 



tell us whether it will lose twist or 
gain twisc. Such a carder is worth 
his weight in gold to a plant, because 
if he can judge the number of turns 
to the inch that should be inserted 
for different mixings, he will turn off 
a larger and better production. For 
instance, let us suppose that one 

MIXING IS COMPOSED 
of wiry cotton which requires less turns 
to the inch than fluffy cotton, which has 
few convolutions, and that it is run 
through without changing the twist per 
inch. The roving will be too hard again 
when put up at the next process, 
the fibres cannot free themselves so 
easily, and many are injured. We have 
explained elsewhere how a long staple 
or a strand containing too much twlsi 
to the inch will cause many hard ends, 
owing to the construction of the fibre 
or strand offering too much resistance 
to the front roll. On the other hana, 
in the above case, if the carder changes 
the twist gear to increase the speed 
of " the front roll, a strand 
consisting of a better drawing 
quality is produced, besides increasing 
the production. Hard ends should be 
eliminated as much as possible, because 
on a speeder one hard end will sweep 
down a dozen other ends, and they 
are the cause of many fires in the pick- 
er room. 

When the cotton Is fluffy, it will 
act opposite to the above, and more 
twist should be inserted in the rov- 
ing. This is where a good carder again 
proves his worth by inserting the twist 
in time to save breaking back in the 
next process. In some mills, the twist 
gears are not changed once a year, and 
the overseers in thoise mills think 
it is to their credit. It should be seen 
that twist suitable for June would not 
be suitable for August, or vice versa. 
So, in order to suit the atmospheric 
condition, we change the twist gears. 
Besides the atmospheric condition, the 

CONSTRUCTION AND LENGTH 
of the staple should be considered, as 
was explained elsewhere. 

It will be seen that the twist should 
be changed often, sometimes for eacft 
mixing. But in the majority of mills, 
the twist gears are changed twice a 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



29ti 



year, thus inserting more twist in ttie 
roving in summer than in winter. 
Practical men will agree with the 
writer that, in most mills, the twist is 
only changed twice a year, which is 
the proper thing to do, because we 
are willing to admit that more, twist 
should be inserted in the roving In 
summer and less in winter, but there 
is no reason why a carder should not 
feel of his roving every day, and if 
it is found hard, have the twist 
gears changed. Of course, twist is not 
the only cause for a hard bobbin, for 
when the work becomes very heavy, 
it will cause hard bobbins too. 
The reason for this Is that 
when the strand is heavy it con- 
tains more fibres in its cross-section, 
and, of course, all practical men know 
that the more fibres a strand contains 
in its cross-section, the less twist to 
the inch should be inserted. In such 
oases as above, it can be seen that the 
diameter of the strand is increased, and 
the twist per inch, by remaining the 
same, causes the strand to become 
harder. 

The strand, besides being harder. Is 
of a larger diameter, and this makes 
the diameter of the bobbin larger, 
which makes the 

SURFACE SPEED 
of the bobbin slightly greater than the 
surface speed of the front roll. It 
should be seen that when the surface 
speed of the bobbin is slightly greater 
than the surface speed of the front 
roll, a pull on the strand always 
exists, which makes a hard bobbin even 
though the proper turns are inserted 
in the strand. In considering the twist 
per inch, it should be understood that 
the strand is gripped by the bottom 
steel roll and the top leather roll as It 
is being delivered, and is also held by 
the bobbin on which it is wound. The 
amount of twist in the roving depends 
on the relation that the speed of the 
spindle bears to that of the front roll. 
Id order to fully understand how the 
twist is inserted into the roving, the 
reader must fix firmly in his mind that 
the rolls are constantly delivering rov- 
ing and the bobbins taking it on its 
surface as fast as it is delivered. So 
it can be seen that while the roving 



that is being twisted at one time is 
in a suitable position to receive the 
twist, and as a new supply is con- 
stantly being brought under the twist- 
ing operation at a regular and uni- 
form rate of speed, the portion which 
has been twisted is also constantly 
passing from the influence of the twist- 
ing operation and on to the bobbin. 

No. 72. 



LXXIII. TWIST CALCULATIONS. 

From the above, it can be seen that 
the twist is increased by decreasing the 
speed of the front roll, or the twist 
decreased by increasing the speed 
of the front roll. Again it should be 
seen from the above that the twist per 
inch may be found by obtaining the 
data as to the number of inches ol 
roving delivered by the front rolls 
during a certain period, and the num- 
ber of turns made by the spindle dur- 
ing the same period. If, for example, 
the flyer makes 75 turns while the rolls 
deliver 25 inches of roving, then we 
have 3 turns to the inch; thus, 75 di- 
vided by 25 equals 3 turns. 

Another method in finding the turns 
per inch being inserted in the roving 
is to obtain the twist constant by the 
arrangement of gears from the circum- 
ference of the front roll to the spindle 
gear, calling the twist gear 1. Exam- 
j)le: the front roll is 1.25 inches in di- 
ameter, front roll gear 130 teeth, gear 
on end of top cone shaft 44, top cone 
gear 56 teeth, jack shaft gear 40 teeth, 
spindle shaft gear 37 teeth, gear on 
spindle shaft driying spindle 55 teeth, 
gear on spindle 22 teeth. 130x56x40x55 
divided by 44x1x37x22 equals 447.174; 
447.174 divided by 1.25x3.1416 equals 
113.87, twist constant. 

We give the above calculation which 
is the best method, because after the 
constant has been found it is an easy 
matter to find the twist per inch. To 
find the twist per inch, divide the twist 
gear into the twist constant, and to 
obtain the twist gear divide the twist 
per inch into the twist constant. 

Many tables are given for an ap- 
proximate idea, and many overseers 
believe such tables to be exact, and 
they make their changes accordingly, 



294 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



and if the roving breaks back at the 
next process, they will simply 

TELL THE SPINNER 

that they have the right number oi 
turns to the inch, and let it 
go at that. The constants most com- 
monly used for one inch American cot- 
ton are 1 for slubber, 1.1 for interme- 



the roving, also what twist gear will 
give us the necessary number of 
turns to the inch, using the above 
twist constant? 

First, find the square root of fine 
hank roving which is usually made on 
fine speeders and multiply the square 
root by the constant which is 1.2. 
Example: The square 5 equals 2.23x 




Fig. 29B. The Improved Houldsworth Differential Motion. 



diate, 1.2 for fine speeders and 1.3 for 
jacks. Of course, 1.3 is given foi- jacks, 
because, as a rule, a much finer hank 
roving is made on the jacks, but if the 
same hank is made on both machines 
the same constant should be used. 
We ¥/ill now give a practical example 
that is used every day in most cotton 
mills. Suppose we are called upon 
to make a five-hank roving, what 
turns to the inch should we have in 



1.2 equals 2.676, or 2.68 turns per inch; 
113.871 divided by 2.68 equals 42 twisi 
gear. The above rule is used wihen 
starting a new mill, but when the hank 
roving is known, the following is usu- 
ally employed. Suppose we are 
changing a frame from four-hank rov- 
ing to five-hank roving with a 30 twist 
gear on the frame. Example: 30x30 
equals 900x4 equals 3600 divided by 5 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



295 



eqaals the square root of 720, equals 
26. So or 27 gear. The al)ove is 

AN OLD WAY, 
and for the benefit of those who can 
not use the square root, we offer the 
following example which is shorter 
and just as accurate: 30x4 divided by 
5 oquals 24, twist gear, added to 24 
plus 30 equals 54 divided by 2 equals 
27 gear. 

As stated above, the constants giv- 
en are used simply for an approxi- 
mate idea in making the first set. 
When the frame has made a full set, 
a good test for determining whether 
a sufficient number of turns per incli 
are being inserted in the roving is to 
feel of each bobbin to see whether it 
is too hard or too soft. But what was 
said about the other conditions must 
be remembered, that is, about the 
work being uneven, caused by the 
rolls not being set properly, running 
a very heavy sliver, excessive drafts, 
etc. Having too much twist in the 
roving is detrimental to the spinning, 
making the work run badly, besides 
spoiling many top leather rolls. 

Having too much twist in the roving 
is very costly, especially in a cotton 
mill that has only enough fine speeder 
spindles to run the spinning. As was 
pointed out, in order to insert twist 
in the roving the front roll speed must 
be decreased, and this, of course, de- 
creases the production on the fine 
speeders; consequently, the back worK 
accumulates, which necessitates the 
stopping of the processes operated by 
the day help. From what has been 
said, it should be seen that in order 
to be a good carder, produce good 
work, and at the same time turn 
off as large a production as is con- 
sistant with the quality of the work 
required, keeping down the expenses 
of wages, power, etc., requires eternal 
vigilance to the construction of the 
fibre and also the strand. No. 73. 



LXXIV. EARLY SPINNING PROB- 
LEMS. 

As most mill men know the front 
roll of a speeder rotates at a con- 
stant rate of speed, hence, a uniform 
length of roving is being constantly 



delivered. With the bobbin, it is dii- 
ferent. as its rotation is changed at 
every completion of the traverse. To 
do this, suitable means must be em 
ployed for winding the roving on the 
bobbin, and at the same time, the ac- 
tion of the mechanism for winding 
must be such that the roving will not 
be strained or broken. 

This is the very problem that con- 
fronted Mr. Greene in the year 1823, 
when he was working to connect the 
spindle and bobbin together. It was 
soon discovered by Mr. Greene, and 
Mr. Houldsworth that, in order to ac- 
complish perfect winding, two mecli- 
anisms acting in combination were 
necessary, namely, the cones and the 
differential motion. 

Mr. Greene first connected the 
spindles and bobbin together in 
the year 1823, but owing to 
the shape of the cones at that 
time, and the lack of a differential mo- 
tion, his years of hard work were a 
failure. 

Mr. Houldsworth was 

ALSO AT WORK, ' 
but instead of working on the com- 
bination of mechanisms invented at 
that time, he concentrated all his 
work upon a mechanism that could 
be made up of two speeds. Because 
he realized that if the winding-on 
arrangement had to be made up of 
two mechanisms acting in combina- 
tion, one of the two had to be 
made up of two speeds. So after 
working for many years, Mr. Houlds- 
worth gave us the differential mo- 
tion in the year 1826, which has never 
been improved excepting by a change 
which reduces the friction between the 
driving shaft and differential sleeve. 
This is accomplished by the use of 
a shell or bushing inserted between 
the sleeve and shaft. This was done 
in 1897 by Fay Martin. Figure 29B 
shows this im-proved Houldsworth dif- 
feretial motion, or bevel gear com- 
pound as it is more commonly called. 
The bushing for the reduction of the 
friction between the sleeve gear and 
the main shaft is shown by the heavy 
black lines next to the main shaft. 
This bushing does not revolve, but is 



ijyb 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



fastened in such a way that the main 
shaft is free to revolve on the inside 
while the sleeve gear revolves free 
upon the outside; and these in op- 
posite directions without touching 
each other. The differential motions 
will be explained later. When Mr. 
Houldsworth gave us his wonderful in- 
vention, it was an incentive to other 
inventors, because more inventors 
have worKea on the differen- 
tial motion than on any other device, 
and by so many of them work'.ng on 
the differential motion, many other 
improvements were discovered which 
were a great help to the combina- 
tion of these two mechanisms. . One 
of these great impirovements was the 
introduction of the cones which 
have replaced the old unequal 
racks used previously for many 
years. As we said before, after years 
of hard work and study, it was found 
that if a bobbin increased in diameter 
from one inch to one and one-eighth 
inches, the proportionate increase was 
one-ninth part of the total, but if 
the bobbin increased from tnree and 
seven-eighths inches to four inches, 
the proportionate increase was only 
one-thirty-second part of the total 
diameter. 

So it was clearly realized that the 
equal increase of one-eighth of an 
inch in diameter of the bobbin was 
only equal in addition, and was very 
unequal in proportion. To obtain 
the intermediate speeds, 

THE CONES 

were considered as a continuous string 
of pulleys connected together, and in 
finding their true outline, each layer 
added to the bobbin or roving was 
considered separately, and the diam- 
eter of the cones figured for tha 
layer alone, and the result was a con- 
cave upper cone and a convex bot- 
tom cone, which gave the cones their 
peculiar formation — the most essen- 
tial feature of the cotton roving frame. 
The cones will be more fully ex- 
plained later. It was only a few years 
ago, that the common practice on all 
fly frames was for the flyer to lead 
the bobbin, and was known as the 
flyer lead. It was soon found. 



however, that this system had two 
defects: (1). the bottom cone 
had its slowest speed when the 
bobbin was empty and its great- 
est speed when nearly full or filled, 
the bottom cone constantly and uni- 
formly increasing in the number of 
revolutions per minute between these 
two extremes; (2), the flyer 
started in advance of the bob- 
bin, and by so doing made a 
weak place in the roving. Regarding 
the first defect it will be seen later 
that on the bobbin lead the speed at 
the commencing and ending of the 
set is contrary to that of the flyer 
lead; that is, by the speed of the 
bobbin being greater than that of 
the flyer, the bobbin rotates at its 
greatest speed when empty, and at 
its lowest speed when full. It should 
be seen in such a case as referred to 
above that as the bobbin grows larger 
in diameter and heavier, the bottom 
cone decreases in the number of rev- 
olutions at every completion of the 
traverse, thus making the consumption 
of power more uniform. As regards 
the second defect, which was very 
much misunderstood 

FOR MANY YEARS, 
at that time the slipping oi 
the cone belt was given as the rea- 
son for the weak places in the rov- 
ing. Others claimed that owing to 
the flyer starting first, and the veloci- 
ties of the bobbins and spindles at 
the instant of starting not being in 
the required ratio, weak places were 
caused in the roving. If the actual 
number of gears connecting the bob- 
bins and cones and the number of 
gears from the driving shaft to the 
sp'ndle are considered, it will be founa 
when using the Houldsworth differen- 
tial motion, that the actual number 
of gears in the train to the bobbin 
is n'ne, and from the driving shaft to 
the spindle five. From the above It 
should be seen that the cause of the 
flyer starting before the bobbin, is 
owing to the back lash, which is more 
in the nine gears than in the train of 
five gears. So, as stated, in order to 
remedy these two defects, the sys- 
tem was altered and the bobbin was 
made to If-^ No. 74. 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



297 



LXXV. BOBBIN AND FLYER 
LEADS. 

The following instructions we 
think will be found both in- 
teresting and instructive, and in 
order to fully understand our mean- 
ing, the reader must not forget what 
was said about one mechanism being 
made up of two parts to which the 
bobbin is connected. In such a case 
as referred to above, it must be seen 
that the lead that the flyer has over 
the bobbin on the flyer lead frame 
is independent of the actual velocities 
of the flyer and bobbin, because the 
bobbin is made up of two speeds, and 
the flyer only one, both of which are 
of course rapidly rotating in the same 
direction. Now let us assume that 
the front roll delivers 10 inches; then 
rhe eye of the pressor attached to 
the flyer must rotate the same num- 
ber of inches farther than a point 
on the surface of the bobbin during 
the same time it takes the front roll 
(•o deliver 10 inches. In other words, 
when the flyer is leading the bobbin, 
the winding is accomplished by the 
velocity of the flyer presser being 
greater than the surface velocity of 
the bobbin. On the bobbin lead, 

THE BOBBIN 

rotates faster than the flyer, or leads 
the eye in the presser. Now let us 
assume the same here as we did 
with the flyer lead, that is, let us as- 
sume that the front roll delivers 10 
inches; then in order to wind the 
inches delivered onto the bobbin in 
a bobbin lead frame, a point on the 
surface of the bobbin must move 10 
inches farther than the eye of the 
nresser attached to the flyer during 
the length of time that it takes for 
the front roll to deliver 10 inches 
of roving. It should be seen that 
this gain or lead of the bobbin over 
the flyer is also independent of the 
actual velocities of the flyer and bob- 
bin, as the speeds of the bobbin lead 
frame are also made up of two parts 
or speeds. 

In summing up the above, it should 
be seen that any lagging on the part 
of the bobbin, or the flyer starting 
in advance of the bobbin, will cause 



the roving to be stretched on the 
flyer lead frame. Another manor evil 
that was found in the flyer lead was 
that when an end did break, the end 
surely would escape from the thread- 
ing slot of the hollow leg of the flyer. 
So it can be seen that the bobbin lead 
was a wonderful improvement, be- 
cause from what we have said above, 
it can be seen that the bobbins take 
the roving from the eye in the presser; 
therefore, its circumference velocity 
must be the same as the presser, plus 
the velocity which makes up the two 
speeds. In such a case, it must be 
seen that in the bobbin lead frames, 
the flyer starting in advance (owing 
to its connecting gearing having less 
backlash) will cause a little slack, 
which is taken up when the full ve- 
locity of the bobbin has been attained. 
Thus it can be seen that the bobbin 
lead has eliminated one of the worst 
evils in the making of an even strand. 
Now lit is useless to say that if the 
bobbin did not increase 

IN DIAMETER 

as it fllled with roving, the speeds of 
the flyer and bobbin could be easily 
regulated, so that the exact amount 
of roving delivered would be taken up 
and the tension would always remain 
the same. From what was said above, 
it must be seen that the conditions 
are more difficult than this, because 
one revolution of a full bobbin re- 
quires a much greater length of rov- 
ing to make one turn around the bob- 
bin than does one revolution of an 
empty bobbin; therefore, the circum- 
ferential speed of the bobbin must be 
the same, no matter what its diameter 
is. So it can be seen from the above 
that the surface speed of the front 
roll and the excess surface speed 
of the bobbin (or lead of the bob- 
bin) over the flyer, should be equal. 
Such has been and is to-day the well- 
founded theory. In such a condition 
as referred to above, there is wound 
upon the bobbin just as much roving 
as is delivered by the front roll; there- 
fore, a greater speed of the bobbin 
would produce a draft between the 
front roll and the bobbin, while a 
less speed would cause slackness of 



29S 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



the tension. All machine builders 
construct their machines on the above 
principle. No. 75. 



LXXVI. BOBBIN SPEEDS. 

If the surface speed of the 
front roll and the excess surface speed 
of the bobbin be equal, and the 
parts which give this excess speed, 
namely, the driven cone drum and 
its connections, are stopped, the speed 
of the bobbin will be exactly equal 
to the speed of the flyer. It should 
be clearly understood here that the 
speed of the bobbin is made up of two 
parts as stated; that is, a speed equal 
to the speed of the flyer, and another 
speed which is called the excess speed 
of 'the bobbin. Prom what has been 
said, it should be seen that when 
the bobbin increases in diameter, the 
excess speed of the bobbin must be de- 
creased. It must be understood, also, 
that the actual speed of the bobbin is of 
course at the same time decreased, 
but it is only the decrease in the ex- 
cess speed that affects the problem 
of winding, and it is only those parts 
connecting the cones and the bob- 
bin gears, which govern the excess 
speed, that have their own speed 
changed. So any decrease in the 
speed of the driven cone has a pro- 
portionate effect upon the excess 
speed of the bobbin. 

Then it should be quite oblvious that 
as the diameter of the bobbin In- 
creases SO' must the 

EXCESS SPEED 
of the bobbin decrease. For if at one 
time 240 inches of roving be delivered 
when the circumference of the bob- 
bin is four inches, the bobbin must 
make 240 divided by four or 60 revo- 
lutions more than the flyer In order 
that winding may take place; whereas, 
if the front roll delivery remains con- 
stant, as is always the case while 
the bobbin is being formed, and the 
circumference of the bobbin increases 
to 10 inches, the excess speed must 
decrease to 24 revolutions. It will 
thus be seen that the following pro- 
portion shows the relation between 
the excess speed of the bobbin and 
its circumference: 60 is to 24 



as 10 is to 4, that is, the 
excess speed of the bobbin va- 
ries inversely as its diameter. 
Since the driven cone and its connec- 
tions control the excess speed, its speed 
must vary inversely as the diameter 
of the bobbin. In order to provide for 
such a variation of the speed of the 
bottom cone, merely by moving a 
belt laterally along the cones and at 
the same time obtain the intermediate 
speeds, it is necessary that the cones 
be constructed, as was explained, with 
their well-^known curved outline. 
From the bobbin driving gear of the 
differential motions, the speed of the 
bobbins may readily be calculated, 
and the absence or presence of draft 
detected. The wrong cone gear can 
also be discovered and the correct one 
found. The bottom cone gear is the 
gear changed to secure the correct 
intial bobbin speed. As the bottom 
cone drives the bobbins on all fly 
frames, too large a cone gear causes 
excessive tension, and one that is 
too small causes slackness of the ten- 
sion. 

When finding the size of the oome 
gear, a calculation for the speed of 
the bobbin may be made by using x 
in the place of the unknown cone 
gear. Then by substracting the speed 
of the flyer from this expression, an- 
other will be obtained representing 
the excess speed of the bobbin. Again 
by making this expression equal to 
the surface speed of 

THE FRONT ROLL 
divided by the circumference of the 
bobbin an equation will be formed, 
which may be solved for x. 

Sometimes, owing to the slippage of 
the cone belt, the size thus found 
needs a slight correction, which can 
be obtained by moving the cone belt 
shipper to another point on the rack. 
The percentage of slippage is ob- 
tained by experiment only, and is 
caused mostly by carelessness, which 
tias been explained in these articles, 
and also editorially. It was also ex- 
plained elsewhere, that to facilitate 
the formation of a compact bobbin, 
some tension must exist at the 
proper place on the flyer. When ten- 
sion is produced from this source. It 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



2d9 



lias by no means any detrimental ef- 
fect upon the strand. 

Now assuming that the proper 
tension has heen obtained for the 
winding of the first layer of roving, 
we still have the problem of maintain- 
ing a constant uniform tension 
throughouit the set. 

This is a problem that is undoubted- 
ly the most difficult of all those con- 
nected with a fly frame, because con- 
ditions vary, which influences this 
matter greatly, and the problem does 
not always lend itseit to simple mathe- 
matical calculation, as a figured ten- 
sion for a light running day would 
never answer on a heavy day; so that 
if the conditions at one time be known, 
aosolutely correct results for the time 
being only may be figured and secured 
in no other way. 

The calculation referred to above, 
js reauired to find the rack or ten- 
sion gear. From what has been said 
It should De seen mat the maintenance 
or constant uniform tension depends 
upon a proper decrease in the ex- 
cess speed of the bobbin, which, as 
was explained, is accomplished on all 
fiy frames by moving 

THE CONE BELT, 

which connects the two cones, a fixed 
lateral distance at the completion of 
the winding of each layer. If the dis- 
tance be too great, the excess speed 
of the bobl)in will decrease faster 
man the diameter of the bobbin in- 
creases, with the result that the tea- 
sion will become slack. On the other 
hand, if the movement or distance is 
too small, the excess speed is not 
decreased sufficiently to avoid in- 
creased tension, and, consequent 
stretching of the roving, in some 
cases, breaking it. Much perplexity 
has been caused, and Is caused to- 
day In our cotton mill card rooms 
by the occurrence of both of the above 
conditions, due to a lack of thorough 
knowledge . of the working of the 
parts. 

The American Wool and Cotton Re- 
porter has in the past and is to-day con- 
stantly pointing out such defects with 
proper remedies. It will be found that 
an overseer, second hand or section 



hand is a great help to either poor or 
good speeder tenders when they have a 
thorough knowledge of the winding- 
on problem. No. 76. 



LXXVII. THE SLUBBER-FRAME. 

The carriage, which consists of the 
bolsters, skew gears, bobbin gears, and 
bolster rail completely enclosed which 
gives the necessary traverse to the 
bobbins, is given a vertical reciproca- 
ting motion, and is reversed at each 
end of the bobbins. This forms what 
we term the completion of the trav- 
erse. The carriage is supported by 
racks called slides, a portion of which 
moves in the grooved portion of the 
Sampsons. As the carriage has con- 
siderable weight, owing to the weight 
of the bolster rail and such a large 
number of gears beside the casings 
the carriage is suitably balanced by 
weights hung at the end of each chain 
at each sampson. By referring to Fig- 
ure 30 it can be seen by following the 
train of gears from the bottom cone, 
that the carriage and its gearing con- 
necting the carriage to the bottom 
cone is driven by the bottom cone. Any 
resistance that is offered to the verti- 
cal reciprocating movement of the car- 
riage, caused by a tight spindle, a 
broken chain supporting the weight, or 
neglecting to oil the slides acts cor- 
respondingly on the bottom cone, 
which causes the bottom cone to lag 
behind, owing to the friction on the 
cone belt and the result is a slack ten- 
sion. Very few carders 

CONSIDER THE ABOVE 
causes of a slack tension. In 
some card rooms we find the bolsters 
so clogged up with dirt that on the 
building of the first layer when the 
carriage reaches its lowest level the 
frame will almost stop, owing to the 
resistance offered to the rotary axial 
motion of the spindles caused by the 
diameter of the spindles being larger 
at the bottom. 

It can be seen if tight spindles will 
offer such a resistance to the driving 
belt, that it must give a still greater 
resistance to the cone belt, because 
the cone belt drives the carriage di- 
rectly. 



800 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



If a weight is allowed to remain off 
for many days, which, happens often ii 
our cotton mills owing to the careless- 
ness of the second hand or fixer, 
resistance is caused, although not 
quite as great. Oiling the slides and 
cnains is also important, neglecting 
this being the . cause of a 
slack tention in many mills to-day, 
because when the slides are dry from 
the want of oil the carriage is not as 
steady in the reciprocating movement, 
and this causes the coils wound on the 
bobbin to ride one another, causing 
much breaking back in after processes. 

In many such cases instead of oiling 



ation, and are themselves to blame for 
existing conditions, blame the honor- 
ables, a term that is used by dissat- 
isfied mill workers. One of the latest 
methods of overcoming the weight of 
the carriage is by means of a self-bal- 
anced carriage. The carriage is divid- 
ed at the centre into two equal parts, 
and when one side is descending the 
other is ascending; therefore, one side 
balances the other. But what was 
said in describing the first type holds 
good here, because any resistance of- 
fered to either section acts correspond- 
ingly on the bottom cone, and a slack 
tension is caused on the self-balanced 




Fig. 30. Diagram of Gearing Showing Cones and Cone Belt. 



the slides, twist is inserted in the rov- 
ing with a consequent loss of produc- 
tion. We have had such cases come 
under our notice- and the 

TREASURER WAS BLAMED 

for buying poor stock. When such 
conditions exist in any card room and 
the parts connecting the bottom cone 
and carriage are not understood, such 
a defect as referred to above is hard to 
locate, and, as stated, the man at the 
helm is generally blamed. It must be 
said here that this is only one case 
where many mill workers, by not giv- 
ing the working parts due consider- 



rail as on other types. Fly frames 
are designated by the length of the 
traverse described above which is the 
length of the first layer or coil wound 
on the bobbins, and the diameter of 
the full bobbin. Thus, a frame spok- 
en of as a ten-inch by five-inch Indi- 
cates that the greatest possible trav- 
erse on the bobbin is ten inches in 
length, and that when the bobbin is 
formed or filled, it cannot exceed five 
inches in diameter. Frames 

ARE ALSO KNOWN 

by the space, meaning the distance De- 
tween the centre of one spindle to the 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



301 



centre of the next spindle in the same 
row. For instance, the space allowed 
for a frame ten by five is eight inch- 
es. The reason for such a large 
space is to allow sufficient space for the 
clearance of the rod that is attached 
to the hollow leg of the flyers while 
revolving. It will be remembered 
that when we described the different 
types of flyers, it was said that 
in order to have the palm of the press- 
or exert a slight continuous pressure 
on the surface of the bobbin, the rod 
with the presser finger must con- 
stantly have a tendency to fly out- 
wards. So sufficient space, as decrib- 
ed above, for clearance must be allow- 
ed. No. 77. 



Lxxvm. 



NA R RO W 
FRAMES. 



GAUGE 



Some mill men adopt narrow 
gauged frames in order to save floor 
space. This is very erroneous, because 
if the flyer mostly used in our cotton 
mills be examined, it will be found that 
the vertical rod attached to the hollow 
leg of the flyer has what may be termed 
a shoulder at its lower end. As all 
practical men know the presser 
is clamped to the hollow leg and some- 
times owing to having been strained 
or worn this shoulder protrudes at a 
greater distance from the centre of the 
spindle, with the result that it is con- 
tinally striking the next flyers. When 
the flyers strike one another the bol- 
sters in a short time become loosened, 
which 

INCREASES THE STRIKING 
until the vertical rod is separated 
from the flyer and is caught in most 
cases by the revolving flyers with the 
result that many flyers are broken, and 
sometimes, the bolsters and skew gears 
are also broken. Fly frames are made 
of different lengths but are seldom 
made to exceed thirty-six feet. The 
reason for this is the torsion that 
would be caused on the rolls and shafts 
which would be excessive if they were 
constructed of greater length. Of 
course, it must be understood, for 
the reason given above, that a 
slubber frame could never be construct- 
ed to contain 200 spindles, which is the 



maximum number that the longest 
fly frame contains. Because it should 
be seen, owing to the space, 
that in order to have such 
a large number of spindles 
on a slubber the diameters of the 
shafts and roll would have to be in- 
creased to prevent torsion. Slubber 
frames having a gauge of ten inches 
twelve by six, should not exceed 
seventy-two spindles. It takes one- 
horse power to drive 36 spindles of the 
above dimension. Intermediate frames 
having a gauge of eight inches, ten 
by flve, should not exceed 102 spin- 
dles. It takes one-horse power to drive 
60 spindles of the above di- 
mension. Fine frames having a 
gauge of five inches, seven by 
three and a half should not 
exceed 176 spindles. It takes one- 
horse power to drive 75 spindle^ of the 
above dimension. Jack frames having 
a gauge of four and a half inches, six 
by two and a half should not ex- 
ceed 192 spindles. It takes one-horse 
power to drive 95 spindles of the above 
dimension. The second mechanism 
that acts in combination with the dif- 
ferential motion are 

THE CONES, 

that have for their object the reduc- 
tion of speed of the controlling gear 
in the differential motion by which the 
suitable speeds for each layer added 
on the bobbin are obtained. 

The two cones are connected together 
by a small belt, by which the upper 
cone drives the bottom cone. As was 
explained, this belt is gradually moved 
from the larger end of the top cone to 
the smaller end during the building 
of the bobbin. It must be understood 
here that a bobbin can be 
filled without the belt travel- 
ing the entire length of the 
cones, and that the belt can travel 
tbe entire length of the cones without 
filling the bobbins. This depends on the 
construction of the cones and the di- 
ameter of the strand and the manner 
in which the flyer is threaded and con- 
structed. Not forgetting here that 
the length of roving wound on the bob- 
bin always equals the excess speed of 
the bobbin over the flyer, and that 



;i02 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



when the bobbin starts with a certain 
number of revolutions per minute, its 
rotary movement in excess of that of 
the flyer must be decreased in direct 
proportion to its increase in diameter, 
so it should be seen that when the di- 
ameter of the full bobbin is four time* 
that of the empty one, the excess 
stpeed must be reduced to one-quarter. 
We have pointed out elsewhere 
that the cones should be considered as 
a continuous 

LINE OF PULLEYS 
connected together and that every lay- 
er added to the bobbin must be figured 
by itself. 

The following examples are given 
to show how the intermediate speeds 
are obtained and secured in no other 
way than with the cone outlines. 
We do not figure every layer 
of the bobbins, but what we 
do give should be sufficient 
for the reader to get a clear under- 
standing how the cones are constructed 
and how they are made to have such a 
peculiar formation. Let us assume 
that we are calculating two uniform 
cones without concavity and con- 
vexity. 

Again we will assume that we wish 
to produce a six inch diameter full bob- 
bin, the bobbin when empty having a 
diameter of one and a lialf inches, 
and the top come is making 400 revo- 
lutions per minute, the length of the 
cones being thirty-six inches over all, 
with extreme diameter of six inches 
and three inches, the slipping of the 
cone belt or the thickness of the cone 
belt not being considered. We now 
take the increments of the bobbins 
by steps equal to one and a half inches 
from the empty to the full bobbin, 
thus: one amd a half inches, three 
inches, four and a half inches, and six 
inches. We now divide the cones 
equally into corresponding por- 
tions; therefore, for the top 
cone we have six inches, five 
Inches, four inches, three inches, and 
for the bottom cone three inches, four 
inches, five inches, and six inches. 

Prom the above we will now calculate 
the speed of 

THE UNIFORM CONES 
and we have the following: 400x6 di- 



vided by 3 equals 800 revolutions of 
the bottom cone; 400x5 divided by 
4 equals 500 revolutions of the hot 
torn cone; 400x4 divided by 5 equal? 
320 revolutions of the bottom cone; 
400x3 divided by 6 equals 200 revolu- 
tions of the bottom cone. 

Now we will figure the speeds of the 
bottom cone, and as stated, we consider 
them as a string of pulleys, so we cal- 
culate the speed of the bottom cone at 
each division of the cones, and it can 
plainly be seen that it is not much of 
a problem after all to figure or con- 
struct cones, the calculations being 
the same as finding the speed of any 
ordinary pulley. 

We now take the sizes of the bobbin 
at each division of the cones and we 
have the following: 

Since 800 revolutions per minute ol 
the bottom cone are required for one 
and a half inch diameter bobbins, 
the three-inch diameter of the 
bobbin will require the following 
revolutions from the bottom cone: 
800x1.5 divided by 3 equals 400 revolu- 
tions, or speed of bottom cone; 800x1.5 
divided by 4.5 equals 266.66 revolu- 
tions, or speed of bott)om cone; 800x1.5 
divided by 6 equals 200 revolutions, or 
speed of bottom cone. 

From the above calculations It 
should be clearly realized that 
the diameters of the cones, req- 
uisite for giving the proper cone 
speed, if properly constructed, would 
prove to be concave and convex. 

No. 78. 



LXXIX. TREATMENT OF RACKS. 

Now that the construction of the 
cones has been explained, we offer the 
following to show the harm 
that is introduced in almost al? 
our carding rooms by allowing 
the speeder tenders to tighten, or 
let out the rack as it is termed. 
For the convenience of calculation we 
will assume that the diameter of the 
top cone is 5.25 inches, and the diam- 
eter of the bottom cone is also 5.25 
inches. Again it is assumed that the 
top cone is making 400 revolutions per 
minute, and the speeder tender moves 
the rack when the frame is running too 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



303 



slack, say, from 5.25 to 5.6 diameter 
on the top cone, and from 5.25 to 4.9 
diameter on the bottom cone. We 
now have the following calculation 
showing how a slight movement of the 
rack destroyis the relationship ol the 
surface speed of the bobbin and front 
roll. 

5.25x400 

400 revolutlona ef the bottom cone before 

5.25 the rack was disturbed. 

5.6x400 

457 plus revolutions of the botton cone 

4.9 after moving the rack. 

It should be seen from above that 
the moving of the rack should be 
branded as a crime. It i§ tM 
cause for poor warping found in al- 
most all cotton mills, caused by the 
strand being strained. This is 
caused by the surface speed of the 
bobbin being greater than the surface 
speed of the front roll. When the 
rack is moved back or forth, the ten- 
sion gear itself, being one of the train 
of gears between the builder motion 
and the rack that carries the cone belt, 
is also moved back or forth, which acts 
correspondingly on the traverse of the 
bobbin. When a 

RACK IS LET OUT 

It will not cause the same evil as when 
the rack is tightened, as will be ex- 
plained when the parts governing the 
up and down motion of the carriage are 
described. The distance traveled by 
the cone belt varies directly or inverse- 
ly as the nuinber of teeth in the rack 
or tension gear, depending upon 
whether the American or the English 
style of builder motion is used. In 
either case, the size of the gear re- 
quired to make the cone belt move a 
desired distance may be obtained eas- 
ily, but the distance that the belt 
should move is a hard problem to 
solve. One good method is to find the 
number of layers that can be put upon 
a bobbin by finding the thickness of 
the strand and the space occupied by 
each layer. The entire traverse of the 
belt divided by the number of layers 
gives the distance moved after each 
layer. The most difficult thing to do 
in such a problem is to determine ac- 
curately the diameter of the roving, 
which makes up the thickness of a 
single layer. Many rules are made for 



the number of layers that may be con- 
tained in an inch in terms of the size 
of the roving. While such rules are 
by no means absolutely correct, they 
give fairly good results. As stated, 
varying conditions, such as tempera- 
ture, humidity and twist, influence the 
diameter of the strand, and, conse- 
quently, the diameter of the bobbin. 
No relation of diameter to number is 

GENERAL ENOUGH 

for universal practice, and actual ex- 
periments must be made under differ- 
ent conditions, 
out that temperature and humidity 

The American Wool and Cot- 
ton Reporter has often pointed 
can be controlled nowadays with 
considerable ease and accuracy 
with the self-regulating humidifiera. 
But we are forced to admit that even 
when humidifiers are used, some' vari- 
ations are inevitable — caused mostly 
by the use of cotton grown in differ- 
ent climates. But eternal vigilance can 
assist greatly in keeping that relation 
which theory and practice have shown 
to be the best. 

As stated, when calculating the con- 
tact or tension gear, the style of builder 
must be taken into consideration. It 
should be remembered that the English 
style of builder motion differs from 
the American style. That is, the larg- 
er the contact gear used on the English 
style of builders, the more tension on 
the ends, owing to the movement of the 
rack being very small. This is due to 
the fact that the rick gear in the Eng- 
lish style is always of the same diam- 
eter, the size of the teeth in the gear 
being changed, while on the Amer- 
ican style, the diameter of the gear la 
changed and not the size of the teeth 
in the gear. 

The larger 

THE RACK GEAR 
in the American style, the less tension 
on the ends, because the tension gear 
drives the rack directly. Then the 
larger the gear the greater the distance 
the rack travels at each completion ot 
the traverse. On the English style, the 
larger the number of teeth in the rack 
gear the smaller the teeth in order to 
have the same circumference of circle; 



304 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



as the rack is let out a distance equal 
to one-half a tooth of the rack gear, 
it should be seen that the distance 
traveled by the cone belt is smaller 
when a large rack sear is used. 

When changing from one hank rov- 
ing to another, the following rule, 
which is the same as given for finding 
the twist gear elsewhere, will be found 



require? 15x4 equals 60 divided by 5 
equals 12 plus 15 equals 27, divided 
by 2 equals 13.5 rack gear; then try a 
13-rack gear and if too slack put on a 
14. If a 14-raiCk gear is put on in 
the first place, when the tension be- 
comes too tight, much damage is done 
to the roving before it is discovered. 

No. 79. 




Fig. 31. An Arrangement For 

accurate. To find the rack gear: 

Rule. — Multiply the hank roving now 
being made by the rack gear now on, 
divide by the hank roving desired, add 
rack gear to quotient and divide by 2. 
Example. — Suppose we are making 4 
hank roving with a 15-tooth rack gear, 
v/hat rack gear will a 5-hank roving 



Obtai ning Proper Tension. 

LXXX. CONDITIONS AFFECTING 
WARPING. 

As was sitated, even if the proper 
tension, so called, has been obtained 
for the winding, w© still have the 
problem of maintaining a constant 
tension throughout the set. In some 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



305 



cases, this cannot be acoomplislied 
by the tension gear alone. Fig- 
ure 31 shows an arrangement 
that Avill give just the proper 
tension no matter how slight 
the atmospheric changes are. " By re- 
ferring to Figure 30, the difference 
between the tension gear and one of 
the three gears on the rack shaft 
shown in Figure 31, can plainly be 
seen. The change of the tension gear 
is about one-fortieth, more or 
less, while in changiing from one 
of the three gears to the 
other, the change is from one- 
eighthieth on coarse frames to 
one-ninety-fifth on jack frames. It 
should be seen from the above that 
such a device is valuable, especially 
in New England, where atmospheric 
conditions change so often, even In a 
day. If the reader will go back fo 
the example we have given, showing 
the evil that is caused by moving the 
rack, or by not having the proper ten- 
sion gear that will cause a tight ten- 
sion, it will be seen that such a de- 
vice will go a long way in preventing 
the strand from being stretched which 
makes the work lighter and weaker. 
If the carder had charge of the 
warping, there would be much less 
strained roving in a. cotton mill. It 
only takes a visit to any warping room 
to be convinced whether the speeder 
tenders in that mill are tampering 
with their rack or not. The arrange- 
ment shown in Figure 31 is 
to overcome, as far as prac- 
ticable, all of the above con- 
ditions. With such a device, the 
speeder tender cannot 

MOVE THE RACK, 

and the only way the rack is moved 
is by removing the tension gear. Of 
course, we must admit that even with 
this device, speeder tenders do tamp- 
er with the racks, but the overseer 
is to blame for such conditio.ns. The 
rack gears in most card rooms would 
be changed oftener if it was not so 
much trouble, and all practical men 
will agree with the writer that if 
the sieoond hand or fixer refuses to 
change the rack gear, the tender does 
not dare tell the overseer, because 



it is well known that such a move on 
the part of the tender may mean the 
loss of his position. W© also find 
this device much neglected, simply 
because the overseer or fixer in charge 
does not understand the winding-on 
problem. The above device is valu- 
able, because no gears or wrenches 
are needed to make the change quick- 
ly, which is accomplished from the 
front of the frame, by unlocking a 
controlling wheel and turning the 
handle to the right or left. When 
making such a change, it can be done 
without having to crawl down under 
the frame, so by making the chang- 
ing of gears more simple, the matter 
receives more attention, which means 
better work throughout the mill. Of 
late, we notice that very little atten- 
tiO'U is given to this useful device in 
most card rooms. The writer, has 
heard even the men that set up ma- 
chinery, of which this device is a part, 
admit that such a device is useless. 

No. 80. 



LXXXI. AMERICAN BUILDER MO- 
TION. 

From what was said and from the ex- 
amples giTen, it should clearly be 
seen that a still finer change would 
be appreciated, and every fly frame 
should consist of such a device. By 
again referring to Figure 30 (in 
our December 15 issue), the 
American type of builder is plainly 
shown at Al, A2, A3 and A4. It can be 
seen at Al, that the dog A2, having 
two arms, is prevented from turning 
by coming in contact with one of 
the jaws of the builder. It should be 
understood that Al is raised and 
lowered by the carriage, and that the 
small rod that connects Al and A4 is 
square shaped, as is also the hole for 
its reception in A 4, which is indirectly 
turned at each completion of the trav- 
erse by the train of gears, connect- 
ing the gear on the tumhler shaft, 
which carries the dog to A4. When 
tnis square rod is made to revolve 
a part of a revolution, the two jaws at 
Al are brought closer together, owing 
to the part of the square rod having 



306 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



rigM and. left hand threads. The 

TUMBLER SHAFT 
which cairries the dog A2, has a disk 
A3 at its foot, which carries two 
lugs. A casting to which a spring 
is attached is made to press on one 
of the lugs which tends to give the 
shaft a partial revolution, but is pre- 
vented from so doing as stated. When 
the carriage is moved up or down suf- 
ficiently so that either jaw will clear 
the arm of the dog in contact with said 
jaw, the spring is allowed to act on the 
shaft and turn it until the gear A8 
on the end o£ the top cone engages 
the teeth in one of the sections of the 
gear A6. By the engagement of these 
two gears, the shaft is given a one- 
half i-evolution and at the same time 
the blank isection of A6 is presented to 
A8, at which point the spring will act 
on the other lug in iae disk at the 
foot of the shaft. It can be seen that 
when the tumbler shaft makes one- 
half revolution, the gear 70A Is 
brought in contact with gear 16B 
and the traverse is reversed. The 
shaft by miaking a one-half revolution 
will move the cone belt a lateral dis- 
tance along the cones. Again, it must 
be understood that one-half turn of 
the shaft gives a part revolution to 
A4, that causes the two jaws to come 
together, which makes the traverse 
shorter at every completion of the tra- 
verse. So from the above, it should 
be seen that when a speeder tender 
is allowed to move the rack besides 
destroying the relationship of the 

SURFACE SPEED 

of the front roll, and the surface speed 
of the bobbin, the shape of the bob- 
bin is also given a poor appearance. 
We have explained elsewhere that 
when a speeder is tightened, it causes 
more evil than when it is let out. It 
should now be easily seen by the 
reader, from M^hat we have said, that 
no harm is caused to the. roving when 
the rack is let out, because the ten- 
sion is made slacker and the traverse 
is made shorter. On the other hand, 
if the frame is tightened, the roving 
in most cases is strained and the 
traverse Is lengthened. Now each 
layer is made shorter at each comple- 



tion of the traverse to the same ex- 
tent as the diameter of the strand, 
and it has been pointed out that at 
the completion of each traverse A4 
is given a part revolution and the 
two jaws at Al are spread apart. 
In such a case, the carriage will 
travel a greater distance, which makes 
the traverse longer, and consequently, 
the coils are wound around the tap- 
ered part of the bobbin. Running over 
and under, as it is termed, is the 
cause of much trouble in our cotton 
mills to-day, it has even caused 
strikes in the past. Mule spinners, as 
a rule, detest a bad built bobbin, be- 
cause the coils wound on the tapered 
part of the bobbins, will wind around 
the skewer, and it makes it neces- 
sary for the spinner to go around at 
the back of the 

MULE CREEL, 

a practice which they do not like. 
If the speeder tender . moves the 
rack too great a distance, the frame 
is made to have a discouraging ap- 
pearaoice, because the diameter of 
tke bobftin Is so small at the tapered 
part that the surfafee speed of the 
bobbin is not great enough at this 
point to take up the amount of rov- 
ing delivered from the front roll; con- 
sequently, the largest number of ends 
will escape the threading slot in the 
hollow leg of the flyer, while others 
will wind around one another. 

When the rack is moved so as to 
affect the traverse slightly, a few 
coils protrude from the top or bot- 
tom of the bobbin and are caught by 
the spindle or bobbin gear. 

When the roving is wound around 
the spindle, it will in most cases, if 
not detected in time, cause fire. It 
must be said here that the American 
type of builders are best if let alone, 
because iif the tension of the spring 
is set to give the right pressure on 
the lugs a bobbin with a taper of 30 
degrees can easily be constructed 
without any coils running over and 
urder. But what we said about the 
cam parts on combers can well be 
applied here, that is, that the ten- 
sion of any spring or setting of cams 
properly cannot be obtained from 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



307 



books, but instead, it requires prac- 
tice and diligent study. For just sucli 
a reason, it is impossible to have in 
book form tJie proper traveler thac 
should be used for a certain tension 
on a ring frame. No, 81. 



LXXXII. ENGLISH BUILDER MO- 
TION. 

Figure 32 and 32A show a style of 
builder called the English type. The 
bracket A, which is called the 

POKER BAR SLIDE, 
is attached to the carriage and as in 
the American type, A is taken up and 
down, or in other words, it follows 
the movements of the carriage. The 
rod A3, that connects the bracket A 
to the rocker K, is known as the 
poker bar. The poker bar being at- 
tached to bracket A follows the car- 
riage, also gives a rocking motion to 
K. Al-Al are the slides for tlie 
reception of a washer that fits the 
stud A2, and also the slides Al on 
each side of bracket A. An arm B 
is also attached to the bracket A, and 
carries the weight cradle E. E is 
centred at El and serves as a cra- 
dle for the operation of cradle F, 
and weights G, Gl. From what has 
just been said, it should be seen that 
as the carriage travels up and 
down it vnll carry with it bracket 
A, and the polcer bar which as stated 
gives a rocking motion to rocker K, 
and the cradle E is also given a 
rocking motion. The vertical shaft 
H carries two gears B2, HI. The gear 
B2 meshes with the teeth of the rack 
B3 that moves the cone belt along 
the cones, while the gear HI meshes 
with gear H2; HI and H2 are bevel 
gears, HI being fastened to the end 
of the vertical, while H2 is fastened 
to shaft S. Fastened to the shaft S 
are the gears W and Wl, the gear 
Wl meshing with the teeth cut o'n 
the under side of the poker bar A3. 
The gear W is the 

RACK GEAR 
and is operated by the two pawls W2 
and W3. The drum H3, at the top of 
shaft H on which a chain Z is wound, 
receives a constant tendency to un- 



wind, due to the pull that the weight 
Y exerts on drum H3, and the chain 
would be entirely unwound from the 
drum were it not for the engagement 
of the stop pawls with the teeth of 
the rack gear. Cradle K is loose on 
shaft S, and carries a bracket with 
two wings, XI and X2, which take the 
pawls out of contact with the rack 
gear, one pawl being out of con- 
tact for one traverse, while the other 
pawl is out of contact, the next tra- 
verse. At the upper part of cradle 
K, there are three projections, Fl, F2 
and F3. Fi. forms a shoulder for each 
latch C and CI. C and CI are kept 
in contact with cradle K hy means 
of a spring F4, that passes under the 
shaft S, and is connected to latches by 
two setscrewisi or studs, F5 and F6. 
Thus, it can be seen that there exists 
always a constant pressure on the 
latches C and CI, in a downward direc- 
tion. The latches C and CI are cen- 
tred at C2 and C3, and are rocked by the 
screws in the top part of rocker K. 
The rods V and VI have the weights 
G and Gl attached to their lower 
ends, while the upper part passes 
through each side of cradle F. The 
weights are raised and lowered at 
point E2 aBd E3. It can be seen by 
the position of the latch C that the 
weight G will be supported by the 
projection F2 when the rail is mak- 
ing its 

UPPER MOVEMENT, 

and E2 is depressed from under V2, 
It is our intention to show that this 
type of builder will give more trouble 
than the American type, so in order 
to prove- what we say is true, the op- 
eration of each type will he explained. 

Let us assume with the English 
type of builder, that the rail or car- 
riage is making its upper movement, 
then we have the following operation 
of the huilder. 

The carriage on the upper 
movement carrying up the end 
of the poker bar, thus raising the side 
of cradle E, attached to B and lower- 
ing the cradle at E2, causes the 
weight G to rest entirely on P2; this 
wov.id, of course, give a rocking ac- 



308 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 




Momim J • ITI'im ' 

•! M » •' '.' -ti- J -,'hS J '.» '.' ',' '» » 




y 



Fig' 32. English Type of Builder. 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



309 



tion to rocker F if the latch C was not 
in contact with shoulder Fl. As stated, 
when the rail has raised so that the 
screw Kl forces the latch C out 
of contact with the shoulder Fl, the 
cradle is pulled over by the dead 
weight of G. It can be seen that the 
raising of E3 allows the weight G to rest 
on F2, and at the same time raises VI 
to a point high enough not to give any 
resistance to the rocking of F, at- 
tached to the weight Gl from the pro- 
jection F3. By raising point E3 the 
weight is borne by the cradle at this 
point Instead of resting on F3. By fol- 
lowing the movements of rocker F, its 
movement, due to 

BEING CENTERED 
at S, will transmit a like movement to 
the bracket X in the opposite direction. 
As was stated the bracket X 
forces the pawl W3 out of contact with 
the rack gear, and this allows the verti- 
cal shaft to rotate a slight part of a 
revolution, until the pawl "W2 is 
brought into contact with the rack 
gear which has made a part revolu- 
tion equal to one-half tooth of the 
gear. 

The movement of the vertical shaft 
by means of gear B2 moves the rack 
a small lateral distance along the 
cones. It also gives a part revolution 
to gear Wl that meshes with the under 
side of the poker bar, thus bringing 
the end of the poker bar nearer to the 
cradle K. As the poker bar has been 
shortened by this movement, it should 
be seen that on the next traverse the 
setscrew K2 will force down the latch 
CI, when the carriage has moved a 
shorter distance than on the previous 
traverse. This can be. more readily 
understood by considering the poker 
bar to be say, 20 feet in length, and 
made to move the length of a 10-Inch 
traverse. Thus, the movement 
of the rocker would be slight. 
On the other hand, if the poker bar 
was only 12 inches long and moved 10 
inches, it can plainly be seen that the 
movement of the rocker would be fast- 
er greater No. 82. 



LXXXIIi. ADVANTAGE OF AMER- 
ICAN BUILDER. 

So, from the above, it is plain that 
the shorter the poker bar, the more 
the traverse is shortened, which, of 
course, gives the bobbin more taper. 
As was stated, the American type of 
builders are best for the 

SIMPLE REASON 

that the only thing which will prevent 
the tumbler shaft from turning is 
not having enough tension on 
the spring or by the spring breaking. 
While, on the other hand, if a bobbin 
or any piece of matter should, by ac- 
cident, be pushed under either weight 
of the English type, the downward 
pull necessary to pull over the rocker 
F is destroyed, and the movement ot 
the carriage is allowed to continue m 
its direction, and if the frame is not 
equipped with a stop motion, the 
rack studs and gears, in most cases, 
are broken, beside breaking down 
the ends. Another evil that is 
caused by the use of this builder Is 
which improves the looks of the bob- 
bins when the builders are worn, 
that the end of the latches becomes 
rounded, as does also the shoulder ot 
the rocker F. When the latches and 
shoulder are in such a condition, much 
running over and under of the coils 
is caused at each end of the bobbins. 
The reason for this is that the rocker 
being rounded and having a tendency 
to press against the end of the latch, 
will, owing to the pull exerted by the 
weight G or Gl, sometimes force 
the latch out of contact be- 
fore the carriage has completed its 
traverse. Sometimes this is done at 
every traverse of the bobbin for many 
layers, when, owing to some rough 
substance, or from other causes, the 
rocker is not fiee to rock until either 
screw Kl or K2 has depressed the 
latch, and running over or under is 
caused. The writer has found it very 
beneficial to rub the ends of the latches 
with emery cloth from time to time, 
which improves the looks of the bob- 



310 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



bins when the builders are worn. 
However, the best method is to take 
out 

THE ROCKER 
and latches and square them to one 
another so as to make the change 
sensitive. Another defect is that the 
momentum of the weights con- 
tinually breaks the hooks of ithe rods 
V and VI. Again, if any foreign mat- 
ter lodges in the teeth of any gears 



to jump many teeth on the racfc, 
which lengthens the poker bar, ana 
running over or under is caused on the 
first layer. Sometimes the frame 
is doffed with the carriage very low 
or high, which gives more room for 
stud A2 at the end of the poker bar 
to be forced farther to the end of the 
slide, the gear B2 jumps the teeth or 
the rack, with the result that when the 
rail is lowering the poker bar, 




Fig. 32A. English Type of Builder. 



operating the rack, or in the teeth 
of the rack or pocket bar, the resist- 
ance becomes too great for the weight 
Y to rotate the vertical shaft, and, 
consequently, the rack remains in one 
josition, which causes the ends to be 
strained and the coils to run over and 
under. Another -defect is that many 
speeder tenders will often wind the 
rack too fast, which causes gear B2 



it does not have the neces- 
sary sweep, and, consequently, breaks 
the slide from the carriage. When the 
shoulders or latches are worn, the 
sweep of rod R is reduced, w^hich 
necessitates the twin gears shown 
in Figure 30 to be set closer, 
and in some cases, when the 
shoulders and latches are worn badly, 
a new rocker or new latches are re- 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



311 



quired to give space enougti to the 
tw'n gear pinion so as to cause no 
friction when acted on by the rod R. 
A-gain, when it is necessary to raise 

THE TWIN GEARS 
are set too close, one twin gear must 



small piece of steel, properly riveted 
and shaped, like the projection that 
forms the shoulders, thus increasing 
the space between the twin gears. By 
again referring to Figure 32 and 
32A it can be seen that the 




be loosened and more space given. In 
a case such as described above, when 
a new rocker or latch are not avail- 
able, a good practice which is resorted 
to in many mills is to saw a slot on 
the side of one shoulder and insert a 



stop pawl W2 occupies a position 
on the half-tooth of one of 
the teeth in the rack gear. When 
a rack gear is changed to an odd num- 
ber, that is, one, three or more 
teeth, the stop pawl must be set so 



312 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



that it will occupy a position shown 
in the figure, because from what has 
been said, it should be seen that at 
every completion of the traverse, the 
rack gear is let out one half-tooth. 
As every layer should be of the same 
diameter as other layers, it is obvious 
that the distance or movement of the 
rack gear must be equal at each com- 
pletion of the traverse. So this set- 
ting is important, and one, we regret 
to say, much neglected. From the 
example given elsewhere, in regard to 
moving the rack, it should be seen 
that if the rack gear is not let out 
equally by each stop pawl, the tension 
will be too tight on the traverse when 
the movement of the rack gear is too 
small, and too slack when the move- 
ment is too great, thus making the 
work 

RUN BADLY. 
When a rack gear is changed, it 
will pay any fixer or person doing the 
changing to make a mark on the top 
side of the rack and mark each change 
of the traverse, to see if each move- 
ment of the rack is equal. If it is 
found that W2 is letting out the rack 
sear more than W3, W2 must be rais- 
ed until the distance is equalled. 
When a new frame is started, or when 
it is necessary to set the poker bar, 
the first thing to do is to run the 
curriage either by hand or power until 
it occupies a central position between 
the shoulders of the bobbin, and then 
a mark should be made on the bobbin 
exactly at the eye in the pad of the 
presser. The presser must, of course, 
be in a proper position and not raised 
or lowered below the end of the hollow 
leg of the flyer. A level should then 
be placed on the poker bar and the 
bracket A set so that the poker bar 
is leveled, then the bracket A should 
be tightened. The frame should then 
be started, and the length of the 
traverse regulated by the screws Kl 
and K2. No. 83. 



LXXXIV. DIFFERENTIAL MOTION. 

As stated, the bobbin is made 
up of two speeds, which is accomplish- 
ed by the first mechanism known as 
the differential motion. This mo- 



tion, of which there are various 
types, all have the same object; 
that is, to provide a ready means of 

AUTOMATICALLY REDUCING 
the number of revolutions per minute 
of the bobbin in exact proportion to 
the increase in its diameter. The 
Houldsworth compound is shown in 
Figure 30, while one of the latest types 
is shown in Figure 33. The chief fea- 
ture attending the introduction of all 
new differential motions has been the 
speeding up of the gear Q on the dif- 
ferential sleeve, which has taken ' the 
place of the large sun wheel of the 
Houldsworth motion. It must be under- 
stood by the reader that the high 
speed of this gear is not obtained by 
a higher speed bottom cone, but 
by the use of a train of gears 
between the bottom cone and 
the gear on the differential sleeve. 
Now, which is the best speed-reducing 
value, the new differential motion or 
the Houldsworth differential motion? 
The sun gear, as a rule, may contain 
from 100 to 120 teeth with the differ- 
ential motion shown in Figure 30, 
whereas its more recent substitute 
contains from 30 to 36 teeth. It should 
be seen that this difference alone, rep- 
resenting a speed of the gear on the 
differential sleeve in the new motions, 
is equal to about four times the 
speed of the sun gear of the Houlds- 
worth motion. The contrast between 
the two motions should be noted here. 
The lowest axial revolutions of the 
train of gears in the periphery is at- 
tained with the highest speed of the 
differential sleeve, while the contrary 
is often true in regard to Houlds- 
worth's motion. 

The chief 

CLAIM MADE 
for all new differential motions is that 
by having all parts rotating in the 
same direction as the driving shaft, 
the friction is greatly reduced, some 
builders going so far as to claim that 
the bottom cone is no longer a 
driver. 

From what we have said regarding 
the high speed differential sleeve In 
the new differential motions causing 
a low axial speed to the gears inside 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



313 



the periphery, we will prove here that 
the gear Ql on the end of the differ- 
ential sleeve meshing with the gear 
R on the end of the cross shaft works 
against and checks the axial speed' of 
the gear R inside the periphery. This 
is obtained by the gear R inside 
the periphery rolling around the 
gear Ql on the end of the differential 
sleeve. 

To prove the above, let us assume 
that the bottom cone is lifted, which 
slackens the cone belt and stops the 
bottom cone, which, in turn, stops the 
differential sleeve, but the gears In- 
side the periphery will then have their 
highest rate of axial revolution, be- 
cause there is no check imposed upon 
such revolutions. In the motion 
shown in Figure 33, the bobbins ob- 
tain four-fifths of their total revolu- 
tions from the rotating small cross- 
shaft and the other one-fifth from the 
differential sleeve driven by the cones 
so that when 

THE LOWER CONE 

is raised and the belt is slackened, 
which stops the bottom cone, so also 
is the one-fifth part of the bobbin 
revolution taken away for the time 
being. Now let us assume that the 
cone is again lowered and the dif- 
ferential sleeve is rotated in the same 
direction of the driving shaft and 
periphery. It should be seen that the 
axial speed of the gears inside the 
periphery is decreased to the num- 
ber of revolutions that are made 
by the differential sleeve. From 
the above it should be clear to the 
reader that if the differential sleeve 
was in any way disconnected, it 
would rotate in the opposite di- 
rection to that of the driving 
shaft, because in such a case the 
periphery would be stopped and the 
small gear Rl on the cross-shaft would 
roll around the large bevel gear S of 
the periphery, thus rotating the cross- 
shaft in the opposite direction and 
in this way the differential sleeve would 
be made to revolve in the opposite di- 
rection to that of the driving shaft if 
disconnected from the train of gears. It 
should be seen that the power to drive 
the bobbins is taken from the differen- 



tial sleeve and that the cones drive 
the bobbins, because we think we have 
proven that when the cone is stopped 
the gears inside the periphery obtain 
the power from the 

DIFFERENTIAL SLEEVE, 
and that if there is a disconnection 
between the bottom cone and differ- 
ential sleeve the bobbins will stop, 
which proves that the cone does drive 
the bobbins on differential motions, old 
or new. This is the cause of much 
trouble in some mills where this defect 
is not understood; that is, that the high 
speed of the bottom cone or the train 
of gears used to obtain the high speed 
of the differential sleeve makes the 
start of the bottom cone much harder 
than on the. old or Houldsworth's mo- 
tion. This can be noticed more at 
the beginning of the set when the 
cone belt is on the small end of the 
bottom cone, because the top cone 
drives the bottom cone, and as the belt 
at the beginning of each set is on the 
largest diameter of the top cone and 
on the small end of the bottom cone, 
the ratio is greater at this point and 
consequently causes more slipping. If 
the driving belt is shifted onto the tight 
pulley too suddenly the ends will all 
slacken, and in most cases, many ends 
are broken by winding around one an- 
other. No. 84. 



LXXXV. THE CONE BELT. 

In order to overcome this slippage 
of the cone belt, the belt must be tight 
at all times, which of course, weakens 
the cone belt and more belt breaking 
is caused with the new differential 
motion than with the old motion. All 
frames equipped with a new differen- 
tial motion must be started slowly 
throughout the set, a point that is 
much misunderstood by most mill men, 
because they 

CANNOT SEE 
how it is possible for the cone belt 
to slip when the set is nearly filled. 
It is pointed out that the cone 
belt at this point is on the 
small end of the top cone and on the 
large end of the bottom cone, which 
of course, gives the top cone a better 
chance to drive the bottom cone. Al- 



314 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



though the above is true they seem to 
forget that there is an enormous 
amount of weight on all bobbins at 
the finishing of the set. For instance, 
on a slubber of 72 spindles, the bobbins 
at the end of the set each weigh about 
2^ pounds; so 2Jx72 equals 180 pounds 
more on all bobbins than at the begin- 
ning of the set that the cone belt is 
called on to drive, which, of course, 
makes the consumption of power great- 
er on the cone belt at the finishing of 
the set. The above is also true with 
the Houldsworth's motion, but the belt 
is not so liable to slip when the frame 
is started, because the train of gears or 
the pinion driving the sun gear is of a 
much lower speed than its substitute, 
as was explained. To overcome this 
cone belt breaking, some makes of 
speeders having the new differential 
motion have an auxiliary belt to pre- 
vent the ends from breaking. So it 
can be seen from the above that what 
we thought was an improvement intro- 
duced disadvantages. Many inventors 
are working to overcome the cone 
belt breakage and the result has been 
an auxiliary belt. Although this 
auxiliary belt is used to 

SOME ADVANTAGE 
in some mills, it is as a rule 
much neglected in others for 
the simple reason that when the 
cone belt breaks, and is pieced again 
the auxiliary belt must also be short- 
ened, because if the bottom cone occu- 
pies a positio'n which makes its drop 
too great, it will stop suddenly owing 
to the resistance power this cone is 
called upon to transmit. When the 
bottom cone is engaged with the aux- 
iliary belt and not up to its regular 
speed, the ends are not saved, because 
the auxiliary belt is much lighter than 
the cone belt, and it is unable to in- 
creaise the speled of the bottom cone 
to the same rate of speed it was at 
when the cone belt broke, consequently 
the ends are broken. 

By referring to Figure 30, (In 
our Decembeir 15 issue) which shows 
the Houldsworth differential motion, 
the gear H on the driving shaft drives 
the bobbins, its motion being imparted 
through the gear I-I to the gear G, 



which is on the differential sleeve wita 
gear P. The gear F drives the bol 
bins through the gears A, B, C, D and 
E. The speed of the gear H is constant, 
but by the arrangement of gears G, 1- 
1 and Rl, it is possible to 
alter the speed of the geax 
G independently of H, thus al- 
tering the speed of F, and conse- 
quently that of the bobbins. The al- 
teration in the speed of gear G is 
obtained by imparting motion to the 
gear Rl, by the bottom cone. When 
the first layer of roving is being 
wound on the bobbins, the cone belt 
is at the large end of the top cone, 
and at the small end of the bottom 
cone, as on the new differential motion 
already described, but as the bobbins 

GRADUALLY GROW LARGER, 

the belt is moved along the cones, 
until at the finish of a set, the cone 
belt is at the simall end of the top cone 
and at the large end of the bottom cone. 
So as with the new differential motion, 
the top cone being a driver, any parts 
receiving motion from the bottom cone 
will have their highest speed at the 
beginning of the set, and their lowest 
speed at the finish. 

By again referring to Figure 30, it 
can be seen that a gear on the end 
of the bottom cone drives through 
suitable gearing, the gear R2, called 
the compound pinion, which meshes 
with the sun gear Rl; consequently, 
as the cone belt is moved from the 
small to the large end of the bottom 
come, the speed of gear R2 and the 
sun gear Rl will be lessened. The 
sun gear supports by means of studs, 
the two bevel gears I-I on which the 
gears work loosely. When the sun 
gear Rl revolves, it carries with it 
the two bevel gears, I-I, which at the 
same time, as stated, are free to rotate 
on the studs. 

The gear H being fastened to the 
driving shaft, drives the gear G 
through the carrier gears I-I. The 
gears I-I perform the same work and 
one may be imagined as not existing 
for the present consideration, being 
used merely to balance one another, 
and cause the whole arrangement to 
revolve more uniformly. The gears 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



315 



H land G elacli co'ntaiin 42 'teieith, and con- 
sequently if (Uie sun gear Rl were 
held still, H would drive G at the same 
speed, but in the opposite direction. 
If, however, the sun gear Rl is made 
to revolve in the same direction as 
G, the latter makes not only the num- 
ber of revolutionis that it drives 
through, being driven by H, but an ad- 
ditional 

NUMBER OF REVOLUTIONS, 

caused by the sun gear Rl. In order 
to fully understand the above, consider 
H as .standing still. If we turn the 
sun gear through one revolution 
in an opposite direction from 
the driving shaft, G will also make one 
revolution. Now it is obvious that if 
one revolution of H will impart one 
revolution to G, and one revolution 
oi Rl will impart one revolution to 
G, G will make two revolutions. But 
it must be understood that the sun 
gear Rl must make one revolution 
around gear H while H is making its 
one revolution, and in order to do 
this, it should be seen that the sun 
gear Rl must make two revolutions, 
that is, one revolution when the gear 
H is considered standing, and one 
revolution while it is revolving, which 
makes up the two speeds as dsiscribed 
in the new differential motion. The 
above may be more fully understood 
by taking thei following actual ex- 
ample. Suppose that the driving ishaft 
makes 300 revolutions per rdinute. If 
the sun gear Rl is held still, G will 
make 300 revolutions also, but, as 
stated, in the opposite direction. Sup- 
posing (that the sun gear Rl is now 
caused to revolve 10 times per min- 
ute in the same direction as G, we 
have the following: 300 plus (10x2) 
equals 320 revolutions per minute .of 
G. By again referring to Figure 3n, 
it can be seen that the driving shaft 
revolves inside the differential sleeve 
and in the opposite direction, wich 
was the chief defect found against the 
Houldsworth motion, because the fric- 
t'on at this point was very great. 
The speed in some cases is as high 
as 1,000 revolutions per minute. The 
means employed to reduce this fric- 
tion were outlined in the American 



Wool and Cotton Reporter of De 
cember 8. 

It must be understood that in giving 
the above speed, we mean that 

THE DRIVING SHAFT 

is making 500 revolutions in one di- 
rection and the sleeve making 500 rev- 
olutions in the opposite direction. 

Few will admit that the new dif- 
ferential motion causes more cone 
slipping and cone belt breakage than 
the Houldsworth motion. The writer 
has, nevertheless, found this to be a 
fact. No. 85. 



LXXXVI. ROVING WINDING. 

In order to prove that it is impos- 
sible for the winding-on of the roving 
to take place when the bottom cone is 
stopped, and also prove that the bot- 
tom cone is a driver, we offer the fol- 
lowing examples. We will first con- 
sider the Houldsworth motion shown 
in Figure 30, and for the convenience 
of calculation, we will assume that 
a gear on the spindle shaft with 
40 teeth drives through a large In- 
termediate 40-tooth gear on the spin- 
dle shaft, and that a 55-tooth gear on 
the spindle shaft drives a 22-tooth 
gear on the spindles. The revolutions 
of the driving shaft per minute will 
be considered as 400. This gives 400x 
40x55 divided by 40x22 equals 1,000 
revolutions of the spindles per minute. 

We will now find the speed of the 
bobbin. It is assumed that the bot- 
tom cone is raised, which causes the 
sun gear to stop. 

Again for the convenience of cal- 
culation, let us assume that the gear 
on the differential sleeve has 40 teeth 
and drives through an intermediate 40- 
tooth gear on the bobbin shaft, and 
a 55-tooth gear on the bobbin shaft 
drives a 22-itooth bobbin gear. 

Thus, we have the same calculation 
as above, because it was pointed out 
elsewhere that when the sun gear was 
stopped, the differential sleeve made 
the same number of revolutions as 
the driving shaft, because the bevel 
gear H meshing with the two stud 
gears I-I contains 42 teeth and the 



316 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



gear G, 42 teeth. So it can be seen 
that the bobbins, like the spindle, make 

1,000 REVOLUTIONS 
per minute. It is impossible for any 
winding-on to take place, and the bot- 
tom cone ceases to be a factor in 
driving the bobbin. So it must be ad- 
mitted that the bottom cone must 
be lowered in order to set the bob- 
bins in motion, which proves that the 
boittom cone drives the bobbins. 

The above is a fact that has been 
understood by most mill men, and 
never disputed, but it Is merely given 
here simply to give a better under- 
standing of the two motions. We next 
consider the new differential motion 
with the cone belt raised, which stop 
the differential gear Q. 

Again for the convenience of calcu- 
lation, we will assume that a gear 
with 40 teeth is on the spindle shaft, 
and, as on the old motion, transmits 
through a large intermediate, another 
gear with 40 teeth on the spindle shaft. 
The latter drives a 55-tO'Oth gear 
which drives the spindle gear which 
has 22 teeth. This gives the same ex- 
ample as in the first case, and we 
have 1,000 revolutions for the spin- 
dles. Now let us assume that the 
gear Ql, Figure 33, (in our issue of 
December 22), contains 18 teeth, the 
gear R, 30 teeth, and the gear Rl 16 
teeth, and the gear S 48 teeth, 
as shown in the figure. The 

gear SI. drives the bobbins and 
contains 50 teeth. In order to 
fully understand this motion, the 
rolling of R around Ql should be fig- 
ured in the same manner as figuring 
any other speed; that is, consider that 
when the driving shaft makes one rev- 
olution, the short cross-shaft is taken 
around with it, and the cross-shaft at 
the same time takes the gear R around 
Ql, and as Ql has only 18 teeth and R 
30, it should be seen that 

THE CROSS-SHAFT 
will not make a complete revolution. 
If R conta'ned 18 teeth as the gear Ql, 
• the short shaft would just make one 
revolution, but, as stated, the gear R 
contains 30 teeth, so we have the fol- 
lowing: IS divided by 30 equals .6 of a 
revolution of the cross-shaft when the 
driving shaft has made one complete 



revolution. Gear Rl contains 16 teeth 
so we have 16x.6 divided by 48 equals 
.2, or one-fifth. So it can been seen 
that if one-fifth is lost when the gear 
Q is stopped, the gear SI will 
make one-fifth revolution less than 
the driving shaft at every revolution 
of the latter. As was stated, 
the gear SI contains 50 teeth, sO' it 
should be seen from the above that 
if it loses one-fifth at every revolution 
of the driving shaft, the gear SI 
counts as 40, and we have the same 
calculation as when finding the speed 
of the ispindle, and the spindle and bob- 
bin gears make the same number af 
revolutions. Or ,tlake away one fiifth rev- 
olution from the differential sleeve 
and we have 320x50x55 divided by 40x 
22 equals 1,000, revolution of bobbins. 
It should be seen that when a loss 
of one-fifth is considered, the gear 
SI must be figured by the number ot 
teeth it cointains. Thus, the cone belt 
must also' be lowered in order to re- 
ceive any motion from the differential 
sleeve, which proves from what has 
been said elsewhere about Ql check- 
ing the speed of R, that the bottom 
cane drives the bobbins as on 

THE OLD MOTION. 

Another proof that can be made easily, 
and that will conceive the most skepti- 
cal on this point, is to remove the sun 
gear pinion that meshes with the sun 
gear, and it will be found that the 
sun gear will remain in the same 
position. Now remove the carrier 
gear on any new differential motion 
meshing with gear Q, and it will be 
found that the differential sleeve will 
revolve at a high rate of speed in 
the opposite direction to that of the 
driving shaft, and if held by the hand, 
it will be found that it offers much 
resistance. Such a test should be 
enough to convince the most skeptical 
that the old motion having a sleeve 
separating the driving shaft from the 
d'fferential sleeve offers less resistance 
to the cone belt, which enables a 
speeder equipped with the old motion 
to be started more quickly. Again, 
it should be seen that on the old mo- 
tion where very little resistance Is 
given to the cone belt, we find a sun 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



317 



gear pinion of about 25 teeth driving 
a gear of 120 teeth. While on the 
new motions, we fina in most cases 
a much larger gear flriving the gear 
Q, in some cases the gear meshing 
with Q contains almost double the 
teeth that Q contains. No. 86. 



LXXXVII. CONE AND BOBBIN 
SPEEDS. 

All persons that understand the 
law of mechanics know that the con- 
sumpition of power required to drive 
a mechanism is mucn greater when 
the driving gear is larger than the 
driven. Such a condition is found 
on all new differential motions as was 
explained, that in order to 

SPEED UP 
gear Q, this speed must be obtained 
either by speeding the bottom 
cone or changing the ratio in 
the train of gears. 

So the above is another reason why 
the ends will slacken more when 
starting any speeder suddenly equipped 
with the new motion than on a 
speeder equipped with the old motion 
with the differential sleeve seperated 
from the driving shaft. 

Many carders have changed the 
starting point of the cone belt on 
speeders equipped with the new dif- 
ferential motion, in order to equalize 
the rat'o of the two cones, and thus 
eliminate the slackness considerably 
at the beginning of the set. 

The position of the belt is changed 
by changing the cone gear; for in- 
stance, suppose it is desired to change 
the position of the cone belt, owing 
to the small end of the cone being 
worn or for the reason stated above, 
from 7 inches diameter on the top 
cone to 5.25 inches diameter, what 
cone gear would be required? The 
end diameters of the cones on a slub- 
ber are respectively 7 inches and 3i 
inches. 

The full length of the cones, we will 
say, is 36 inches, and the top cone is 
making 210 revolutions per minute. 
Again, suppose that when the set of 
roving is completed the cone belt has 
travelled 25 inches, it can be seen that 
there is 11 inches available, and the 



cone belt can be shifted to that 
amount. Proceeding now to ascertain 
the speed of the lower cone for the 
stated two positions of the cone belt, 
we have the following calculations: 
(1) The first speed of the bottom cone 
would be: 210x7 divided by 3.5 equals 
420. (2) After shifting the cone belt 
from 7 to 5.25 inches on the top cone, 
and from 31 to 5.25 inches on the 
bottom cone, the revolutions of the 
bottom cone will be as below: 210x5.25 
divided by 5.25 equals 210 revolutions 
of the 

BOTTOM CONE. 

Now we will assume that we have 
on the end of the bottom cone a 20 
cone gear, so in order to drive the 
bottom 420 revolutions per minute 
as desired after the cone belt has been 
moved we have the following: 420 is 
to 2J0 what X is to 20 equals 40 cone 
gear. It must be understood that the 
position of the cone belt is seldom if 
ever changed to such an extent as 
given above, the distance and dimen- 
sion of cones are simply given so that 
the reader can see it more clearly. The 
above is a rule, although simple, that 
has been wanted for a long time, be- 
cause it does not only enable the read- 
er to find the proper gear for a certain 
position of the belt, but he can by it 
also see that the two cones must be in 
line at all times, or the intermediate 
speeds will be affected. The reader 
should now understand that the sur- 
face speed of the front roll and the 
excess surface speed of the bobbin 
must at all times be equal, and that 
when the parts which give the excess 
speed; namely, the driven cone drum 
and its connections are stopped, the 
speed of the bobbin will be exactly 
equal to the speed of the flyer. It 
will be readily understood then that 
the speed of the bobbin is made up of 
two parts, that is, a speed equal to 
the speed of the flyer, and another 
speed equal to what we call the excess 
speed of the bohbin. The speed of 
the ' bottom cone with its connecting 

GEARING CONTROLS 
the excess speed of the bobbins, and 
receives no help whatever from the 
driving shaft as claimed by many 



318 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



writers. So then the actual speed of 
the bobbins is decreased only by those 
parts of the machine governing the 
excess speed that have their own 
speed changed. 

The reader should now see the im- 
portance of having all parts that the 
bottom cone governs cleaned often 
and well oiled, because the causes of 
uneven roving and yarn is generally 
due to dirty dry slides, dirty bobbin 
gears, dry bobbin gear from the want 
of oil, dirty bolsters, stuck spindles, 
dry lifting shaft from the want of oil, 
slides and journals not properly fitted, 
or the derangements of their parts, 
are all causes of a slack tension and 
too little attention has been given 
these parts, except by thoughtful and 
ambitious carders themselves. It 
should be seen that those parts govem- 
ning the excess speed must be as free 
as possible, more so on all speeders 
equipped with any new differential 
motion, because with the extra re- 
sistance caused on the cone belt by 
the high speed cone arrangement 
combined with any of the above de- 
fects, a slack continuous tension would 
be the result. 

Let us keep these parts well cleaned 
and oiled, so as to have an even ten- 
sion throughout the set, and not have 
a slack tension which is the cause of 
the speeder tenders tightening their 
rack which makes 

DISASTROUS WORK 
on the warpers. We pointed out the 
effect that is caused on the surface 
speed of the bobbins when those parts 
governing the excess speed are 
neglected. No. 87. 



LXXXVIII. TOP ROLLS. 

Now, what bearing have top rolls 
on the subject? The proper care of 
top rolls is just as important as the 
winding-on problem, they must be 
kept clean. They must also be oiled 
well and kept free from any dirt which 
might tend to clogg them. When 
this is carefully attended to, the pro- 
duction is always larger and of a bet- 
ter quality. 

If the top rolls are allowed to be- 
come dry and dirty, or if the saddles 
become b9,dly worn, a resultant fric- 



tion is caused on the top roll, which 
shortens the strand. 

If the first and second rolls are not 
set far enough over the length of staple 
being run, a constant friction will be 
caused on the front roll. Too much 
twist in the strand fed will cause 
friction on the front rolls and the 
strand is shortened. If the roving de- 
livered be examined, it will be found 
to contain thick and thin places. Any 
of the preceding evils tend to cause 
a constant pull on the strand, and this 
makes the surface speed of the bob- 
bin unequal, because some rolls are 
perhaps in a condition to offer more 
resistance to the winding than others, 
with the result that we have two or 
more bobbins of different diameter 
running on the same frame, that be- 
comes more troublesome as the bob- 
bins increase in diameter, and in 
some cases, it is necessary to doff the 
frame. The 

WEIGHTING OF TOP ROLLS 

on speeders has lately been receiving 
considerable attention from textile 
schools and papeirs. This is because 
it has been discovered that top rolls 
not properly weighted or neglected are 
a greater evil and cause more bad 
work than neglecting the parts govern- 
ing the excess speed, because as was 
pointed out when the tension becomes 
slack, owing to some resistance of- 
fered to the working parts of the ex- 
cess speed, the only harm that is done 
is when the speeder tender tightens 
the tension, which of course, strains 
the ends for the time being. But as 
the tension has a tendency to beco^me 
slacker, the strain on the ends is 
quickly removed, still it must be ad- 
mitted that some bad work is made. 
As we have stated often, the tighten- 
ing of the tension on speeders should 
be branded as a crime by every card- 
er, and such a practice should not be 
tolerated. However, the evil caused is 
not as great as when the top rolls are 
not properly weighted or properly 
cared for. 

As was stated elsewhere, when fric- 
tion exists on any front top roll, the 
frictional contact creates a constant 
pull on the strands, thus stretching it 
in places as all frictional contacts are 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



319 



always intermittent. The poor allow- 
ing made by some mills making coarse 
yarns, that formerly made fine yarns 
has brought about this attention of 
roll weighting. It must be admitted 
that most all machine builders make 

A GREAT MISTAKE 
when they use the same weights for 
speeders built for a coarse mill that 
they recommend for speeders built for 
a fine mill. Of course, we do not ad- 
vise that when a radical change is 
made on a speeder, say, from 20 hank 
to 4 hank that the weighting should 
be clianged, because this would be 
very expensive. But if such a change 
is made, and it is found that the 
Weighting is too light, which is detected 
by the strand having many light places 
here and there, the strand fed should be 
made lighter and run with as little 
twist as possible. One good remedy 
we have given elsewhere that will 
minimize the friction to a large de- 
gree, and is found to be such a bene- 
fit, we again explain here. When 
setting the top rolls, instead of using 
a square to square the surface of the 
top leather roll to' the surface of the 
bottom sifceel roll, set the top leather 
roll a little forward of the centre of 
the bottom isteel roll. It should be 
seen that when the top leather roll 
is set a little forward of the centre 
of the bottom steel roll, a firmer bite 
is created at that point, and thus 
the drawing qualities of the top 
leather roll are increased. When the 
top leather rolls are set exactly over 
the centre of the bottom roll, it will 
be noticed that when the frame is 
started or stopped a forward and 
backward movement is caused. When 
this happens, one side of the roll may 
make its forward or backward move- 
ment before the other side, thus mak- 
ing a little crimped place in the 
strand. Although isuch a defect in 
the strand does not 

AFFECT THE RUNNING 
of the work, it certainly gives the 
yarn a faulty appearance. So it 
should be see^n that in order to have 
an even tension on the frame at all 
times, the top leather roll must be 
as free to revolve as possible, and the 
bottom cone must receive the least 



resistance possible. The observant 
overseer should, when making hiia 
rounds, detect any of the above condi- 
tions, because, when rolls are neg- 
lected, which destroy the relation- 
ship of the surface of the front roll 
and the surface speed of the bobbin, 
the pull on the strand causes the bob- 
bin to be more compact, and conse- 
quently its diameter is reduced, which 
makes it of a different diameter than 
other bohbins, and in most cases 
the end is broken back and the bobbin 
removed. Sometimes speeder tend- 
ers will run an extra end at the back 
for a couple of layers or more in order 
to iiicrease and make the diameter of 
the bobbin the same as all others. 
This is an evil that causes much dam- 
age to top leather roll in the ring- 
spinning and mule rooms, because 
when roving contains an extra doub- 
ling for a few yards, this portion is, of 
course, 

HARDER TWISTED 

with the result that it is too much for 
the front roll to draw, and if the roll 
is set a little forward of the centre of 
the roll, the roll will continue to re- 
volve, and the leather covering in 
most cases is damaged to such an ex- 
tent as to require recovering. 

When bobbins are removed here and 
there, the carder should demand a 
reason, and not leave the frame until 
he is satisfied that the tension is 
right. 

Another good sign to go by is when 
the tension is too tight, the ends will 
break at the eye of the pressor, the 
majority on the back row of spindles. 
When the tension is slack, caused by 
the parts connected with the bottom 
cone not working freely, the ends will 
have a tendency to fiy outward and 
"balloon" as it is called, and thus 
escape from the threading slot of 
the flyer. When an end breaks and 
is not detected by the tender, until 
the traverse has travelled the lengtl. 
of the bottom, and after piecing this 
end, it escapes from the thread slot 
of the flyer, it indicates that the ten- 
sion is too slack. Sometimes all of 
the above conditions are due to care- 
less sizing or in the neglecting of siz- 
ing of the sliver or roving. No. 88. 



320 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



LXXXIX. UNEVEN WORK. 

Unevea work will cause a hard and 
soft bobbin. The end being wound 
around the presser a different number 
of- times, or allowing the eye and 
hollow leg of the flyer to become 
clogged with dirt, will cause bobbins 
of different diameters. The most im- 
portant points to watch in the care 
of fly frames is the making of what 
are technically known as single and 
double. Single is caused when one end 
running two into one is broken, and 
the single end is allowed to run for 
a few layers, when the end is pieced 
again without unwinding the defec- 
tive roving. Double is caused by the 
broken end in the above case, joining 
with the two other ends running along 
side, making three ends running into 
one. Double is also caused by the 
broken ends in the front running in 
with other ends. There should be 
no excuse for makimg single or double. 
If thei tender blamesi the op- 
erative in the previous process for 
sending bad work, the si'tuation 
should be investigated. If a speeder 
tender is making double or single and 
allowed to do so, the overseer is to 
blame. When speeder tenders make 
bad work, they know it, and 
they should 

STOP THE FRAME 
and unwind the defective roving from 
the bobbin. Many overseers will say 
that it is imposisible to stop all the 
single and double. "We are willing to 
admit that accidents will happen, for 
instance, a passer-by may strike a rov- 
ing and cause it to fall to the floor, 
and . as soon as it is discovered it 
may be pieced by some-one other than 
the tender, thus causing single that is 
not detected by the tender. Such 
oases happen very seldom — perhaps 
once in a month, and it is a very 
weak argument for an overseer that 
allows his speeder tenders to make a 
box in some cases two boxes of bad 
roving in a week. Single and ddiible 
can be traced to the cloth and in 
most cases is the cause of much 
worry to the man at the helm, espe- 
cially on window shad© cloth, where 
the defects in a single thread can be 



detected. Again, when three ends run 
into one and they 'are allowed to 
go through every process, they will 
become flattened in the slasher and 
the product will appear more bulky 
than it really is. This gives the 
cloth a very bad appearance. 

Another bad defect found in many 
card rooms is bobbin gears jumping 
here and there, which is caused by the 
gears being very dirty or not properly 
set. When bobbin gears are iallowed 
to jump much breaking back is caused 
in the ring spinning and mule roonis, 
because when bobbin or spindle 

GEARS JUMP, 

ii causes the coils to over-,ride one an- 
other as they are wound on the bob- 
bin, and when the bobbin is unwound 
at the next process the part of the 
coil that is receiving a pull from the 
back rolls may be under another coil 
which in most cases causes the rov- 
ing to break back. 

When a radical change is made in 
the nurnber of the yarn to be spun, 
it becf-^es necessary in some cases 
to make a considerable change in the 
hank roving. 

When any considerable change is 
made in mills, it is a custom among 
most carders to run one-half of the 
old roving with one-half of the new 
roving, a practice that causes much 
trouble in after processes, especially 
if there is a variation in, the length 
of the staple. When a change is 
made from coarse to flne work, the 
only and best way is to change the 
back roving when the frame is dof- 
fing so that all the piecings made at 
the back from changing the roving 
will be wound on the beginning of the 
bobbin, which is generally pulled off 
at the next process when creeling. 
The best way in changing roving is 
instead of having the ends of the 
old roving projecting from the back 
roll to have them project or hang 
over the rods. This will save much 
trouble for various reasons, (1) the 
trouble of putting every end over the 
rods is eliminated, (2) the front row 
of roving is separated from the back 
row, and the liability of getting the 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



321 



front row mixed with the back rows is 
not as great, (3) the ends that 
SHOULD BE PIECED 
to the half bobbins, and the ends that 
should be pieced to th© full bobbins 
can be more readily picked out. When 
all these little items are considered 
in a mill where much changing is 
dome, much labor and expense will 
be saved, because breaking out is an 
expensive process at best, and if 
properly done, much production is 
saved. A great mistake that some 
builders of machinery are making is 
in making the is(pace in the creel 
wide enough to enable the speeder 
tenders to put two full rovings in to- 
gether. We know of no other practice 
that is more detrimental to the mak- 
ing of an even yarn. Let us suppose 
that the mixing has the opposite qual 
ities of the old mixing, and the work 



one full bobbin with a half- 
full bobbin of the old roving, 
we creel the two rovings together, so 
that it can been seen from the fol- 
lowing example, that it is detrimental 
to the making of an even yarn. In 
the first case, .60 hank roving fed 
in (2 into 1) equals .60 divided by 2 
equals ,.30 hank; in the second case, 
.63 hank roving fed in (2 into 1) 
equals .63 divided by 2 equals .315. 
We next find the variation that such 
a change in the slubber roving will 
make in the intermediate not consid- 
ering the twist: .30 hank roving 
makes 1.60 hank roving on the inter- 
mediate. For the convenience of 

CALCULATION 
we will use the following method to 
show that although the variation may 
appear to be slight, it is increased at 
every doubling process. 1.60 divided 




Fia. 34. View of Picker Room in a N ew England Mill. 



comes in much lighter, say, on the 
slubber where .60 hank should be 
made, we are now making .63 
< which is not much of a variation for 
slubber roving) and instead of creeling 



by .30 equals 5.33, draft of interme- 
diate. 1.60 divided by .315 equals 
5.07 or slightly over a quar- 
ter hank. It should be seen 
that if the builders would have 



S22 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



just space enough to allow only a 
half and full bobbin to be put in 
together at the same time, such varia- 
tions would seldom if ever exist. It 
should be the aim of every carder to 
have as little creeling as possible, and 
the only way to reduce the amount of 
creeling is to have a properly filled 
bobbin. No. 89. 



XC. BOBBIN TROUBLES. 

When the bobbins are not properly 
filled, much dissatisfaction is caused 
among the operatives; also if a bobbin 
is not constructed with as great a trav- 
erse as possible with the least taper on 
the bobbin (which should be about 30 
degrees) and filled to gauge of the 
flyer, more doffing and creeling is 
caused. In the first case, few dof- 
fers care to work where the sp.eeders 
are continually doffing, so the result 
is that where such conditions exist 
there is also a continual shortage oi 
doffers. In the second case, more 
creeling is caused which means more 
work for the speeder tender, and they 
too care little to work where the 
back roving comes out often, so we are 
also short of ispeeder tender. Besides 
more creeling means more waste, be- 
cause all mill men will agree with 
the writer that there is always a cer- 
tain amount of roving pulled off each 
bobbin 

AT EVERY CREELING, 
which, besides making waste that must 
be run over again, makes the work 
run badly. It must be remembered too 
that the ro\'ing being pulled off ha? 
been paid for and when a large amount 
Is sent to the picker room, it is quite 
fl.n expensive item. This frequent creel- 
ing has been the cause of many speed- 
er tenders cutting the layers on the 
bobbins instead of pulling them 
off, thus spoiling the staples 
of the cotton that is cut 
beside cutting the bobbin which 
causes it to splinter and become 
troublesome at each creeling time. 
The best of care should be given to 
the bobbins; they should never be al- 
lowed to remain on the floor, or al- 
lowed to remain in the bottom of rov- 
ing boxes and roving doffed over them. 



because many bobbins are broken cm- 
der such conditions. Neglecting the 
skewers causes much breaking back 
at times, especially on a very warm 
day and when the air is full of 
humidity, some mills on such days 
having much trouble from the roving 
breaking back. When the skewers 
become very dull, they should be 
sharpened and examined from 
time to time. If they are 
found to have been sharpened often, 
they should be replaced with new 
ones. It is often that an extra tootn 
of twist is inserted in the roving 
or yarn — the cry being that the new 
cotton is coming in and requires more 
twist, when 

THE REAL TROUBLE 
is the condition of the day acting on 
the skewers, which are in bad shape. 
Here is a point we wish to give 
the young carder. Do not always have 
that excuse of new cotton, because 
it is a confession of your weakness 
in not knowing how to run a room. 
Neiw cotton, as a rule, will lose much 
more, because it is in most oases a 
little green, or in other words. fuU 
of moisture, and when such a cotton 
will dry -fut somewhat in going 
through, the slivers are made lighter 
and, as we have stated, if the draw- 
ings are sized twice daily, such varia- 
tions are quickly detected, and the 
gears on the finished drawing shoula 
be changed until the same standard 
weight sliver is established. Mix the 
new cotton with the old if possible, 
because the loss will not be as great, 
but of course, the staple must be 'the 
same length. No. 90. 



XCI. HUMIDITY. 



New cotton will lose from 12 to 7J 
pounds to the bale, while the old cot- 
ton will lose from 3 to 7.5 pounds to 
the bale. This is much misunderstood 
by most mill men. We know of cases 
where the hoops and bags and every 
particle of matter was weighed and 
when it was found that the Toss was 
so great, the treasurer and superin- 
tendent came to the conclusion that 
the cops and cop waste were taken 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



323 



from the mill. K a mill uses 100 
bales of cotton in a week, and eigM 
pounds of humidity is lost 

IN EVERY BALE, 

which is usually the case, we liave 9x 
100 equals 900 pounds of cotton that 
we are unable to acoounit for. To 
prove that the above is true, take 
out a sample of new cotton, say, 
about a pound, and let it stand any- 
where about the room, and it will be 
found to be much llgnter — the best 
way is to put the sample on a scale so 
as to just balance it, because 
if a person stands and watches 
the scales it will soon be 
clearly realized that the moisture 
leaves the cotton very rapidly. The 
reason why we advise mixing new cot 
ton with the old, is simply because 
sometimes cotton is picked from the 
balls that are not well opened, and 
such cotton is much weaker, and it 
is well known that cotton that is 
opened for a day or more increases 
in strength, but it must be under- 
stood that if it is isunned any 
length of time it is mwch 
we'akened. So it can be seen 
that when the new cotton is mixed 
with the old, there is everything to 
gain, because the old cotton helps 
the weakness of the new cotton, and 
the loss in humidity is only about one- 
half. It must not be forgotten that 
the atmospheric conditions are not 
considered above. A lesser or an In- 
creased degree of moisture means a 
lighter or heavier strand. So if an 
overseer running any room is unfor- 
tunate and has 

NO HUMIDIFIER, 
he must be a good judge of atmospher- 
ic comditions in order to be able to 
keep the section beams at theit proper 
weight. Only experience, good judg- 
ment and diligent study will enable 
him to do this. 

Why some mill men are against the 
use of humidifiers, the writer fails 
to understand, because it must be ad- 
mitted that a certain amount of hu- 
midity is necessary in textile working. 
Again, it should be seen by such mill 
men that it is unfair for them to de- 



mand the same speed and productiom 
from their overseers that is obtained 
by overseers enjoying the usie of hu- 
midifiers. The beat natural condi- 
tions for textile working is generally 
admitted by most mill men to t)e 
found in the month of June in the 
New England states, when the aver- 
age tempeirature in the mill registers 
7F. to 80 dyegrees Eahreiuheit, with, a 
relative humidity of 55 to 65 per cent, 
and absolute humidity 5 to 6 grains of 
moisture per cubic foot of air. This 
is the very reason wny it seems to 
the writer strange after these men 
have learned by experience that dur- 
ing part of the year, everything works 
"well and smoothly, while at other 
times, there is trouble and plenty of 
it too. Surely every mill man waaits 
to produce at all times the same con- 
ditions found in that certain part ot 
the year. To do this, he sihould real- 
ize that it is essentially a matter of 

ARTIFICIAL MOISTENING 
of the atmosphere. Another fact In 
favor of the use of humidifiers Is that 
slightly moist material works more 
smoothly than when dry or too wet, 
for the reason that tne flT)res are more 
flexible and coherent, when properly 
moistened. The securing of a largeo* 
production of a better quality Is not 
the most effective argument for the 
use of humidifiers in any cotiton mill, 
for the up-to-date mill man knows 
full well that they conduce to the com- 
fort and health of the operatives. No 
one can deny that the New England 
manufacturers have been pioneers m 
this country in recognizing the dol- 
lars and cents value of working con- 
ditions, but it seems that they can- 
not see where the humidiflens will 
not only pay for themselves in a short 
time but give a larger and better pro- 
duction for ever after. Adequate ven- 
tilation, is as vital a factor in summer 
as in winter, and in order to secure 
a uniform product, the material must 
be worked under uniform conditions, 
from the card to the loom. Humidity 
does not only count in the working of 
the material, but fully as well 
in the working of the maohiinery. 
A little thinking on the part of any 



824 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



mill mjan should be enough, to con- 
vince him that a card that works well 
in an atmosphere of 60 per cent of 
relative humidity, would be a con- 
stant source of annoyance when 
THE HUMIDITY FALLS 
to 40 per cent. If humidity was un- 
derstood by most mill men, a larger 
amount of humidifiers would be in use, 
because from the following it should 
be seen that atmospheric conditions 
change daily and the work is some- 
what affected. 

There is always two maxima of 
pressure which occur daily when the 
temperature is about at the mean of 
the day, and two minima when it is 
at its highest or lowest respectively. 
There is thus suggested a connection 
between the daily barometric oscilla- 
tions and the daily march of tempera- 
ture; and similarly a connection with 
the daily march of the amount of vapor 
and humidity of the air. The cause 
given for the above Is that the fore- 
noon maximum is due to the rapidly 
increasing temperature, and the rapid 
evaponation owing to the great dry- 
ness of the air at this time of day, 
and to the elasticity of the lowermost 
stratum of air which results therefrom, 
until a steady ascending current has 
set in. As the day advances, the va- 
por becomes more equally diffused up- 
ward through the air, an ascending 
current, more or less strong and 
steady, is set in motion, a diminution 
of elasticity follows, and the pressure 
falls to the afternoon minimum. 

From this point the temperature de- 
clines, a system of descending currents 
sets in, and the air of the lowermost 
stratum approaches more nearly the 
point of saturation, and from the in- 
creased elasticity, the pressure rises 
to the evening maximum. As the 
deposition of dew proceeds, and the 
fall of temperature and consequent 
downward movement of the air are 
arrested, the elasticity is again dimin- 
ished, and pressure falls to the morn- 
ing minimum. No. 91. 



XCII. SPINNING CALCULATIONS. 

For the benefit of those who hare 
a practical experience and do not 



understand how to equip or calculate 
the necessary drafts to obtain a certain 
amount of pounds, and at the same 
time one process to keep up with 
another on coarse, medium, and fine 
work, the following is given: 

Let us suppose that a mill is equip- 
ped with 20,000 warp spindles and 19,- 
000 mule spindles. The number of the 
warp yarn is 28s, and of the filling 
yarn 42s. A warp spindle on 28s yarn 
will turn off about 1.3 pounds per spin- 
dle per week of 56 hours. Hence, 
1.3x20,000 equals 26,000. There Is 
much waste made, such as roving 
waste, clearer waste, etc., that musr 
be allowed for. The amount of waste 
made in a ring spinning room of the 
above size is usually about 500 pounds 
which would make a total of 26,500 
that must be turned off the fiy frames. 
The amount of waste made in the mule 
room is about the same, because the 
back boys will cut off more roving 
than the spinners. This is because they 
put in roving only and do no piec- 
ing. A mule spindle on 42s yarn will 
turn off about .70 pound per spindle 
per week of 56 hours, hence, 19,000 x 
.70 equals 13,300 pounds and 500 al- 
lowed for waste equals 13,800 pounds 
that miust be turned off the jack 
frames. The next thing to do is to 
obtain a catalogue from the builder of 
the machines, and see how many 
hanks it is possible to turn oft 
with the speeders. Let us assume 
that we have 4.5 hank roving for the 
warp, and 6.5 hank for the filling, 
which is about the proper hank, so 
that a short draft can be maintained 
on the ring frames and mules. Sup- 
pose we take the Howard and Bull- 
ough catalogue and we find that a fiy 
frame when running 4.5 hank roving 
will turn off 8.33 hanks per day or 
about 45 hanks for a week of 56 
hours. The next thing to do is to 
find how many pounds one spindle 
will produce in a week of 56 hours. 
In order to make it clear to the read- 
er, the following method is offered to 
show how easily the pounds per 
spindle can be calculated for any 
length of time. Assuming that 
we are running 4 hank roving on a 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



325 



frame of 160 spindles, it will take 4 
hanks to make a pound on the spin- 
dle, so if 4 hanks make one pound 
on the spindle, and the frame turns 
off only one hank, we have only .25 
pound on the spindle, or .25x160 
equals 40 pounds on all spindles. The 
best method to 

OBTAIN THE PRODUCTION 

is to first find the constamt, that is, 
the total amount of roving that is on 
all the spindles when the frame 
turns off one hank. 

It can be seen from the above that, it 
we divide the hank roving into the 
number of spindles, we obtain the 
amount of roving on all the spindles 
when the clock has registered one 
hank: 160 divided by 4 equals 40. 

We want to find what one spindle 
will turn off, so we divide 4 hank rov- 
ing into one spindle which gives us 
the amount of roving on one spindle 
when the clock has registered one 
hank: 1 divided by 4 equals .25. 

To prove the above we go back to 
the Howard and Bullough catalogue 
and we find that a spindle on 4.5 
hank with the front roll making 128 
revolutions per minute turns off 185 
pounds per day. Using the above rule 
we have: 1 divided by 4.5 equals 
.222x8.33 hanks equals 1.8492 or 1.85 
pounds per spindle. 

As was stated the frame will turn 
off about 45 hanks per week. So in 
order to find the necessary number of 
fly frame spindles to turn off 26,500 
pounds of finished roving, we multi- 
ply the constant of one spindle which 
in this case is .222x45 equals 9.99 or 
10 pounds- per week. 26,500 divided 
by 10 equals 2,650 spin\.ies required. 

So we divide 2,650 by 14 which is 
the number of speeder spindles in- 
tended, which equals 189 spindles per 
speeder, so we make it 190 spindles 
per speeder. 

To prove the above short method in 
obtaining production we now get the 
total number of spindles which is 14 
xl90 equals 2,660. 

One spindle turns off nearly 10 
pounds, so we have 10x2,660 equals 
26,600 pounds turned off on all the 



spindles in 56 hours. Now if one 
frame will turn off 45 hanks, two 
frames will turn off 90 hanks and 14 
frames will turn off 7x90 equals 630, 
total number of hanks. 190 divided 
by 4.5 equals 42.22, constant for ob- 
taining production. 42.22x630 equals 
26.5986 or 26,600 pounds turned off on 
all the spindles in 56 hours. We next 
find the number of jack spindles re- 
quired to turn off 13,800 pounds of 
finished roving. 

Using the above rule we have: 
1 divided by 6.5 equals .1538 or near- 
ly .154 for a constant. We refer 
again to the catalogue on the same 
page, and we find that a frame run- 
ning 6.5 hank roving, 

THE FRONT ROLL 
making 106 revolutions per minute, will 
turn off 7.15 hanks per day or about 
39 hanks per week of 56 hours. 39x.l54 
equals 6.006 or 6 pounds per week. 13,- 
800 divided by 6 equals 2,300 jack spin- 
dles required. 2,300 divided by 12 equals 
191 number of spindles per frame, so 
we call it 192, an even number, as on 
the fiy frames, because the spindles 
must be of an even number in order 
to have the same number of spindles 
in each row. 

Again, we prove the above rule as 
in the case of the fly frames. 12 
frames at 192 spindles: 12x192 equals 
2,304 spindles; 2,304x6 pounds equals 
13,824 pounds turned off on all the 
spindles in 56 hours. If one frame 
turns off 39 hanks two frames will 
turn off 78 hanks and 12 frames will 
turn off 6x78 equals 468 hanks. 192 
divided by 6.5 equals 29.53 constant. 
468x29.53 equals 13,819 pounds turned 
off on all the spindles in 56 hours'. 

No. 92. 



XCIII. FURTHER SPINNING CAL- 
CULATIONS. 

We next find the necessary number 
of intermediate spindles to give the 
above production on warp and filling. 
An allowance must also be made 
here, for cut roving clearer waste, 
etc., which in this case we will as- 
sume to be 500 pounds on the warp 
and 350 pounds on the filling. 



326 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



So we must turn off 27,100 pounds 
of intermediate roving from the warp 
intermediates, and 14,174 pounds of 
intermediate roving from the filling 
intermediaites. We have 

RECOMMENDED 

elsewhere 1.65 hank intermediate 
roving for 4.5 hank roving. We refer 
again to the Howard and Bullough 
catalogue and we find that an inter- 
mediate will turn off 9.85 hanks per 
day or 54 hanks per week of 56 hours, 
the front roll making 140 revolutions 
per minute. We next get the constant 
production of one spindle. 1 divided 
by 1.65 equals .606x54 equals 32.72 
pounds turned off one spindle. 27,- 
100 divided by 32.72 equals 828, num- 
ber of spindles required for warp in- 
termediate. 828 divided by 103.5, call- 
ing it 104 spindles per frame; 8x104 
equals 832x32.72 equals 27,223 pounds 
turned off on all warp intermediate 
spindles. Using constant 104 divided 
by 1.65 equals 63.03 constant. 54 
hanks turned off one frame 8x54 
equals 432 total hanks turned off. 
63.03x432 equals 27,228 pounds turned 
oft" on all warp intermediate spindles. 

We will call the intermediate rov- 
ing for the jack frames 2 hank. We 
refer again to the catalogue and we 
find that an intermediate will turn 
off 10.42 hanks per day or 57 hanks 
per week of 56 hours, the front roll 
making 132 revolutions per minute. 
We then get the constant production 
for one spindle: 1 divided by 2 equals 
.5x57 equals 28.5 pounds turned off 
one spindle. 14,174 divided by 28.5 
equals 498 spindles required on the 
filling side; . 498 divided by 6 equals 
83 to a frame, call it 84 spindles. It 
is not necesary to take up any more 
space in explaining how to find the 
number of spindles for a certain pro- 
duction, because the numerous ex- 
amples given should be sufficient to 
give a clear understanding of the 
above method in finding the produc- 
tion for one or more spindles, for any 
period run. 

We must next find the necessary 
number of slubber spindles for both 
warp and filling. There is some loss 



here also, which we will assume tn 
this case is 200 on the warp slubbers, 
and 100 on the filling, thus the 
warp slubbers must produce 27,460 
pounds of warp slubber roving, and 
14,274 pounds of filling slubber roving. 
We make the waj-p slubbers .60 hank 
and the filling .65 hank. 

We refer again to the catalogue 
and we find that a slubber making .60 
nank roving will turn off 11.17 hanki 
per day, the front roll making 173 re- 
volutions per minute. 11.17 hanks 
per day is equal to about 61 hanks 
per week ol 56 hours. 

We then get the constant produc- 
tion of one spindle: j. divided by .60 
equals 1.666x61 ejquals i01.63 pounds off 
one spindle. 27,460 divided by 101.63 
equals 270 spindles required on the 
warp side. 270 divided by 3 equals 
90 spindles on each slubber. 101.63 
x270 equals 27,440 pounds turned off. 
Using constant, we have: 90 divided 
by .60 equals 150x183 total hanks 
equals 27,450 total production. The 
difference of ten pounds is lost in 
the fractional part owing to the bulk 
of the strand. We now find the num- 
ber of spindles on the filling side. Re- 
ferring again to the catalogue, we find 
that a slubber making .65 hank rov- 
ing the front roll making 165 revolu- 
tions per minute turns off 10.92 hanks 
per day or 60 hanks per week. 1 divi- 
ded by .65 equals 1.538 constant, 1.- 
538x60 equals 92.28 pounds off one 
spindle. 14,274 divided by 92.28 
equals 154 spindleis required. 154 di- 
vided by 2 equals 77 spindles on a 
slubber, call it 78 spindles on each 
slubber. 

Thus, 92.28x156 equals 14,395 pounds. 
Using the constant, w© have: 78 divi- 
ded by .65 equals 120 constant. 2x60 
total hanks. 120x120 equals 14,400 
pounds. We have said elsewhere 
that as a general rule, it is not al- 
ways possible to arrange a series of 
fly frames so as to 

GIVE THE BEST 

theoretical drafts, because one pro- 
cess must keep up with another, and 
at the same time have the same num- 



COl'TON MILL MANAGEMENT 



S2T 



ber of spindles on each kind of 
frame. In tlie above calculations we 
have 8 intermediates containing 94 
spindles and 6 containing 84 spindles. 
This would be a poor arrangement, 
because the frames would have dif- 
ferent lengths. When equipping a 
mill the slubber and intermediate 
should if possible consist of the isame 
number of spindles, and the produc- 
tion of the different processes bal- 
anced by properly arranging the 
drafts. This will be explained fully 
when -we calculate from the top to the 
yarn. We next find the number of 
deliveries, but in so doing, what we 
have said about the greatest amount 
of friction being between the first 
and second roll on the slubber must 
not be forgotten. 

The slubber draft must be as short 
as possible, and the drafts in the inter- 
mediate frames should be less than 
the draft in the roving frame and 
slightly greater than that of the slub- 
ber. In other words, the draft at each 
process should be increased as the 
diameter of the strand fed in at the 
back decreases. Such an arrangement 
of drafts reduces the amount of fric- 
tion found too often in most cotton 
mills, which to a large degree is the 
cause of uneven yarn, besides wear- 
ing the leather rolls. 

In order then not to have the drafts 
in the fly frames excessive, the fin- 
ished drawing sliver must be as light 
as possible. There is loss between the 
slubbers and drawings, which al- 
though very slight should be taken 
into consideration. N. 93. 



XCIV. PRODUCTION. 

We will now consider the total pro- 
duction together with 100 added for 
the loss between the slubbers and draw- 
ings. 27,460 plus 14,400 plus 100 equals 
41,960 total production. A 50-grain 
sliver to the yard will necessitate a 
draft of about 3.87 on the filling slub- 
ber. A 60-grain sliver to the yard' 
will necessitate a draft of about 
4.85 on the warp slubbers, which we 
consider a long draft, which was 
proven elsewhere. In order to turn 



off 41,960 pounds with the loss again 
considered 60 cards are required. We 
have advised elsewhere to have a 
delivery of drawing for each card. So 
in order to find the number of 
pounds one delivery 

SHOULD TURN OFF, 
we divide the number of deliveries 
intended into the total production: 
41,960 divided, by 60 equals 699 or 700 
pounds each delivery must turn off. 
In order to find the speed of the front 
roll, the constant for production must 
be found if the shortest method is de- 
sired. To find constant for produc- 
tion on a drawing frame, multiply 
the circumference of the front roll by 
the minutes run, divide by 36 and 840 
and the quotient will be the constant 
EXAMPLE. 

Diameter of front roll 11 Inches 
equals 4.3197 circumference. 60x56 
equals 3,360 minutes in a week of 56 
hours. 4,3197x3,360 equals 14,514 divi- 
ded by 36 equals 403.17 divided by 840 
equals .48 constant. 

Rule to get production with the 
above constant: (1) find the hank 
sliver and divide into constant, 
(2) multiply this quotient by the rev- 
olutions of Ihe ironit roll, and the 
Quotient will be the number of pounds 
from one delivery 100 per cent. 

A certain per cent must be deduct- 
ed from the production found in or- 
der to get the actual production. This 
loss varies much, it depending on the 
speed of the machines, the weight of 
the sliver, kinds of help, the number 
of deliveries, run by one person, etc., 
15 per cent being abouit the average 
loss. 8.33 divided by 50 equals .166 
hank sliver filKng side; .48 divided by 
.166 equals 2.9. 700 divided by 2.9 
equals 241 revolutions of the front 
roll. Deducting 15 per cent, we have 
241X.85 equals 205 revolutions of the 
front roll. 8.83 divided by 60 equals 
.138 hank sliver warp side. 
.48 divided by .138 equals 3.48; 
700 divided by 3.48 equals 201x.85 
equals 171, speed of the front roll. 
So we have 30 deliveries of 
drawings turning off about 21,- 
000 pounds with the front roF 



328 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMBNI 



making 343 revolutions per min- 
ute axid 30 deliveries turning off 
about 21,000 pounds with the front 
roll mailing 201 revolutions per min- 
ute. We next consider the combers. 
The production of 

A COMBER VARIES, 
hut for the convenience of calcula- 
tion we will assume that the comber 
takes off 400 pounds, adding a slight 
loss to th© production under con- 
sideration, which ma.kes the total pro- 
duction 42,000 pounds. 42,000 divided 
by 400 equals 105 combers required. 
Like the comber the production of 
the ribbon lap machine varies also, but 
is about 600 to 1,000 pounds per day. 

We assume in this case that the rih- 
bon lap machine is to turn off 700 
poundiB per day, or 3,850 a week. 
Counting no loss we have 42,000 divi- 
ded by 3,850 equals 11 ribbon lap ma- 
chines required. The production of 
a sliver lap machine is, as a general 
rule, a little less than the production 
of the ribbon lap machine, say about 
450 to 900 pounds per day; again, as- 
suming that the sliver lap machine 
is to turn, off 600 pounds per day or 
3,300 pounds per week. Counting no 
loss we have 42,000 divided by 3,300 
equals 13 sliver lap machines required. 

The number of cards necessary has 
already been given, and it must be un- 
derstood that the weight of the sliver 
on the card should be the same as 
the finished drawing. As the produc- 
tion of an intermediate or finisher 
picker varies from 10,000 to 13,000 
pounds per week, it can easily be 
seen that for the above equipment 
4 intermediate and 4 finisher pickers 
are required. 

The production of an automatic 
feeder and breaker combined varies 
from 20,000 to 25,000 pounds per week, 
and three feeders are sufficient for the 
above equipment. We will now 
give all calculations necessary in 
starting a new mill from the picker 
to the fine and jack frames. No. 94. 



XCV. DRAFTS, TWISTS AND 
CONSTANTS. 

We will next give three charts 
showing the equipment, and gearinjr. 



such as the draft constants, drafts, 
twist constanus, twist per inch, coils 
to the inch, lay constant, and lay geai- 
and speed calculation, etc. We will 
calculate the medium mill, so that any 
student can from the charts, ruler and 
explanations given, calculate any 
change to be made in any cotton mill. 

The first consideration is the speed 
of the beater. Assuming that the 
counter-shaft is making 480 revolu- 
tions per minute, and carrying a pul- 
ley 24 inches driving a pulley on the 
beater of 8 inches diameter, we 'have: 
480x24 divided by 8 equals 1440 speed 
of beater. We next consider the 
blows to the inch. Diameter of feed 
roll 2?> inches, speed of feed roll 9.9 
revolutions per minute, speed of 
beater 1,440, number of blades 2; 2.5x 
9.9x3.1416 divided by 2x1,440 equals 
37 blows struck to the inch of lap de- 
livered by the feed rolls. We have 
said elsewhere that the drafts in the 
picker room should not be consid- 
ered, but instead to consider the 
blows to the inch. When more pro- 
duction is required, speed up the feed 
on all the machines. In speeding the 
feed, no chances are taken, because 
the faster the feed the less the blows 
to the inch. 

To find the hank lap, the following 
rule may be used to advantage. Rule: 
to find the hank of lap, roving or 
yarn, divide 12 in as many hundreds 
as you take yards, and the quotient 
will be the constant for that number 
of yards. For instance, suppose we 
wish to find the hank of a lap weigh- 
ing 11 ounces to the yard, we would 
first find the constant for one yard. 
Using the above rule we have 100 div- 
ided by 12 equals 8.333 constant for 
one yard. There are 437.5 grains to 
the ounce, so to find the hank we 
must first reduce the ounces to grains: 
11x437.5 equals 4812.5 grains; 8.333 
divided by 4812.5 equals .0017 hank 
lap. Again, to give a clear under- 
standing of the above method, we 
will suppose that we reel off 48 yards 
of roving, weighing 90 grains. Using 
the above method we have, 48x100 
equals 4800 divided by 12 equals 400 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



329 



constamt. 400 divided by 90 equals 
4.44 hank roving. 

We have now 

REGULATED OUR FEED 
in the piclcer so that the cotton is 
receiving 37 blows to the Inch, and 
the finished lap is weighing 11 ounces 
to the yard. 

We now find the draft of the card 
on the filling side to make a 50 ac- 
tual grain sliver. It must not be for- 
gotten here, that 4i per cent must 
be allowed for the foreign matter ex- 
tracted from the lap while passing 
through the card, such as fly, seeds, 
and strips. So we multiply the grain 
sliver by the loss and we have, 1.045x 
50 equals 52.25. 11x437.5 equals 4812.5 
grains. 4812.5 divided by 52.25 equals 
91 draft of card. We refer again to 
the Howard and Bullough catalogue 
and we find the draft constant 1604.95. 
1604.95 divided by 91 equals 17.6 or 18 
draft gear. We next calculate the draft 
of the warp cards. 1.045x60 equals 62.7. 
4812.5 divided by 62.7 equals 77 draft 
of warp card. 1,604.95 divided by 77 
equals 20.8 or 21 draft gear. 

We next find the drafts on each 
process of drawings to give a 50-grain 
finished sliver on the filling side, and 
a 60-grain flniished drawing sliver on 
the warp sdde, 6 doublings at each pro- 
cess. We now employ the rule given 
elsewhere, which is repeated here. To 
get the draft on each head of drawing 
of each process, multiply the hank 
desired by the doublings and divide by 
the hank carding, extract the cube 
root from the quotient and the re- 
sult will be the draft there should be 
on each head of each process. 

Example: 6x6x6 equals 216 total 
doublings; 216x.l66 divided by .166 
equals 216; cube root of 216 equals 6 
for the draft. 

To prove the above calculations, we 
will employ a different method. 6x6x6 
equals 216 total draft. 6x6x6 equals 
216 total doublings. 216 (total draft) 
X.3 66 hank carding equals 35.856 di- 
vided by 216 (total doublings) equals 
.3 66 hank finished drawing. We again 
refer to the Howard and Bullough cat- 
alogue and we find the drawing draft 
constant, 383.34 divided by 6 equals 



nearly a 64 draft gear. It Is 
useless to figure the drafts on 
the warp drawings, because it 
should be seen that if the 
weight of the finished drawing sliver is 
the same weight as the carded sliver 
the calculation will be the same as 
given above and the same drafts 
and gears must be employed at each 
head. 

Again it must be understood that 
we do not advocate a 60-grain sliver 
on the cards for the hank roving men- 
tioned, for the above weights are given 
simply to make it clear to the beginner 
how to go about making a different 
hank sliver. We have said elsewhere, 
while calculating the number of de- 
liveries, that 30 deliveries would turn 
off 21,000 pounds of filling drawing, 
and 30 deliveries would turn off 21,000 
pounds of warp drawing. In such a 
case where a different weight sliver 
must be made on the finished draw- 
ings, the weight required must be bal- 
anced by changing one head of draw- 
ing on the warp side. In finding the 
number of spindles for the Intended 
production on the slubbers it was 
found that 3 slubbers consisting of 90 
spindles were necessary on the warp 
side, and 2 slubbers consisting of 78 
spindles on the filling side, which 
makes a total of 426 slubber spindles. 

No. 95. 



XCVI. SLUBBERS, INTERMEDI- 
ATES AND JACK FRAMES. 

Ab was stated, all the slubbers 
should be of one length. If 
we divide 426 by 6 we have 
71 spindles to a slubber; make 
it 72 and proceed to find the proper 
draft to give the intended production. 
As on the drawings, one filling slubber 
should be changed from time to time 
to balance the production of warp 
and filling. We now calculate the 
draft of the filling slubber: .65 divided 
by .166 equals 3.91, draft of filling 
slubbers. 

We again refer to the catalogue and 
we find the slubber draft constant 
to be 208 divided by 3.91 equals 53 
draft gear. We next calculate the 
draft oa the warp sluibbers : .60 divided 



330 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



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332 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



by .138 equals 4.34 draft. 208 divided 
by 4.34 equals nearly 48 draft gear. 
We next calculate the twist per inch 
that should be inserted. Using the 
constant already given we have: the 
square root of .65 equals .806x1 con- 
stant equals 81 turns per inch. 

Refering to the catalogue, we find 
the twist constant to be 48.17 divided 
by .81 equals 60 twist gear. Twist 
calculation of warp slubbers: The 
square root of .60 equals .775x1 equals 
nearly .78 turn per inch. 48.17 
divided by .78 equals 62 twlat gear. 

We next calculate the draft of the 
intermediates: .65 (2 into 1) equals 
.825; 2 divided by .325 equals 6.15 
draft. Draft constant 236.88 divided 
by 6.15 equals 38 draft gear. We now 
find the draft of the warp intermedi- 
ates: .60 (2 into 1) equals .30; 1.65 
divided by .30 equals 5.5 draft; 236.88 
divided by 5.5 equals 43 draft gear. 
We next calcula;te the 

TWIST PER INCH 

for the filling intermediates. The 
square root of 2 equals 1.414x1.1 con- 
stant equals 1.56 turns per inch. Twist 
constant 57.90 divided by 1.56 equals 37 
twist gear. We next find the twist per 
inch and twist for the warp intermedi- 
ates. The square root of 1.65 equals 1.- 
284x1.1 equals 1.41 turns per inch. 57.90 
divided by 1.41 equals 41 twist gear. 
We next calculate the draft of the 
fine speeders. 1.60 (2 into 1) equals 
.8G; 4.5 divided by .80 equals 5.62 
draft. 

An allowance of 1 per cent should 
be made here, and 1.5 per cent on the 
jacks. The contraction is so slight 
on the slubber and intermediates, that 
it is seldom if ever taken into con- 
sideration. However, we will give the 
following example so that the reader 
can see at a glance how the contraction 
is found. Draft of frame 7.09, hank 
roving fed in 1.86 (2 into 1) equals .93 
hank roving turned off 6.45 hank. 
7.09X.93 equals 6.59; 6.45 divided bj 
6.59 equals .97; 100 minus .97 
ecmals 1.03 or 3 per cent contraction 
So we multiply 5.62x1.01 equals 5.6'; 
draft. Draft constant 236.88 divided 
by 5.67 equals 42 draft gear. 



We now find the draft that should 
be on the jack frames: 2 (2 into 1) 
equals 1; 6.5 divided by 1 equals 6.5 
draft; 1.5 per cent allowed for con- 
traction; 6.5x1.015 equals 6.5975 or 6.60 
draft. Draft constant 312 divided by 
6.60 equals 47. We next calculate the 
twist per inch on the fine speeders. 
The square root of 4.5 equals 2.121x1.2 
equals 2.55 turns per inch. Twist 
constant 113.87 divided by 2.55 equals 
44.6 or 45 twist gear. We next find 
the twist per inch and twist gear for 
the jack frames: The square root of 
6.5 equals 2.54x1.2 equals 3.05 turns 
per inch; 113.87 divided by 3.05 equals 
o7 twist gear. 

We give the following table which 
will be found very accurate in calcu- 
lating the required 

COILS TO THE INCH 

on the bobbin for any given hank rov- 
ing. 1 hank or below 7Jx square root 
of hank; 1 hank to 2 hanks Six square 
root of hank; 2 hanks to 3 hanks 9ix 
square root of hank; 3 hanks to 4 
hanks lOx square root of hank; 4 
hanks to 6 hanks 10. 5x squai'e root of 
hank; 6 hanks to 10 hanks 12.5x 
square root of hank. 

Using the above table we calculate 
the coils that should be on the filling 
slubber bobbin to the inch: The 
square root of .65 equals .806x7.5 
equals 6 coils to the inch. Lay con- 
stant 72 divided by 6 equals 
12, lay gear. On the warp 
slubbers we have: The square 
root of .60 equals .775x7.5 equals 
5.8 coils to the inch. 72 divided by 
5.8 equals 12 lay gear. We next find 
the coils and lay gear on the filling 
intermediate. The square root of 
2 equals 1.414x9.5 equals 13.43 coils to 
the inch. Lay constant 200.4 divided 
by 13.43 equals 15 lay gear. On the 
warp intermediate, the square root of 
].C5 equals 1.284x8.5 equals 10.91 or 11 
coils to the inch. 200.4 divided by 11 
equals 18 lay gear. We next find the 
coils and lay gear on the fine and jack 
frames: The square root of 4.50 equals 
2.121x10.5 equals 22.27 coils to the 
inch. Lay constant 350 divided by 
22.27 equals 15 lay gear. On the 
jacks the square root of 6.5 equals 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



333 



2.549x12.5 equals 31.86 coils to the 
inch. 350 divided by 31.86 equals 11 
lay gear. 

A slubber making .65 hank roving 
with a spindle speed of 630 revolutions 
per minute and a 1| inch diameter 
front roll making 165 revolutions per 
minute will turn off 10.92 hanks per 
day which is equal to 21.84 hanks on 
the two slubbers or 120 hanks per 
week; assuming we have 3 slubbers 
making filling roving the total pro- 
duction for the week would be as 
follows: 

Total hanks 180. 72 divided by .65 
equals 110.76 

CONSTANT PRODUCTION. 
110,76x180 equals 19,937 pounds of fill- 
ing slubber roving. A slubber mak- 
ing .60 hank roving with a spindle 
speed of 630 revolutions per minute 
with IJ inch front roll making 173 
revolutions per minute will turn off 
11.17 hanks per day or 22 hanks on 
both frames, which is equal to about 
121 hanks per week. Assuming we 
have 3 slubbers making warp slubber 
roving, and the total hanks 182, we 
have the following: 72 divided by .60 
equals 120 constant production. 182x 
120 equals 21,840 plus 19,937 equals 
41,777 total pounds. In the above 
method if the production should be 
found too great or too small, the dif- 
ference to the intended production, 
should be divided by the production of 
one spindle and the quotient is the 
extra number of spindles, or the num- 
ber of spindles required to balance the 
production. 

We now find the number of inter- 
mediate spindles and also the number 
of frames. We employ another method 
to make it more clear. No. 96. 



XCVII. PRODUCTION OF ROVING. 

We are supposed from calculations 
already given to turn off 41,300 pounds 
I6,96r. pounds intermediate roving. 
Oi 1.65 hank warp roving, and 2 
bank filling roving. The first thing 
to do in this method is to average the 
two hanks, 2 plus 1.65 equals 3.65 
divided by 2 equals 1.825, call it 1.82. 
An intermediate with a 1% inch di- 
ameter front roll making 162 revolu- 



tions per minute will turn off about 
5i pounds per day or 29 pounds per 
week (see catalogue), 41,300 divided by 
29 gives 1,426 intermediate 

spindles required. We call it 
1,428. The number of frames of 
filling 6, of warp 8, total 14. 1,428 
divided by 14 equals 102 spindles to 
each intermediate. Hanks turned off 
filling intermediates 313; 102 divided 
by 2 equals 51 constanit. 51x313 equals 
of warp and filling intermediate roving. 
Hanks turned off the warp interme- 
diates, 420.102 divided by 1.65 equals 
61.81 constant. 420x61.81 equals 25,- 
960 plus 15,963 equals 41,923. 

We next find the number of fine and 
jack frame spindles. Using the same 
method as finding the intermediate 
spindles, we have: Production re- 
quired for the warp 26,500 pounds. A 
fine frame 7x3i inches with a li' inch 
front making 128 revolutions of front 
roll per minute will turn off 1.85 
pounds per day or 10.17 pounds per 
week of 56 hours. 26,500 divided by 
10.17 equals 2,605 

FINE SPEEDER SPINDLES 
required. 2,605 divided by 14 equals 
186, number of spindles to each fine 
frame. 

Production required on the jacks 
13,800 pounds. Referring to the cata- 
logue we find that a jack frame 6x3 
inches with a front roll speed of 120 
revolutions per minute will turn off 
1.21 pounds per day or 6.65 pounds per 
week of 56 hours. 13,800 divided by 
6.65 equals 2,073 spindles required. 
2,073 divided by 10 equals 207 or 208, 
number of spindles to each jack frame. 
Hanks turned off the fine speeders 
644. 186 divided by 4.5 equals 41.83 
constant production. 644x41.83 equals 
26,616 pounds of warp roving. 

Hanks turned off jack frames 433; 
208 divided by 6.5 equals 32; 433x32 
equals 13,856 pounds jack roving. 
Chart 1 shows the equipment and 
hang-up for a medium cotton 
mill. All calculations made in 
Chart 1 employed the above methods. 
The constants given to find the 
turn per inch, and the con- 
traction of twist is taken into con- 
sideration. Chart 2 shows a coarse 
mill, the calculations given are taken 



334 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



from the catalogue. This was done 
so tile student could, by following our 
explanations, soon learn our short 
method in obtaining all calculations 
given. Chart 3 is a very fine goods 
mills. In this chart the contraction 
of twist is 

TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION, 

but like Chart 2 the calculations are 
based on ordinary twist, 1.2x square 
root of hank, with an allowance of 15 
minutes per set for dofting and stops. 
It will be noticed that we give a 
great loiss in our carding calculations; 
the reason for this is so that the card 



Middling upland cotton. The above 
charts give the young men working 
in a cotton mill every opportunity to 
quickly learn how to make all cal- 
culations. It will be noticed also that 
the production is greater at one pro- 
cesis. This was explained elsewhere, 
as was the matter of making the warp 
and filling equal. The warp drawings 
in Chart 1 run at a slower speed than 
the filling drawings, the reason for 
this, is that it is a poor practice to put 
in only enough deliveries to just sup- 
ply the intended production, because 
when the work is made lighter they 
must be driven much faster, or the 




Fig. 34A. Card Room in a Medium Mill. 

(Note the manner in which one of the belts has . been temporarily shortened for 

grinding the wire.) 



room will turn off just a little more 
than the spinning. Again, when using 
poor stock as was explained, more 
waste is made together with a loss of 
production. However, with such an 
arrangeiment and equipment as in 
Chart 1, 700 pounds should be the max- 
imum amount of waste made in the 
card, spinning, and mule rooms using 



sliver made heavier. With such an 
arrangement as given in Chart 1 the 
sliver can be reduced and the froinc 
made to revolve like the filling side 
and the same amount of production ot)- 
tained. We will now give an outline 
showing how to make a weekly re- 
port, and also how to manage a card 
room. No. 97. 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



335 



XCVIII. CARDING COST. 

The science of exact carding cost 
means simply good bookkeeping and 
an itemized report in order to have 
the proper knowledge of how much or 
little gain is made for a certain hank 
roTing. It is safe to assert that there 
is no business of the world where 
there is so much guesswork as there is 
ill a coittoQi mill. Some mills have 
no accurate system of cost finding at 
all. 

Such conditions should not exist in 
a cotton mill, but it is with regret 
that it must be said that it does exist 
in many mills at the present time. The 
following is the system carried out In 
many mills when changing hank rov- 
ing to make a certain weight cloth. 
The superintendent will go to the 
carder and say: "What will it cost 
to make a five-hank roving?" The 
carder begins to figure it out in his 
own mind, he does not want to be dis- 
honest, but he has, like most men, a 
certain amount of pride and wants to 
do his work at as low a cost as the 
carder in a neighboring mill making 
the same hank roving, so he gives the 
superintendent his cost, based probably 
on a week's run under the most favor- 
able comditions. Arrangements are 
made to run the roving, and the cloth 
sold below the cost of making the 
roving. The carding cost or the 
cost of other departments should not 
be figured from 

A WEEK'S RUN 

or production, but from the exact cost 
taken from the report simdlar to the 
report given below, apportioning each 
item of labor and material among the 
different processes. In this way the 
superintendent has a copy of the 
reports of each department and in this 
way knowis whether the cost increases 
or decreases from week to week. 
Should there be a marked increase in 
coisit he should ascertain why. 

Again if the hank roving is changed 
and the amount of hanks required fig- 
ured from the difference in the twist 
gear and the price per hank also con- 
sidered, the difference in the cost can 
be quickly figured and for a long pe- 
riod. If the report given belpw be ex- 



amined, it can be seen that the average 
cost for any item for three to six 
mojiths can quickly be ascertained. 
The carding cost as a rule, is given 
very little consideration by mast noiill 
men, especially by mem who have 
charge of a plant and have had no ex- 
perietnce in a card room. 

No experienced millman can deny 
that the difference in the grade of cot- 
ton will sometimes make a difference 
of 4 per cent in the total production. 
Atmospheric conditions will make as 
much variation and when these two 
extremes exist together, the production 
suffers to an alarming extent. When 
there is a falling off of the total pro- 
duction, the total cost is made much 
higher, owing to the amount of money 
paid to the day help being the same 
each week. Some carders will 

MAKE MATTERS BALANCE 
at times, which is easily done if the 
superintendent is unable to size the 
roving and at the same time know 
how to find the production on all fly 
frames. Below we give a weekly 
carding report for the benefit of young 
men who are anxious to get such 
methods, and for the millmen in gen- 
eral. 

It will show the beginner how to find 
every item and cost for same, it will 
show the manufacturer that the carder 
must be honest if he is obliged to pro- 
duce the number of hanks every week 
end. 

In making out the weekly report for 
the convenience of calculations we will 
use Chart No. 1. The hanks, of course, 
can be taken either daily or weekly, 
but more production can be obtained 
by taking the hanks daily, because 
women have also a certain amount of 
pride, and if the work turned off is 
placed before their eyes every day, 
all energy on the part of the tenders 
will be put forth in order that she 
or he may head the hank board. How- 
ever, we will assume that the hanks 
are taken on the slubbers, interme- 
diates, and fine speeders, and the 
amount of hanks turned off is the 
same as given in Chart No. 1. On the 
filling slubber, we have 180 hanks. 
180x110.76 equals 19,937 pounds. 



336 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



Price per hank $.10x180 equals $18. 
72 ispindles to a frame, 3 frames x72 
equals 216. Hank rovdng .65. If tlie 
reader will now 

REFER TO CHART 

No. 1 and to the report it should be 
seen that finding the total amount of 



pounds filling intermediate, 102x6 
equals 612 pindles. Price per hank 
$.10x313 equals $31.30. We next 
find the production and cost of the 
warp side. 420x61.81 equals 25,960 
pounds warp intermediate. 102x8 
equals 896, priice per hank $.0825x420 
equals $34.64 cost. No. 98. 



Week ending — 

Number of days run. 



CHART NO. 1.— REPORT OF CARDING DEPARTMENT. 
191 Total pay roll $397.49 



Warp. 



Total cost per pound J.0097 

Number of day hands. 

"Weft. 



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.60 


21,840 


blubber 3 


72 


Interme- 














Interme- 




diate 8 


102 


896 


61.81 


420 34.65 


1.65 


25,960 


diate 6 


102 


Fine 14 


186 


J, 604 


41.83 


644 64.40 


4.60 


26,938 


Jack 10 


208 



*7 01 
<4 (U 



E- M ''J so 

216 110.76 180 $18.00 



.65 19.937 

612 51 313 31.30 2.00 15,963 
:.0S0 32 433 47.63 6.50 13.856 
Production, warp roving, 26,938; pay roll, $115.56; cost per pound, $.0043. Production, Jack 
roving, 13,866; pay roll, $96.93; cost per pound, $.0070; total production, 40,794; average cost per 
pound, $.0052. Pay rwl, fey help, $185; ttftal cost Of hanks, $212.49; average cost day help, 
1.^045. OVERSEER. 

XCIX. FINE SPEEDER COSTS. 

We next find the production and cost 
of the fine speeders. 41.83x644 equals 
26,938 pounds of fine roving. 186x14 
equals 2,604 total number of spindles. 
Price per hank $.10x644 equals $64.40 
cost. We next find the production of 
the jack frame. 32x433 equals 13,856 
pounds of jack roving. 208x10 equals 
2,080 total spindles. Price per hank, 
$.11x433 equals $47.63 cost. We next 
add the cost of the slubber, intermediate 
and fine speeders together and divide 
by the production of the fine speeders 
and this gives us the cost of the fine 
roving without the day help. $115.56 
divided by 26,938 equals $.0043 nearly 
or almost one-half cent to the 
pound. We next find the cosit 
ol the filling side. $96.93 divided 
by 13,856 equals $.0070 nearly or 
almost three-quarteirs of a cent a pound. 
We will assume the day help cost 
to be $185, which is about the cost for 
day help to handle the above amount 
of production. The total production 
is 40,794 pounds of finished roving. 
We next find the average hank which 
is obtained by dividing the total num- 



production and the cost with a chart is 
very little trouble. Such a chart 
is also valuable to carders having 
charge of more than one mill in a large 
plant. We next find the production 
on the warp. Refering again to the 
chart we find a different constant pro- 
duction, because on the filling wo are 
making .65 roving and on the warp 
side .60 roving, and as we must divide 
hank roving into the amount of spin- 
dles on the frame, the constant for the 
filling slubber is 110.76 and for the 
warp 120. Hanks turned off 182x120 
equals 21,840 pounds of slubber roving. 
The amount of spindles will be the 
same, 3x72 equals 216. Price per 
hank $.0907. 182x$.0907 equals $16.51 
cost. Now it is not necessary to take 
up any more space in explaining the 
method of finding the production so we 
will figure each process and afterwards 
explain how to find the cost, etc. In 
using the above method the carder 
should have a list of constants, so that 
it will not be necessary to find the 
constant every week. We next figure 
the production of the filling 
intermediate, 313x51 equals 15,963 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



337 



bei* of hanks into the total production 
a.nd the quotient found divided into 
the average number of spindles. Total 
hanks turned oif 1,077. Average num- 
ber of spindles 195. Total production 
40,794 divided by 1,077 equals 37.88 
which is the average number of pounds 
to each hank turned off in the room, 
195 divided by 37.88 equals 5.15 average 
hank. Total cost for all hanks $212.49. 
$185 plus $212.49 equals $397.49 total 
cost. 

$397.49 divided by 40,794 equals 
$.0097 or almost one. 

CENT TO THE POUND 

for making a 5.15 hank roving. We 
next find the average cost per pound 
or the roving. $212.49 divided by 40, 
794 equals $.0052. 

We next find the average cost per 
pound of the day help. $185 divided by 
40,794 equals $.0045 or $.0052 
plus $.0045 equals $.0097 for the 
day help and roving together 
as in the. first case. Now 
suppose the superintendent should ask 
how much more per pound would it 
cost the room if all the jack frames 
were changed to 10 hank roving. We 
refer back to the catalogue and we find 
that we must insert about 3.79 turns to 
the inch of twist in a 10 hank roving. 
We find also that the 6.50 hank will 
turn off only 6.56 hanks — a difference 
of 1.31 hanks. 1.31 hanks per day 
on one frame is equal to 72 hanks per 
week on ten frames. Referring to the 
chart we subtract 72 hanks from 433 
and we have 361 hanks that can be 
turned off when making 10 hank rov- 
ing. We next find the price per hank in 
the same proportion as the twist gear. 
Refering to the chart we get the twist 
constant which is 113.87 divided by 
3.79 equals 30 twist gear for 10 hank 
roving. We have on a 37 twist gear, 
37x.ll divided by 30 equals $.1356 price 
per hank. 361x$.1356 equals $48.95 cost 
of making 10 hank roving. 208 
divided by 10 equals 20.8 constant for 
production. 20.8x361 equals 7,508 
pounds of 10 hank roving. 

We next find the cost of 
the intermediate hank roving to 
make 10 hank roving without having 
^n excessive draft. So we divide the 



draft which in this case is 6.60 (see 
chart) 10. divided by 6.60 equals 1.51 
hank two into one. 1.51x2 equals 3.02 
Intermediate hank roving that must be 
produced for a 10 hank roving. We 
refer again to Chart 1 and we find we 
are inserting 1.56 turns to the inch. 

We refer back to the catalogue and 
we find that we must insert about 2.08 
turns to the inch into a 3.02 hank rov- 
ing. Using the same method as on 
the jack frame, we have: 10.42 hanks 
per day less 9.15 equals 1.27 hanks. 
1.27 hanks on one frame is equal to 42 
hanks per week. 313 minus 42 equals 
271 hanks that can be turned off the 
filling intermediate making 3.02 hank 
roving. We next find the price per 
hank. 57.90 divided by 2.08 equals 
28 twist gear for 3.02 hank. We have 
now on 37 twist gear. 57.90 divided 
by 2.08 equals 28 twist gear for a 3.02 
hank roving. 37x$.10 divided by 28 
etjuals $.1321x271 equals $35.80 cost of 
making 3.02 hank roving. 102 divided 
by 3.02 equals 33.77 constant for pro- 
duction. 33.77x271 equals 9,152 pounds 
of filling intermediate roving. We 
next find the cost of the slubber roving 
to make 3.02 intermediate roving. Re- 
ferring again to Chart 1, 3.02 divided 
by 6.15 equals .49x2 equals .98 hank 
slubber roving to make 3.02 intermedi- 
ate roving. Twist per inch inserted 
in .65 hank .81. Twist per inch that 
must be inserted in .98 hank, about 1 
turn. 10.92 hanks turned when run- 
ning .65 hank, 10.18 when running .98 
hank a difference of .74 hank or 12 per 
week. 180 minus 12 equals 168 hanks 
that can be turned 

OFF THE SLUBBER 
when making .98 hank roving. 48.17 
divided by 1 equals 48 twist gear. 
60x$.10 divided by 48 equals $.125x168 
hanks equal $21 cost. 72 divided by 
.98 equals 73 constant for production. 
73x168 equals 12,264 pounds of slub- 
ber roving. No. 99. 



C. FILLING ROVING COST. 

We now find the total cost of the 
filling roving which is $21 plus $35.80 
plus $48.95 equals $105.75 $105.75 plus 
$115.56 equals $221.31 plus $185 equals 
$406.31 total cost of pay roll. 26,938 



338 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



plus 7,508 equals 34,546 total produc- 
tion. $406.31 divided by 34,546 equals 
$.0117 cost per pound. 

It can be seen that the actual cost 
can be found in a very short time by 
the above method, and the carder can 
do what he says, regarding the cost, 
because he knows that the above is 
not gruess work. 

The above report is valuable to the 
superintendent, because if a carder 
should allow too many hanks, his 
actual production can be found 
by multiplying the number of 
hanks on the pay roll by the 
constant. Again, if he should 
put down the proper production 
and pay for itoo many hanks, by 
dividing the constant into the produc- 
tion the number of hanks given away 
can be found. 

Some carders have a practice of re- 
porting the hank roving much lighter 
than it really is. For instance, in 
Chart 1, the warp intermediate pro- 
duction is 25,960 of 1.65 hank roving. 
We will now give an example of how a 
superintendent can be lead astray re- 
garding the cost if he neglects sizing 
the roving and yarn often. We will 
assume that 

THE ACTUAL HANK 

intermediate warp roving in Chart 1 
is 1.40 instead of 1.65. 102 divided by 
1.40 equals 72.85x420 equals 30,597 
production. 30,597 divided by 61.81 
equals 495 minus 480 equals 15 hanks 
that can be given away and still bal- 
ance the production. It ca,n be seen 
that with the above chart such a prac- 
tiice can not exist if the supeirintendent 
will size the roving and yarn. 

In some mills the price per hank is 
very low and the carder allows so 
many hanks when making up his pay- 
roll. This is a very bad practice. It 
is imposisible to do this and at the 
same time require the carder to have 
a hank-board in his room. The only 
proper wayjs to fix the price per hank 
so as to give the same wages as when 
hanks are allowed. Then have a 
hank-board hung in a prominent place, 
and upon it post the clock readings 
'^^ery Monday morning. 



The hanks should be recorded dally 
and the figures placed on the board 
so that the speeder tender that has the 
lowest number of hanks can see where 
she stands. It will be found in most 
cases that speeder tenders want to head 
the hank board. The bad roving 
should be recorded beside the hanks, 
so that if a speeder tender in trying 
to head the board should let much bad 
work reach the spinning room, she will 
GET NO CREDIT. 

Carders often ask, "How much bad 
roving should a speeder tender be al- 
lowed to make?" The answer is, 
"None". There is no excuse for mak- 
ing double and single. No. 100. 



CI. CARE OF MACHINERY. 

The proper care of machinery is an 
important consideration in every de- 
partment of a cotton mill. When an 
overseer enters his room each morn- 
ing he should try to look upon all the 
machinery — representing thousands of 
dollars — with a feeling of responsibil- 
ity. He should make sure that ma- 
chinery intrusted to him is handled 
carefully and should realize that the 
life of the machinery is the life of the 
plant. Some writers advise keeping 
the machinery up to its highest pro- 
ductive capacity, pointing out that the 
maximum production of the machinery 
reduces the cost. This is one of the 
greatest mistakes made in most all 
cotton mills of America. Why do we 
get a stronger yarn from a stationary 
top card? It is not because it is a 
better card, we know differently, it is 
the difference in the speed. Again, why 
does the outline of the American cones 
differ from the English cones? The 
difference in speed is the cause. The 
rod attached to ihe hollow leg of the 
flyer has a tendency to follow a straight 
line of force, but i- prevented from so 
doing by being atta-^hed to the hollow 
leg of the flyer. Tl e faster the flyer, 
the more pressure or the first layers, 
then as the bobbin fills this 

PRESSURE DECREASES, 
as the presser finger changes its angle 
which brings the presser rod nearer the 
spindle and the pressure is reduced in 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



339 



the same proportion to the change of 
the presser finger angle. 

High speed on a fly frame will cause 
much more friction of the cone belt, 
owing to the vibration of the cones. 
Why are most all drawing frame steel 
rolls shamefully abused by the unskill- 
ed help? When a drawing front roll 
is made to revolve at a speed greater 
than 400 revolutions per minute, it only 
takes the fractional part of a minute 
from the time a trumpet chokes, and 
the frame fails to stop, for the cotton 
to become lapped around the steel 
rolls. Roller laps on all high speeded 
drawings are very 

HARD TO REMOVE, 

because the high rate of speed 
causes th.e frames to run for a longer 
period after the lap is formed than it 
would with a lower speed, consequent- 
ly the roller lap is much harder, and, 
of course, more difficult to remove, 
sometimes the steel rolls are bent and 
the gears broken. 

The manner in which the drawing 
frames are cared for in some mills, 
would make very discouraging reading 
for the stockholders. In some mills 
where the help is not cautioned 
against using knives, steel hooks, and 
even hammers and screw-drivers, the 
first thing done whem a lap Is 
formed is to cut it off with a knife. 
The writer has seen cases where a part 
of 

THE FLUTES 
?vas cut for an inch or two to such an 
extent that its drawing quality was de- 
stroyed. Again after the lap is cut 
it is sometimes difficult to remove it 
from between the rolls. In such cases 
the writer has seen drawing tenders 
and even second hands and overseers 
use a screw-driver and hammer. The 
lap wedged between the rolls waa 
driven off the boss to the space be- 
tween the roller stand and the boss 
of the rolls. The only proper way to 
remove a large roller lap that is badly 
wedged between the rolls, is to remove 
one steel roll. When an ordinary lap 
is found on any steel roll, the lap can 
be removed almost as fast with the two 
thumbs as with a knife, especially If 
the roller lap is on the front roll AA^here 



the fingers of both hands can rest on 
the clearer cover and the two 
thumbs given an oscillating move- 
ment on thje surface of the 
lap, this movement will quickly 
loosen the lap to such an extent that 
it can be moved very easily, try it. It 
is a shame that we can enter cotton 
mills which have been in operation 
only a few years and find the machin- 
ery showing marks of unnatural wear 
due to lax methods for which the over- 
seer is to blame. 

Machinery, will deteriorate in ef- 
ficiency with proper care; therefore, if 
neglected its efficiency is more quickly 
reduced. A short time ago the writer 
visited a cotton mill and noticed a 
drawing tender 

CUTTING A LAP 
from the front roll of a drawing frame. 
Then before our eyes he took a brok- 
en file and a brick to drive the lap 
from between the bosses of the front 
and second roll. When the overseer's 
attention was called by the writer to 
the manner in which the lap was be- 
ing removed, and he was asked if he 
allowed such a practice, he said 
"This machinery will last while 
I am here and then the fellow that 
takes charge can have a whack at this 
place and then he will realize what I 
was up against". 

In any cotton mill where the ma- 
chinery is properly cared for, plenty of 
good help will be found, with the pro- 
duction turned off good in quality and 
quantity. Every person seems con- 
tented, and the man In charge re- 
spected. No man should neglect ma- 
chinery, because it is old, but instead, 
should watch it more than the new, 
because when new machinery is well 
cleaned and oiled it needs very little 
watching. With old machinery even 
when properly cleaned and oiled, the 
different parts are more liable to get 
out of order. All overseers should 
train their help to take pride in doing 
their part in the proper care of machin- 
ery. 

The overseer that can, through per- 
severance, train his help so that they 
will understand that the taking care 

of their machirseTv is a benefit to them- 



340 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



selves, will always be contented and 
respected. When an overseer feels 
like the overseer quoted above, he him- 
self is to blame. Think how much 
more that drawing frame tender 

WOULD ESTIMATE 
his overseer's character, if he 
had kindly taken the brick and 
file from him, and explained the harm 
to the machinery that such a prac- 
tice will cause. He, too, would feel 
as if he lived a life that becomes a 
man, and not have the feeling 
that each working day is his last. 
When an overseer has a discon- 
tented feeling through his own ne- 
glect he fears for his job, and he is 
afraid of ordering any supplies, and the 
machinery and all concerned suffers. 
Many carders having such a feeling 
will in itihe wiinter months when the 
carding gains on the spinning rooms 
which necessitates the stopping of the 
surplus machineis, rob tJhe different 
parts from the temporarily idle ma- 
chines, in order to keep down the sup- 
ply expense. Any overseer of any de- 
partment that will rob or allow the idle 
machinery to be robbed is an enemy 
to the concern for which he works, 
because mills have been known to can- 
cel large orders on account of not hav- 
ing the necessary machines in readi- 
ness. No.lOl. 



Cll. CARD-ROOM MANAGEMENT. 
In the management of a card-room, 
the carder's aim should be: 1. To 
produce good work, with as large a 
production as is consistent with the 
quality of the work required; to 
avoid unnecessary waste, keeping 
down the expenses of wages and 
power, amd keeping the machinery in 
good coindltion. 2. An overseer 
must study amd make himself 
thoroughly acquainted with the dif- 
ferent teanper® and dispositionis of help 
under his charge, and adapt his con- 
duct and proceedings accordingly. 
Keep cool amd good tempered, and so 
conduct yourself towardte your help 
as to gain their respect and esteem, 
amd no matter what happens be al- 
ready to give instructions to those 
who are in need of them instead of 



running with questions to the super- 
intendemt who always has enough 
trouble of his own. An overseer 
should never complain no matter what 
happens. He should be 

EVER READY 
to grasp the situation and protect his 
company's interest, and exercise 
justice toward all concerned, and 
keep everybody busy instead of try- 
ing to do all the work himself. Man- 
aging help in any room of any cotton 
mill is a very important factor in the 
sucoessiful operations of tue room amd 
also the plant. An overseer should 
be a good judge of human nature so that 
he can employ good, moral people that 
will work and do all in their power 
for the good of themselves and the 
room. If only a picker hand is be- 
ing employed, the importance of fill- 
ing the automatic boxes evenly at all 
times should be explained. The even- 
er motion should also be explained, 
and it should be shown to the new 
operator that, when laps are allowed 
to run out, such a practice is quickly 
discovered in the card-room. If a 
grinder is being employed, question 
him about his ability as a grinder, 
ask him about his methods of setting 
and at what distance he sets the dif- 
ferent parts. The stripper when em- 
ployed should be questioned about 
letting laps run out, he should be told 
that letting a lap run out in this room 
means immediate discharge, owing to 
such carelessness doing so much dam- 
age to the different parts of the card. 
If a person is employed for the sliver 
lap, ribbon lap, comber and drawing 
frames, the proper method of piecing 
s'hould be outlined. He should be cau- 
tioned about the ends put up at the 
back just 

SLIGHTLY OVER-LAPPING 
the end running out. If persons 
are employed for fly frames they 
too should be questioned, and not put 
in charge of a pair of frames just be- 
cause they say they cam run a pair. 
They should be questioned regard- 
ing the cleanliness of the work, they 
should be asked what parts should bp 
Itept clean and so forth. 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



341 



Of course, there are 'times when a 
feand could not well explain heinself 
aind stiil be a good speeder tender. 
The object in questioning a hand in 
that respect is to learn from the per- 
son whether they understand the im- 
portance of keeping the top rolls 
clean, keeping the hollow leg of the 
flyer clean, the rack, and all gears 
governing the excess speed. 

Some carders may think that the 
above method is a long one in em- 
ploying help, but let me say, that it 
is often one or two hours after start- 
ing before the writer has all 
ha.ndis in place, owing to the amouait 
of questions demanded from the em- 
ploye, besides explaining to them the 
manner in which their duty should be 
performed. This little trouble at the 
start has convinced me of this, that 
people employed under such condi- 
tions will sitay with you and not be 
always changing from one mill to an- 
other. 

Where you find a steady class oif 
help in a mill, which is one of the 
chief points in the success of the 
room or plant, you find good produc- 
tion and good quality also. There is 
one point in managing help that will 
cause the loss of influence, and that 
is, in yielding -a point to a hand be- 
cause that hand is of a family of in- 
fluence, or connected with a large 
famil of help. Have your 

DISCIPLINE 
carried out to the letter in the room 
of which you have charge, no matter 
at what cost. Do not place too much 
confidence in your second hand, as 
sometimes good help are forced to 
quit their jobs for no other reason 
than the second hand imposing on 
them by not keeping their machines 
in good order, such as changing rack 
gears, twist gears, and some of the 
n.'iany other gears found on fly frames. 
All good observant overseers of 
carding will, after placing the help, 
make their rounds, first to the picker 
room to see if the automatic feeders 
are being filled evenly. The small lat- 
tice apron should also be ex- 
amined. If the beaters are mak- 



ing too much noise, the ma- 
chine should be stopped and the 
beater examined, because beaters 
when dull make a noise caused by the 
vibration due to the blade of the beat- 
er being dull and not chopping off the 
cotton at each blow as it should. The 
evener belts should be examined and 
also the record of lap-weights. Weigh 
a couple of laps yourself, but at a dif- 
ferent time each day. A carder should 
walk up and down each card alley, 
and while passing the back of the 
cards, fhe flats should be examined to 
see if the wire on the flats are in- 
jured from a high place in the cylin- 
der, caused by the card-flUet blister- 
ing, etc. When passing each card the 
web should be examined by taking a 
portion of the web from the card and 
if not satisfactory, the carder should 
be able to place the blame in the prop- 
er place for such conditions. Some- 
times the web on a card is very de- 
ceiving. For instance, if a comb 
band breaks and is not detected by any 
one, the card will fill to such an ex- 
tent that the card will stop, owing to 
the consumption of power required 
being too great for the driving belt. 
In the majority of cases like the 
above, a couple of strippers and 
grinders will put ail their power to 
the driving pulleys, anid with the aid 
of the drawing belt and new comb-band 
that operates the comb, the 
cylinder and doffer is made to re- 
volve and the amount of cotton on 
the cylinder and doffer partly re- 
moved by the doffer comb. No. 102. 



cm. CARDERS' TROUBLES. 

When a card becomes in such a 
condition that it stops with the 
belt on the tight pulley, it should be 
seen that the cotton is accumulated 
between the wire of the cylinder, 
flats and doffer and is forced to the 
foundation of the fillet. If the card is 
started again without stripping, the 
millions of neps will find their way 
to the top of the wire point and thus 
to the sliver. 

The above practice is the cause of 
irakirg p/- much second quality 



342 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



cloth in the majority of our cotton 
mills. Such neips appear like snow- 
flakes on the surface of the cloth 
which gives ithe latter a bad appiear- 
ance, and in most cases makes it un- 
merchantable for the goods it was in- 
tended. Let it be our aim to properly 
strip cards which have for any reason 
become clogged with stock. This will 
remove all the neps and broken fibres 
from the cylinder and doffer fillet. 
The comb-boxes should be examined 
to see that they are not overfilled 
with oil. When comb-boxes are 
overfilled with oil, the end of the 
comb and also doffer end on the same 
side of the card as the comb is sat- 
urated with oil, which is caused by 
the vibration of the comb in the cut- 
out for its reception in the comb-box. 
While passing the card being ground, 
stop and listen, and if the contact of 
the emery wheel can be heard this 
indicates that the grinding is done 
too heavily. In winter time the comb- 
ing of the doffer comb should be 
watched, to see if a part of the wet 
has a tendency to follow the doffer. 
This is done sometimes by a heavy 
piece of lap running through; however^ 
when such a thing happens the over- 
seer should ascertain whether it is a 
heavy piece of lap or if the comb 
blade is uneven. This has been ex- 
plained elsewhere, and the causes of 
an uneven comb-blade given. Such 
heavy places coming through is one 
chief objection to the use of a heavy 
lap, because it is obvious that if a 
bunch or tuft of cotton, when running 
a light lap, will cause 

THIS HEAVY PART 

of the lap to follow the doffer, the 
evil is increased by the use of a 
heavy lap. 

A heavy lap will cause much sag- 
ging of the web on a muggy day, and 
if the card is of ithe 45-inch width 
type, the web will sag to such an 
extent as to return one-half the pro- 
duction back to the picker room as 
waste. All cylinder-boxes should 
be examined once every week to see 
tliat tliey asre well filled with tallow. 
The overseer, after he is sure that the 



work produced from each card is sat- 
isfactory, will now turn his atten- 
tion to the grinding and see 'that it 
is done regularly. Every overseer 
should have a record of every card 
ground, also when the flats are 
ground, and when the flats are cleaned 
to see that every card has the same 
treatment. Pull down the chamber 
door underneath the doffer to see if 
this fly is removed as it should be. 

On the combers watch the top 
combs and see that they do no pound- 
ing, for reasons previously explained, 
also see that the machines are clean- 
ed, and examine all top rolls to see 
if they are in good condition, on all 
machines. Watch every web on the 
drawing frames, to see if any are 
cutting or not having the proper num- 
ber of doublings. While passing the 
fly frames if a spindle is found to be 
idle, the tender should be questioned 
about it, and see that it is again oper- 
ated as soon as possible. 

If roving is removed from the spin- 
dles here and there about the roomj 
this indicates that the tension is out 
of order, and an explanation should 
be demanded from the tender for al- 
lowing a speeder to get in such a con- 
dition. Then she will either admit 
that she neglected calling the -second- 
hand or that the second-hand neg- 
lected changing the rack. Any sec- 
ond-hand or section-hand that neg- 
lects changing the rack gear when 
conditions demand it should be im- 
mediately discharged. No. 103. 



CIV. CARDERS' MISTAKES. 

It is wrong for any carder to de- 
mand that no speeder tender shall 
touch the racks in any way, and at 
the same time have a man in his em- 
ploy that refuses to change the rack 
gears. From what has been said it 
should be seen that there is no other 
neglect in a cotton mill that will 
cause as much bad work throughout 
the mill as neglecting changing the 
rack gear when conditions demand it. 

When the sizing is done. It should 
always be performed at the same time, 
lecause if you should size your draw- 



COTTON MILL. MANAGEMENT 



343 



ing frames to-day at 8 o'clock in the 
morning and 2 o'clock in the after- 
noon, and tomorrow at 10 o'clock n 
ttie morning and 4 in the afternoon, 
the changes made from the sizinga 
found may be in the wrong direc- 
tion. 

For instance, suppose we size our 
drawing frames to-day at 2 o'clock; 
the cards at that time are generally 
stripped, and there is no danger of 
any light work coming through. On 
the other hand if the sizing is neglect- 
ed until 4 o'clock, some of the light 
work may be sized and 

CHANGES MADE 

on the heavy side when it should not 
be disturbed. We have given the 
variation in the card sliver before 
and after stripping, and from what we 
have just pointed out, it should be 
seem that ithe sizing Of the drawings 
should be done at the same time daily. 
A great deal has been said and writ- 
ten about straining the roving when 
sizing, the claim being made that if 
the bobbins are too great a distance 
from the bite of the reel, the pull re- 
quired to unwind the coils combined 
with the distance makes it test lighter 
than it really is. There is, no doubt, 
a great deal of truth in the above 
claim, but "if the same method is em- 
ployed when sizing the roving every 
day, it should be seen that when the 
work is once regulated to this method 
of sizing, the amount of straining, be- 
ing always the same, will not affect 
th© work. 

However, the distance from the 
bite of the reel to the top of the 
bobbins should not exceed 36 inchjes. 
Again, when sizing it should be notic- 
ed, as when sizing drawing from 
full or nearly eimpty cans, wheth- 
er the coils are from the top 
or the middle of the bobbin. 
The bobbins should be reeled when the 
coils are about IJ inches from the top 
of the bobbin, so that when a certain 
amount required is reeled from the 
bobbin the coils will be unwound 
li inches upwards and li inches 
downwards, thus equalizing the pull 
on all strands. 



A good practice to determine wheth- 
er the proper amount of twist is insert- 
ed in the iroving being sized 
(fine roving), is to reel the 
roving still more umtil the coils 
being unwouind are nearly at the 
bottom of the bobbins, and if the 
strand on one or two bobbins should 
break before 'the coils being unwound 
are half way on the layer, this in- 
dicates that the cotton is coming 
in poorer and more twist should be 
inserted. On the other hand, if the 
roving being unwound carries from the 
top of the bobbin to the bottom with- 
out breaking aind no hard ends are 
found on the intormediates it indi- 
cates that the proper amount of twist 
is beiing inserted. 

When a new mark appears in the 
mixing-room, one bale should be run 
through as a runner as it is termed, 
and the changing that this necessi- 
tates in the arraniging of the drafts 
and twist per inch, the weather oon- 
ditioins remaining the same, gives the 
carder a good idea how to arrange 
his gearing for the remaining bales of 
such a mark. 

The floor should be 

KEPT AS CLEAN 
as possible and free from waste and 
bobbins. 

Every oil bottle should be watched, 
and the belts cleaned and belt dress- 
ing added every week. Belt dressing 
should be applied to the belts when 
the speed is rum slowly, so as to pre- 
clude the possibility of the belt slip- 
ping off. 

All fire apparatus should be given 
its share of attention. Water pails 
should be filled and kept in their 
proper place. The fire blankets and 
hose-pipes ought always to be 
in readiness and the help in- 
structed from time to time how to 
use them. The overseer and second- 
hand should know where the sprinkler 
inlet valve is situated and also the out. 
let. This is important, because in 
miamy ways a sprinkler head may ac- 
cidently be opened. When a sprink- 
ler head comes off over the 
cards and the flats receive a wetting, 



244 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



do not stop the card, but instead, apply 
whitening freely on every flat. Then 
pull the stripping plate cover down; 
care should be taken, however, that 
no member is brought too close to 
the cylinder, when whitening can be 
applied freely here also. When fire 
occurs on a fly frame, the first thing 
to do is to have a couple of pails of 
water with hand brushes. With these 
water can be passed over all the skew 
gears, bobbins and spindle gears. The 
belt should be quickly removed, and 
then water applied freely at the head, 
while other hands should wipe up the 
water. Oil should then be applied 
where water is found. Every spindle 
should be lifted and allowed to drop 
at a height of 2 inches in order to 
force the water from the steps of the 
spindles. 

A good method of keeping the bob- 
bin gears clean is to have a system 
of cleaning one slubber, two inter- 
niediate, and four fine or 

JACK FRAMES 

every week. Scouring should be done 
once a year on the fiy frames when 
all spindles should be pulled out and 
the bolster scraped. When the bol- 
sters are scraped, a piece of cloth ob- 
tained from the cloth-room, that will 
reach the length of the frame, should 
be placed over the steps so as to 
avoid the possibility of any dirt drop- 
ping into the steps. 

Requisites for overseers: Be 
promptly on hand at your work 
in the morning. Do not be aiftraid to 
get there ahead of time, and never be 
late. Put all your time into your job 
and give your employer the best that 
is in you. Do not watch the clock. 
Get off more work than expected of 
you if you possibly can. The man 
that grows fast in these qualities is 
soon found to be too big for the p'osi- 
tion he holds, and promotion follows. 
Every man must try to be larger than 
his position, but he must be mighty 
careful not to feel above his position, 
becauise he is then standing on 
dangerous ground. Make your posi- 
tion the apple of your eye and cling 



to it as though the whole world would 
grasp it from you if it could. 

No. 104. 



CV. RING SPINNING. 

Ring spinning is a continuation of 
reducing the sliver from roving to 
yarn, and like the fly frame processes, 
as the roving is reduced to yarn twist 
is inserted, which is the chief point 
of difference. The effects of these 
two processes on the sliver is not 
only in the amount of twist insert- 
ed, but the method employed to in- 
sert the twist in each of these two 
processes differs to a very large ex- 
tent. 

The reason for this is that, in the 
fly frames, only sufficient twist is in- 
serted into the sliver to enable the 
fibres to hold together so that the 
pull necessary to unwind itself from 
the bobbin will not separate them- 
selves, which causes what is termed 
"breaking back". In the ring spin- 
ning frame when the sliver has pass- 
ed the action of the drawing rolls, 
the process of attenuation is at an 
end, as the sliver has been reduced 
to the size intended. Here is where 
the amount of twist must differ, be- 
cause instead of 

INSERTING THE TWIST 
in the sliver to unwind itself at the 
next pmocess, it is necessary to in- 
sert sufficient twist to enable the 
sliver to withstand the processes of 
spooling, warping, slashing, and weav- 
ing. There are four kinds of spin- 
ning machines, but only two kinds 
are used to a great extent in the Amer- 
ican cotton mills; namely, the ring 
frame, and the cotton self-acting mule. 
As known by most mill men, the ring 
frame differs considerably from the 
mule. The process of attenuation is 
the same, but the method in which the 
tv,-ist is inserted and the manner of 
winding the yarn differs to a large 
extent. 

The difference may be termed as 
one machine spinning continuously, 
which is the ring frame, while the 
mule spins intermittently. The ob- 
jects of the ring frame are the same 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



345 



as tlie fly frame, only on the ring 
frame a different method is employed 
to insert the twist, which is accom- 
plished by a string or band conneot- 
ing the surface velocity of the cylin- 
der to the whorl of the spindle. 
While on the fly frames this is ac- 
complished by connecting gears as 
was explained. It must be under- 
stood also that the 

RING FRAME DIFFERS 
from the fly frames in winding the 
material on the bobbin. The pas^ 
sage of the strand from the drawing 
rolls to the bobbin of the fly frames 
has already been explained. The pas- 
sage of the yarn on the ring frame is 
from the drawing rolls through a 
guide wire, which will be explained 
later, then through a device known 
as a ring traveler which it drags 
around the ring at a very high rate 
of speed. As stated, the mule being 
an intermittent spinning machine, a 
different form of winding the yarn, 
which differs from the fly frame and 
ring frame, is found in the mule. 
While the mule is performing the 
process of attenuation and twisting, 
no winding takes place for a few 
seconds, the next few seconds of time 
being occupied in winding onto the 
spindles the yarn that has been spun. 
There is also a difference in the form 
in which the yarn is pro- 
duced, the 'fly frame bobbin and 
the warp ring frame bobbin 
being the only two resembling 
one another in construction, as they 
are tapered at each end of the bobbin 
and to about the same degree, the 
chief difference being in the size of 
the bobbin, the warp ring ispun bob- 
bin being, of course, much smaller. 
When the yarn is wound off the bobbin 
with a filling-wind motion, instead of 
each layer extending from one end of 
the bobbin to the other, as on the 
warp wind, the layers extend only a 
short distance, usually the length of 
ifhe cone shaped lower part of the 
bobbin, and each succeeding layer 
is moved slightly higher at end change 
of the traverse. The fly frame, and 
ring frame wind the yarn on a wood- 
en or paper bobbin, while the mule 



winds the yarn in the form of a cop, 
using for a central support a paper 
tube of any length desired. The 
mule can build up yarn on the bare 
spindle firmly enough to be safely 
handled, but the use of paper tubes 
is a great benefit, because, as stated, 
tfcey give the cop a central support 
which prevents the cop from breaking, 
thus saving waste, besides the finish- 
ing ooils are not so liable to run 
from the shuttle in bunches. 

No. 105. 



CVI. FRAMES AND MULES. 

Although ring spinning and mule 
spinning differ to a large extent in 
twisting and winding on the finished 
thread, many things can be said in 
favor of boith methods. As regards 
the spinning frame, it may be' said 
that it occupies less space than a 
mule, that a larger production is ob- 
tained per spindle, and it can be op- 
erated by men, women and children, 
while' the mule is operated only by men. 
A spinning frame spindle will produce 
about 8 per cent more production 
than a mule spindle, the cost varying 
from 40 to 80 per cent, though the dif- 
ference is not as great for fine yarns. 
As regards mule spinning, the con- 
sumption of power on a mule is about 
150 spindles to one-horse power, 
against 70 for a spinning frame. 

The chief item in favor of 
the mule is that a much soft- 
er thread can be spun, which 
gives the face of the cloth a better 
appearance, besides the feel is not as 
harsh as that of a cloth made from 
ring filling yarn. It has already been 
shown that the fibres when leaving 
the card are in a tangled condition, 
and the drafts in after processes ex- 
ercised upon them gradually lay 
them in a more parallel order. The 
fibres which possess the greatest 
length are brought earlier within the 
range of the drawing rolls, and they 
also remain under their influence for 
a longer period than 

THE SHORT FIBRES. 
Thsi has been the well-founded and 
almost universally accepted theory 



346 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



for many years. So tlie long fibres 
consequently are laid longitudinally 
in tlie yarn earlier than the fibres of 
a shorter length. Consequently, as 
has been proven many times, tlhe 
short fibreis tend to move towards 



extent to which this exists varies 
with the cotton employed. When 
a thread is ring spun this hairy or 
oozy appearance is lost, owing to the 
amount of twist that must be inserted 
in ring spun yam to give the yam 




Q. 
(0 



iihe outside of the thread, and are in 
such a position that, when they are 
twisted around the longer fibres, 
the ends protrude from the sliver, 
which is termed nap by most mill men. 
From what has been said above, it 
does not need pointing out, that the 



the necessary strength to drag around 
the traveler; besides much of those 
short fibres are lost while passing 
through the traveler. 

On the mule this hairy appearance 
is retained, because the thread is not 
called on to di ag a traveler, the yarn 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



347 



during winding being guided on to 
the spindles by the fallers. Ring 
frame yarn is used for many purposes, 
which requires a varying number oi 
turns to the inch in the yam. Warp 
yam is largely governed in the use- 
fulness of its application, the chief 
point to consider is its liability to 
break in the loom. Ring spinning is 
a task of enormous diflBculty, and is 
one that may never be solved. The 
reason for the above statement is 
to make the reader think and study 
the object of spinning. As we 'see 
it, the object of spinning is to pro- 
duce a peirfeotly cylindrical sthread 
of equ'al diameter throughout its 
length, and at the same time, a 
thread conitaining at any point the 
same number of fibres in Its cross 
section, a task, as stated, which seems 
impossible. No. 106. 



evil. QUALITY OF YARN. 

The quality of yarn is more or less 
governed by the roving sent in from 
the card room. But it must be un- 
derstood that there are many ways In 
which poor yarn can be made in the 
operation of spinning itself, and it Is 
often the case that when trouble 
comes up the spinner places all the 
blame on the carder, when he himself 
is guilty. The strength of a warp 
should be based by the weakest thread 
in it, because it should be seen that 
one weak thread will run through the 
whole warp, and possibly break hun- 
dreds of times before the warp is 
woven out, and this trouble can be 
multiplied by the number of weak 
threads in the warp, and the produc- 
tion lessened correspondingly, besides 
making a poor quality of cloth that 
must be classed as seconds. The 
breakage of warp yarn has been 
watched and studied by the writer, 
and found to result largely from 
knots and bunches, rather than from 
weakness, as most mill men are led 
to believe. The cause of knots, poor 
piecings and bunches will be explained 
later. 

Much has been said and written 
about the making of a perfect yarn. 
Most writers when writing on the sub- 
iect will begin their article thus: "To 



make an even yarn", etc., and they 
go on and tell us how to make it; but 
it must be admitted that in our 
fine goods mills the utmost efforts are 
made to obtain an even sliver from 
the card to the spinning frame, al- 
though it is clear to any experienced 
mill man that these efforts can only be 
partially attained. 

Examine the best-selected combed fi- 
bre with a powerful microscope, and it 
will be found that even combed stock 
is only a uniform staple in length and 
not one of diameter. If the above Is 
true, the fibres of the best variety of 
cotton have different diameters, and 
if the sliver consists in its cross-sec- 
tion of cotton of a large diameter for a 
certain length and the next length 
cotton of a smaller diameter, it should 
be seen that even with the same prep- 
aration and the same number of fi- 
bres in its cross-section, a different 
diameter yarn can be produced. 

Suppose that the lengths referred 
to above are six inches apart; the 
yarn will show light places as it 
passes to the bobbin, owing to the 
number of turns 

INSERTED IN THE YARN. 

stealing to the light places. The 
writer, after many tests, has come to 
the conclusion that even the best 
yarns, made in the most careful man- 
ner by combing and favorable condi- 
tions, with a large number of doub- 
lings, a certain amount of variation 
exists, which is found either by 
weighing several lengths or by micro- 
scopic measurement. The former 
method is, of course, the most con- 
venient, but the different diameters ex- 
isting in the different staple is not 
observed as in the latter method. Fig- 
ure 34B is a view of a ring spinning 
frame. 

There are two sides exactly alike, 
the ends from one-half of the bob- 
bins being spun into yarn on one 
side of the frame, and at the same 
time, the other half are spun into 
yarn on the other side. The skewer 
on which the bobbin is mounted re- 
quires more care than most spinners 
think. The writer has in mind a 
case where the roving was continually 



348 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



breaking back in the ring spinning 
room. 

The plant consisted of two mills, 
and the breaking back was found only 
in one mill — both using the same 
grade of cotton. The carder, of 
course, was to blame, as usual, but 
the superintendent knew his business 
(which saved the carder his job), and 
having all twist constants, he ordered 
the carder to insert the same amount 
of twist as found in the other mill 
where the trouble existed. When the 
twist was figured out, it was discov- 
ered that the carder in the mill where 
the roving was breaking back had one 
tooth more twist, or, in other words, 
more turns to the inch than the roving 
that was not breaking back. An in- 
vestigation was soon started, and the 
chief cause was found to be in having 
the guide rods too high, which caus- 
ed too much of an angle when the 
coils on the lower part of the bobbin 
were unwound. The vertical position 
of the strand at this point made the 
pull too great, thus breaking the rov- 
ing. The skewer bottoms were found 
bruised, which caused the creel step 
to offer enough resistance combined 
with the vertical position of the 
strand to cause the roving to break 
back. It was also found that Instead 
of having the skewer tops even, or not 
quite as high as the surface of the 
top side of the board, the tops of the 
skewers projected on all the creels. 
The bolster being 

RATHER CARELESS, 
would often lay roving in such a man- 
ner as to touch the skewer tops, thus 
breaking back the roving. 

All guide rods should be placed op- 
posite the centre of the bobbin, so as 
to equalize the pull and reduce the 
angle when the top or bottom colls 
are unweund. Such conditions exist 
at this writing in many spinning 
rooms, and on a heavy ninning day, 
you will hear the overseer complain 
about the tricky carder having taken 
out the twist the day before, when at 
the same time, it is his arrangement 
that ib causing the trouble. 

A spinner should examine his roving 
guides every day and see that 
they a -e all in perfect order. Roving 
guides should be kept in const?int 



movement, and never allowed to stop 
when the heart motion changes. This 
is an important point, and needs 
watching, because this heart motion 
often gets worn or loose, causing the 
rod to have a back lash. An example 
has already been given, showing the 
damage such a defect will cause, be- 
sides the expense for extra top roll 
covering. When 

STARTING UP NEW 
frames, the overseer in charge should 
satisfy himself that they are carefully 
leveled, and not trust to the men that 
are erecting the frames, because 
fitters will often erect a frame, so it 
will run only until they leave the room 
to go elsewhere. Machine companies 
are to blame in most cases for the 
above conditions, and instead of de- 
manding a hurried job from their men, 
more men should be sent from the 
shop. For the first few weeks a new 
frame should be oiled every two hours, 
sometimes oftener, but wiping off the 
black oil every time new oil is applied. 
Before new frames are started the un- 
derside of the ring rail should be 
shellaced, as this will prevent lint col- 
lecting, which gives the room a bad 
appearance, because as this lint ac- 
cumulates, the oil that is sprayed by 
the bands will also accumulate over 
this lint, and this miakes it difficult to 
wipe off the lint, consequently when 
they are wiped a portion of the lint 
remains on the rail and they never 
appear properly cleaned. Adding a 
coat of the shellac requires very little 
labor and expense, and it does certain- 
Iv improve the looks of the room. 

No. 107. 



CVIII. DEFECTS AND REMEDIES. 

The breakage of ends on spinning 
frames is a fairly good standard of 
the conditions existing in any spinning 
room. With a fair quality of roving, 
all practical spinners agree, that there 
are plenty of chances for defects 
from the roving unwound in the spin- 
ning frame creel on the way to the 
spindle to cause such breakage. The 
top rolls may not be in good condi- 
tion, or improperly spaced or 
wieighted, and the flutes may be -worn 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



349 



almost to a knife edge, etc. All the 
above defects amd their remedies 
have already been explained. The 
weighting of top rolls on spin- 
ning frames receives too little at- 
tention, vsrhich is the cause, to 
a large degree, for the great amount 
of weak yarn found in our cotton mills 
to-day. The general method of 
weighting the top rolls of a spinning 
frame is to apply the weight by a 
lever, a stirrup and a saddle. The 
lever should have three points or 
notches from where the weight is sus- 
pended, in order to get the full bene- 
fit of this method of weighting. Some, 
builders have allowed their new 
frames to leave the shop equipped 
with levers having only one point or 
notch where the weight is suspended. 
The method of finding the amount of 
pressure on the top rolls has been 
given elsewhere, and the reader should, 
when reading the following, refer 
back to that rule, and it will be clear- 
ly realized that moving the weight to 
a different point on the 

LEVER AFFECTS 

the pressure on the top rolls to a 

larger extent than it would be at first 
supposed. All practical ring spinners 
know that at times the cotton used in 
most print cloth mills varies in length 
atid strength, and the quality 
of the yarn -can be improved by giv- 
ing the weighting of the top rolls 
the proper attention so as to give the 
latter enough drawing quality to 
draw the sliver under its action with 
the least amount of friction possible, 
and at the same time, not break the 
fibres. The chief aim of all good ring 
spinners should be not to carry use- 
less weight on the top rolls, because, 
besides injuring the staple and the 
leather covering, the consumption of 
power is much greater. Out of 72 
mills that the writer has vis- 
ited, one spinner was found that 
knew the actual weight or pres- 
sure on the top rolls by the position 
of the weight on the lever, and he al- 
so knew the actual difference in pres- 
sure on tne top rolls from one 
no' el: ^^n another.. Our system of 



weighting top rolls is a very poor 
one, simply because we carry too 
much useless weight. What is 
wanted in our system of weighting 
is the removal of some of the weight 
found on the front rolls and add some 
of this weight to the back rolls. Build- 
ers should notice the above, and in- 
stead of having about five times more 
weight on the front roll than on the 
back, weight them all alike. Then, 
with a fair quality of roving, 

SEVERAL TESTS 
should be made, and it will be found 
that the writer has given you all 
something that will benefit the mill, 
rolls and material produced. Some 
spinners will tell us that they have 
very little faith in what the textile 
papers say on the subject of top roll 
weighting on ring frames. The rea- 
son for this is that many writers will 
tell us that when we are using wiry 
cotton the weight should be mov- 
ed in the notch farthest away from 
the fulcrum point, and when the cot- 
ton is fiuffy it should be moved to the 
notch nearest the fulcrum point. 
Seme claim that this has been done 
and no difference observed. From the 
above we are forced to ask ourselves. 
Are our front top rolls properly 
weighted? Should there be a change 
in the method of weighting our top 
rolls for spinning frames? We have 
two saddles, why not have two stir- 
rups so as to equalize the weight 

The writer respects the above op- 
inions because they are from men who 
have had much experience. They are 
known as men of good judgment, 
and when they tell us that mov- 
ing the weight from one notch to an- 
tber has little effect on the 

TOP ROLLS, 
it must be admitted that we are car- 
rying useless weight on our front top 
rolls. 

It must be understood that the 
same conditions do not exist in all 
nnlls, because in some, extra 
-notches are cut on the levers, and the 
board between the weight and the 
levers is cut so as to enable the 
weight to be brought closer to the fill- 



350 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



crum point, and thus reduce the pres- 
sure. Other mills have a heavy and 
light -weight. The above is a good idea, 
because when a frame is changed from 
Tvarp to filling, the pressure on the top 
rolls must be somewhat released, as 
only a pressure of about 6 to 8 pounds 
is found on ring frames when making 
filling, while a pressure of 20 to 26 
pounds is found when making warp. 
But even with the above labor of cut- 
ting notches in the levers and in the 
board that suspends the weights when 
they are unweighted, or changing the 
weights, it must be said that through 
the faulty construction of having only 
one stirrup there are many instances 
where there is little or no pressure 
ou the back rolls. This is due to the 
bulk of the weight being on the front 
rolls. No. 108. 



CIX. WEIGHTING. 

In the preceding article, we gave 
reasons why in some cases overseers 
find no difference in pressure of back 
rolls, even though weights are 
changed, or when moving the 
weight nearer to the fulcrum 
point, owing to having useless 
weight on the top rolls at all times. 
Of course, it must be admitted that the 
pressure is decreased when the weight 
is moved nearer to the fulcrum point 
and must help the front roll. But as 
there is always too much weight on 
the top rolls, the grip on the fibres is 
always too great, and no doubt many 
are broken, especially if the distance 
between the rolls does not exceed the 
average length of the staple. On the 
other hand, it can be seen from the 
above that when a lighter weight is 
used, or the weight moved to relieve 
the pressure, we then have trou- 
ble with our back rolls. If the read- 
er is a spinner he must have experi- 
enced the above, because it is com- 
mon to find many back rolls on ring 
frames that can be 

EASILY CHECKED 
only with the forefinger and thumb. 

The reader should see that our 
system of weighting is wrong, and 
that the weighting should be more 



direct, as found in most all English 
mills. Again it must be admitted that 
we are pointing out a very bad and 
costly defect that takes place in our 
cotton mills every day when changing 
from filling to warp. 

Weigh a weight suspended from a 
filling frame lever, and it will in most 
cases weigh less than a pound, while 
on the warp frame they generally 
weigh about 3J pounds. This is point- 




73 o 



^°- 



ed out simply to save the expense of 
roll covering that is found to be great 
when the pressure on the rolls is not 
varied when changing to fine work. 
It should be seen that a filling 
frame is weighted lighter because it 
always as a rule spins finer yarns, and 
tie finer the yam the better 
opportunity the flutes of the bottom 
steel roll have to cut into the top 
rolls, owing to the fine yams having 
a smaller number of fibres in their 
cross section. This allows the bottom 
and top rolls to be in 

CLOSER CONTACT 
than when running coarse yarns. As 
we see it, there should be as much 
weight on the back rolls as on the 
front rolls, because the second draw- 
ing roll muisit hold the fibres so that 
the dual operation which always ex- 
ists between the first and second 
rolls, namely, the front roll taking the 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



351 



fibies from the seoond roll and the 
second roll holding the fibres from the 
front roll, should at all times be uni- 
form. 

If the amount of weight found, even 
on the most up-to-date American spin- 
ning frame's, is divided among the 
three rolls, a batter quality of yarn 
will be produced, and the roll bill 
reduced. The above is the cause 
for nine-tenths of fluted top leather 
rolls, or the useless and unnecessary 
wear oif the front top roll covering. 
Many readers may claim that the wear 
is due to the front roll revolving at 
a much greater speed than the back 
rolls. But let me ask any ex- 
perienced spinner which does the 
most work when the rolls are 
properly placed, and he will an- 
swer, the second roll. Very few mill 
men will agree to such a statement, 
but a little reasoning will convince the 
most skeptical that the wear is as 
great because the front roll is con- 
tinually pulling the fibres away from 
the second roll; but owing to the 
pressure being less on the second 
roll than on the front roll, the fibres 
are pulled from the second roll in a 
larger number at one time than an- 
other, which is the cause of the un- 
even and weak yam referred to 
above. If the secomd roll was made 
to carry the same amount as the front 
roll, that is to have about 9 pounds 
pressure on each top roll, it would be 
found, as istated above, that the yarn 
will be more uniform and much strong- 
er. The above principal can be found 
en most metallic rolls in use at the 
present time, the heaviest weights be- 
ing on the back rolls. 

A matter that is often neg- 
lected by careless overseers, and 
from which bad work is sure 
to follow, is in not watching the 
levers to see that they are about 
horizontal. When levers are allowed 
to drop some, the wire ring will strike 
the creel board, thus relieving the ne- 
cessary amount of pressure which 
makes the draft irregular and the pro- 
duction of an uneven thread is the re- 
sult. No. 109. 



ex. CARE OF ROLLS. 

All spinners should have a system 
for oiling all rolls. One good method 
is to oil the back and middle top rolls 
on their middle bearings twice a week, 
and once a week on their end bear- 
ings. Use any ordinary oil can, 
and to check the oil from 
coming too freely, make a conical 
tube out of a heavy cotton cloth 
and insert a small piece of sponge 
in it. Then place this conical tube and 
sponge over the oil can tube. With 
the above device the oiler passes 
rapidly along the frames, exeirting a 
little pressure on the sponge at each 
roll which is necessary in order to 
produce the oil, and when the can is 
quickly pulled away no dropping of 
oil takes place as with the old method. 

If the above method is put into prac- 
tice it will be found to prolong the 
life of the top rolls, especially If 
sperm oil is used. Top rolls should 
not be oiled with mineral oil, and If 
the reader will make a test he will 
find that mineral oil is a serious dis- 
advantage. After the oiling is com- 
pleted, or every niorning, the front top 
rolls should be cleaned with a piece 
of hard or cop waste dipped in a mix- 
ture of equal parts of alcohol and wa- 
ter, this increases the drawing quali- 
ties of the front rolls three-fold. Top 
leather rolls for ring frames have two 
bosses, but of a different length for 
different kinds of work. 

All top rolls should have tapered 
ends, and the cap bars milled to cor- 
respond, so that the waste, etc., can 
be removed without the use of a pick- 
er. It is almost impossible to keep 
ends of rolls clean when they are 
sunk down in the cap bars. Never al- 
low spinners to use a hook or any- 
thing of metal of too hard a nature to 
clean any rolls. This prohibition will 
keep the rolls from getting scratched, 
especially the bottom steel rolls. 

Many spinners prefer a long boss 
roll, but most of them are unable to 
give us the reason, and it is so mis- 
understood that we deem an expla- 
national necessary here. 



352 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



The short boss rolls are preferable 
that all roll coverers will tell you that 
it is impossible to cover two bosses of 
any length that will have a true out- 
line throughout their length, so the 
shorteT the roll the more even will be 
the surface obtained. From the above 
it can be seen that for coarse work 
the faulty outline of a long double boss 
roll does not affect the work to a 
large extent, owing to the bulk be- 
tween the two rolls which enables the 
rolls to hold a grip at all times on the 
sitrand. However, for fine work they 
are a disadvantage, because this un- 
evenness usually found on long double 
boss top rolls makes the draft irregu- 
lar, thus making faulty yam. It may 
be said also that this unevenness will 
cause many hard ends when the work 
is a Kttle heavy or the stock in use 
a little longer than usual or wiry. 

However, if such rolls are used for 
fine work, a good way to test the ev- 
enness of a double long boss roll is as 
follows: Place the roll on a perfectly 
plane surface, and roll it back and 
forth, and if any light can be obser- 
ved the roll should be stopped at that 
point. If the roll is properly covered, 
very little if any light can be seen. 

When a roll is found uneven, the 
faulty place should be gauged to the 
eye, and then tried, to see what ef- 
fect such a place would have upon the 
strand, so that when the rolls are 
tested again and such places on the 
rolls are discovered they can be put 
aside at once and used in the two 
backs rows. As stated on coarse 
work, these defects will not amount to 
much, still a better roll is preferable. 
Ihe long double boss roll acts upon 
two ends, while the short boss roll 
acts on one. Some mills have shell 
front top leather rolls. No. 110 



CXI. SHELL ROLLS. 

Shell rolls are fast passing the!'- 
usefulness, owing to the same defects 
found as on the long double boss roll, 
but to a larger extent, owing to the 
bosses not being covered together on 
the arbor. 



When the shell rolls are used, and 
are covered, they should be pair 
ed, and each pair covered on the same 
arbor, then they should be tied to- 
gether. Solid rolls are much pre- 
ferred, because they will produce a 
stronger and evener yam. 

There are many kinds of saddles, 
.such as iron, rawhide and bronze, etc., 
but the cast iron saddles are used 
mostly and are without doubt the best. 
Saddles are provided with oil cham- 
bers, and the oil is conveyed to the 
roll bearing by means of holes that 




Fig. 35. Double Ring in Cast Iron 
Holder, With Concealed Traveller 
Clearer. 

run from the oil chambers. Woolen 
yarn is drawn through these holes 
so that the oil chamber can hold the 
oil and deliver it to the roll as needed. 
The woolen yarn absorbs the 
oil, and delivers it in prop- 
er amounts as the roll revolves. 
The front saddle is made long 
enough to rest on the front roll 
and also on the raised surface on the 
back saddle that spans the middle and 
back rolls. The stirrup is supported 
by the saddles, and has a slot cut into 
its lower end for the reception of the 
lever. The nose of the lever is held 
to the roll beam by means of a screw 
that also has a slot for the reception 
of the lever nose. A weight is sus- 
pended on the lower end of a wire that 
has the form of a wire ring at its up- 
per end and can be placed on the lever 
end or off the lever in an instant. 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



353 



The stirrup passes between the front 
and second steel rolls and they should" 
not be allowed to get out of place and 
rub on either side of the steel rolls. 

One point about 

WEIGHTING TOP ROLLS 
is to ascertain, before leaving each 
weighted roll, that the parts from 
where the roll receive the pressure are 
not faulty in construction. 

It is often found, as we have stated 
before, that through faulty construc- 
tion of the saddles, stirrups, and levers, 
there are times when there is 
little or no weight on the back or 
middle rolls. Now let us reason to- 
gether and study the principle of roll 
drawing. As we see it, all top rolls 
should revolve at all times as 
freely as possible. This is some- 
thing that most all spinners know, 
but why not see that they do revolve 
freely at all times. Most overseers, 
accept conditions as they find them, 
and every day to them is a struggle. 
If all overseers would watch their 
neighbors and keep up with modern 
methods, they would, we dare say, ap- 
preciate the above explanations on roll 
weighting. We must visit other mills 
in order to see bur own mistakes or 
improvements. It is only a week ago 
from this writing that the writer visit- 
ed a mill, and noticed that the levers 
were cut so that only one notch near- 
est the fulcrum point could be used. 

When I inquired why the levers were 
cut the spinner said, that he had so 
many fluted top rolls of late, that 
no matter how often he moved the 
weights to relieve the pressure, it 
was only a short time before he would 
find half the weights back to the last 
notch on the end of the lever. 

So he said he had the levers cut to 
protect the top rolls. When I put the 
question to him about what he would 
do when a wiry cotton would hit the 
room (thinking at the same time that 
I had my man nailed for making such 
a blunder), he quickly answered and 
said that the card room had an abund- 
ance of machinery, and that such cot- 
ton would be made of a lighter hank. 
Ro it can be seen from the above that 
this overseer Is on his job and is a val- 
uable mm. to m¥ plant, Not forget- 



ting that we are studying the principle 
oi' roll drawing, how must each part be 
constructed and arranged to draw the 
fibres from one another with the least 
resistance on the part of the fibres, 
and have the least possible friction on 
the top rolls, with the least possible 
frictional contact between the top 
front leather roll, and the bottom steel 
roll? No. 111. 



CXII. SPINNING POINTERS. 
All unnecessary friction must be 
removed from the bearings of the 
top rolls, so that the only resistance 
offered will be from the fibres under 
their aotion. To do this, the follow- 
ing points must be observed: 1. 
The top rolls must be kept clean, they 
must also be oiled as described, and 
k;ept free from any dirt which might 
tend to clog them. 2. The saddles 
must be watched to see that they do 
not get badly worn. We have ^ven 
an illustration elsewhere, showing how 
a worn saddle affects the freedom of 
top rolls, causing excessive friction. 
3. The stirrup must not touch either 
steel roll in any way, because the 
surface speed of the steel roll will in 
most cases (especially if the steel 
roll is not perfectly true) cause an os- 
cillating movement on the saddles, 
which in time will wear the bearing 
of the saddles and the neck surface of 
the top roll uneven, and thus cause 
friction. 4. Care must be taken to 
keep the levers about horizontal, or 
they will be dropping down and re- 
lieving the rolls of the necessery 
amount of pressure, by the wire ring 
striking the creel-board. As a rule, all 
ring frames have excessive weight on 
the front roll. When the wire ring 
strikes 

THE CREEL BOARD, 
the pressure on tne top rolls is some- 
what relieved. This is true, to a 
greater extent on the middle and back 
rolls. From what we have said, it 
can be seen that the grip between the 
second top roll and second bottom 
steel roll is not as great; conse- 
quently the front roll will pull many 
abre§ from under tU^ §^coii4 top roU 



364 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



that it should have held, with the 
result that the yarn produced is much 
heavier. When the wire ring rests 
on the creel board completely, the 
yam becomes extremely heavy and 
causes travellers to fly off, still most 




o 



111. 



spinners will put on a new traveller 
and the wrong idea that the roving i? 
uneven steals into his mind. Here 
is where the back roving should be 
sized, in order to ascertain the cause 
of the traveller flying off. If the rov- 
ing: is found of the required hank, the 
spinner knows then that there is a 
defect in his rolls. When the yam 
is made heavy, the bobbin on which 
this heavy yarn is wound becomes 
filled sooner than the rest of the bob- 
bins, and a dual operation takes place 
between the surface of the bobbin, 
traveller and ring. The yarn is made 
so strong that it drags the traveller 
between the surface of the bobbin and 
the ring, even when the last coils 
wound on touch the ring. This 
causes the traveller to enter between 
the coils previously laid, thus injuring 
the yarn, and the bobbin is given a 
ragged appearance. Again, when th; 
traveller is dragged around in the 
above manner, the smooth surface of 
the ring is scratched, which after- 
wards offers much resistance to the 
traveller. All good spinners that 



think and reason will tell you that 
the above defect is common in all 
spinning rooms, only they are not 
noticed. 

.5. If the first and second rolls 
are not set far enough apart 
over the length of staple being run, 
a constant friction will be caused on 
the front top leather roll, and if the 
yarn delivered be examined, it will 
be found to contain thick and thin 
places. 6. When the speed is in- 
creased, or when wiry cotton begins 
to come in, the space between the 
first and second rolls should be slight^ 
ly increased; that is, if 

THE TWO ROLLS 

were properly spaced in the first 
place. It should be seen that when 
the speed is increased the front 
roll is not checked as easily, and in- 
stead of lagging behind, as it does 
when running slow, it will break some 
of the fibres which offer the most re- 
sistance. Wiry cotton must also have 
more space, because owing to the 
construction of the fibres which we 
have already explained, they are not 
so easily pulled from one another. 
At times, they offer so much resis- 
tance that the speed of the front roll 
is checked completely and the result 
is a hard end. To produce an even 
threiad, the stock must be watched, 
and proper space allowed between 
the rolls. We dare say, that open- 
ing ana shutting rolls are unknowm to 
many spinners. 

They seem to think that as long as 
the staple is not increased In length, 
a quarter inch the rolls should 
not be disturbed. If the proper space 
is one-sixteenth of an inch over the 
length of the staple run, surely, if 
the length of the staple in the next 
mixing is oneneighth of an Inch long- 
ei, the space should be increasied. 
There are certain spinners who will 
tell you that the above Is Idle talk. 
Let us ask how it is that such spin- 
ners are complete failures and are 
always roaming around the country. 
There are, no doubt, many overseers 
v/ho have had the chance to make 
good, but being unwilling to consider 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



the above deitails, they have failed to 
do so. No mill mam can deny that 
what we point out here is true, and 
that such matters must receive at- 
tention in order to run a spinning 
room successfully. Again, no mill 
man can deny that majny spinners 
know how to put the above into prac- 
tice, but instead, they accept the con- 
cUtions that the different kinds of 
cotton create, and they struggle 
along with them making every one 
connected suffer. There are two 
kinds of spinners, one class consists 
of men that keep up to date, and are 
themselves always making some kind 
of improvement, having the intei^st 
of 'the plant in mind at all times. 
The other kind are those that are 
troubled only by the speed of the 
clock instead of their machinery. 

No. 112. 



CXIll. DOUBLE ROVING. 

Opinions pertaining to double and 
single roving differ among spinners. 
Double roving is found more 
in the American mills than 
in the mills of any other 
country. It is customary in all other 
countries on both mule and ring 
frames, to use single roving for yams 
up to 50s. For finer than 50s 
double roving is used. Out of the same 
cotton, double roving will, no doubt, 
make a stronger yarn than single rov- 
ing, but at a greater cost. The 
points raised against double roving 
are as follows: Sometimes the two 
strands will separate for a distance, 
and when they come together again, 
they pluck some of the clearer waste 
hanging down from the flannel be- 
tween the rolls^ — more so between the 
middle and back rolls. The next 
point is that the excessive draft us- 
ually required when using double rov- 
ing in most mills, nullifies to some ex- 
tent the advantage of doubling. Again, 
this required excessive draft offers 
much more resistance to the front 
roll than when using single roving, 
v^'hich necessitates increasing the 
pressure upon the top rolls. When 
the pressure upon the top rolls is in- 



creased, the consumption of power re- 
quired to drive the frame is greater. 
On the other hand, it must 
be admitted, that when we 
double the roving we double 
the doublings, and we know that 
doubling is the most essential 
feature of any cotton mill. Now, why 
do we double the strands at every op- 
portunity in a cotton mill ? Is it not to 
remedy bad places in the strand? 
When we 

REDUCE THE DOUBLINGS 

one-half, as is the case when we run 
single roving, we multiply trouble 
two-fold. The production will be 
lessened, besides making imperfect 
cloth. As we see it, a cloth produced 
from double roving has a much 
smoother face than a cloth produced 
from single roving. The reason for 
this is that double roving makes a 
more even thread than single roving, 
consequently, it does not require as 
many turns to the inch. 

Let us assume that we are running 
double roving on a ring frame, and 
that one strand has defective places. 
It should be seen that when the draw- 
ing rolls act upon the two strands the 
fibres of the defective places are mixed 
with those of the perfect strand and 
the defective places are remedied 
enough to carry the strand from the 
roll to the bobbin with the same 
amount of twist per inch. On the other 
hand, when running single roving, the 
weak places are drawn more than the 
perfect places, because the lighter the 
strand, the less friction on the front 
roll, and the light places are drawn 
still more which again weakens the 
defective places. 

So from the above it can be seen \ 
that more twist must be inserted In ) 
single roving, if the strands in both / 
systems are made out of the same 
cotton. Again, it should be seen 
that if we are running double roving 
or two into one at the back of the 
intermediate frames, and one end 
breaks back for a short distance, this 
end is pieced up again without pulling 
off the defective place in front, and 
that it will cause only a variation of 
one-fourth when using double roving 
and one-half when using single roving. 



356 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



No experienced mill ma,n will deny- 
that double roving will make a smooth- 
er faced cloth than the single roving, 
and that the double roving system 
should be employed 

WHEN MAKING SATEENS. 

Sateens will show up the above two 
systemis more than any other kind 
ai cloth, owing to the amount of fill- 
ing floating to such a large extent on 
the face of the cloth. The above is 
the reason why mule filling is pre- 
ferred for sateen cloth. In summing 
up the above, it ishould be seen that 
yarn made from single roving is not 
as uniform as yarn made from double 
roving, and it is admitted by all ex- 
perienced ring spinners that the most 
twist always runs to these weak 
places which increases the uneven ap- 
pearance of the yarn. 

The above is the very reason why 
very little filling yarn is made from 
single roving. The twist running to 
the weak places does not affect the 
warp yarn, except in strength and ap- 
pearance, but with the filling yarUs 
it is different, as it is taken from 
the frame to the loom, and even if it 
is properly moistened, when the 
coils are unwound in the sihujttle at 
the loom, the twist will run to the 
weak places and cause the yarn to be- 
come kinky. Kinky yarn is found much 
more where single roving is used for 
the reasons istated above. The break- 
ing strength of warp yarn made from 
double roving is about 4 to 6 pounds 
better than yarn made from single 
roving with the same kind of cotton. 

No. 113. 



CXIV. BREAKING STRENGTH. 

Although the difference in breaking 
strength between the two systems is 
not so great as one would expect, it 
is, however, noticed more at the warp- 
ers. We would suggest to all manu- 
facturers who are contemplating 
changing from double to single roving, 
that they change only enough frames 
to run one warper, and to keep a 
weekly account of the number of end 
breakages on the warper running 
yarn made from single roving and 



on the warper running yarn made 
from double roving. If the above 
test is made for four or five 
weeks, the difference of breakage will 
be found to be so great that the con- 
clusion will be that the only way to 
make an even strong thread is with 
double roving. Weak yarn is found 
often when double roving is used, and 
the reason is that the mill is spinning 
yarn that is too fine for the cotton 
used. 

No manufacturer should expect num- 
ber 40s made from 

ORDINARY UPLAND 
cotton to break at the standard weight, 
because we think when 30s yarn Is 
made from the above cotton the limit 
has been reached. The yarn that gives 
the most trouble in a cotton mill Is 
cut yarn, and in most cases, it is a 
trouble that is hard to locate. The 
chief causes of cut yarn are either 
that the gears are not set deep enough 
and slip one or more teeth occasion- 
ally, or one or two teeth may be 
broken out. When any cut yarn Is 
discovered, the gears on all frames 
should be examined. 

From what we have said it must be 
admitted that the more freedom the 
front top roll has to revolve the evener 
the yarn will be, and in order to give 
the front roll all the freedom possible, 
the top clearers should be made as 
light as possible, and the clearer cloth, 
instead of being glued on the board as 
found in some mills, should be mount- 
ed on wires that can be sunk in the 
board so as to have the clearer cloth 
just touch the top rolls. 

Some mill men conceived the idea that 
a heavy clearer board stops roll lap- 
ping, and many mills have lately dis- 
carded their short clearer boards and 
are now using clearer boards double 
their length, while other mills have 
had their clearer boards bored and lead 
and other material of a heavy nature 
inserted so as to make them as heavy 
as possible. A heavy clearer is a step 
in the wrong direction, and to the 
writer, such an idea appears like a 
man setting his house on fire and then 
trying to put it out. When an end 
breaks and the strand follows the boll, 
instead of making the clearer heavier. 



COTTON MILL JSLANAGEMENT 



357 



why not get at the root of the evil? 
If the grain of the leather covering is 
smooth, the strand will not follow the 
roll whether the clearer board is 
heavy or not, but, on the other hand, 
if the grain of the leather is roughen- 
ed, the strand will follow the roll 
whether the clearer board is heavy or 
not. So in order to stop roll lapping, 
we must keep the roll surface as 
smooth as possible. The more friction- 
al contact on the top roll, the more 
the grain of the leather is worn, and 
the rougher the surface of the roll will 
be. So any resistance offered to the 
front top roll will increase the frlc- 
tional contact between the front steel 
roll and the front top leather roll, and 
the heavy clearer increases the fric- 
tion. An excessive draft will cause 
frictional contact, and other defects 
that have been explained elsewhere 
will offer a certain amount of re- 
siistance to the top roll. The sides of 
the flutes of a steel roll are made 
sharp, so that a firm grip will exist 
between the rolls and a uniform draft 
can be obtained. If there is no fric- 
tional contact, the sharp flutes will 
do no damage to the grain of the 
leather covering. On the other hand, 
if any resistance is offered to the 
front top leather roll, causing it to 
lag behind, which we term frictional 
contact, this causes the grain of the 
leather top roll to be rubbed by the 
sharp flutes of the front steel roll, and 
in a very short time it will wear the 
grain of the top leather roll enough to 
make it A'ery rough. This is the cause 
of the strand continually lapping 
around the front leather roll when an 
end breaks. From the above, it should 
be clear to the reader that increasing 
the weight of the clearer board In- 
creases the very ill that these men are 
trying to cure. No. 114. 



CXV. SPINNERS' GAUGES. 

All guide wires should be kept care- 
fully set, so that the point where the 
thread rests will be directly over the 
centre of the spindle. Many spinners- 
have gauges to set the guide wires 
which consist of a small rod attached 
to a smaH straight edge. The straight 
edge is laid on the roller beam and the 
small rod is put into the circular hole 



which the guide wire forms, and if the 
rod does not come exactly over the 
point of the spindle, it is made to do 
so either by screwing the guide wire In 
or out, or bending it slightly sidewise. 
The latter method is wrong, both in 
practice and theory, and you will find 
where it is employed that the spinner 
is continually ordering guide wires. 
The reason for this is because in the 




latter method the point where the 
thread bears comes on the sidie of the 
spindle instead of in the centre. The 
strand from the guide wire forms 
what may be termed a slight angle, 
owing to the point where the thread 
rests being always on the same side 
of the spindle. Consequently, the 
thread is not so liable to change its 
bearing point. On the other hand, 
when the point where the thread rests 



m 



COTTON MiLL MANAGIbJMENI' 



is set so that it will be directly over 
the 

CENTRE. OF THE SPINDLE, 
the end has a tendency to leave the 
bearing point, but is prevented from 
so doing by the tension on the strand; 
thus we create a vibration on that 
strand that gives it the appearance of 
two strands. 

When the part of the circle which 
the thread guide forms comes directly 
over the centre of the spindle to cause 
vibration as explained above, the guide 
wires are seldom if ever changed. 
Even when the bearing point is set 
directly over the centre of the spindle 
a rough place will at times arrest the 
strand and hold it in one position 
long enough to crease the ring, but 
this seldom happens. "When guide 
wires are set with a gauge, as 
described many guide wires will be 
found creased. Guide wires should 
not be used after they become 
creased. 

Catalogues obtained from some 
builders tell us to set the thread 
guides directly over the spindle, and 
no doubt such a statement is respon- 
sible for setting the guide wires by 
gauge as described above. The reader 
should notice the difference, and in- 
stead of having the circular hole 
which the guide wire forms directly 
over the centre of the spindle, have 
that part of the circle where the yam 
bears directly over the centre of the 
spindle. When a traveller breaks or 
flys off the end will kink fast, and at 
great lengths, this is because the 
yarn is not held and is free to un- 
wind which it does. Besides, the 
drawing rolls are constantly delivering 
the same amount of yarn. 

THE BOBBIN REVOLVING 
at the same rate of speed causes 
these long kinks to fly out and be- 
come entangled with adjacent end®, 
in most cases breaking them down. 
A notch, is cut ait ithe end of the 
guide wire hanging downwards and is 
called a kink arrester. This notch 
catches the strand as soon as no 
winding-on of the yarn takes place, and 
at the isame time it cuts the yarn. 
Thus the kink remains in the notch 



for a time, while the end of the yam 
is wound on the bobbin, without any 
damage to the adjacent ends. From 
the thread guide the yarn passes to 
to the traveller, which is a small 
steel clip mounted on a flanged ring 
and is free to revolve thereon as it 
is dragged around by the end. There 
are many mill men to this day who 
believe that the traveller puts in 
the twist. This is an erroneous idea, 
and the fact is provea at the mule 
where there is no traveller and any 
reasonable amount of twist can be 
inserted on the mule. All students 
should remember that what we have 
said about twist on fly frames holds 
good here; that is, the strand or 
thread must be held at one end and 
held and revolved at the other. In 
order to understand the manner in 
which the twist is inserted in the 
yarn, we ■will firsit consider 

THE TRAVELLER REVOLVING 
at tihe same rate of speed as the bob- 
bin. 

As is well known by most mill men 
the end drags the traveller. It 
can be seen from the above that the 
traveller must lag behind the bobbin 
in order to wind the yam on the bob- 
bin. No. 115. 



CXVI. THE TRAVELLER, 

If the traveller was made to re- 
volve at the same rate of speed as 
the bobbin, no winding-on would take 
place but the twist would be inserted. 
For the convenience of illustration 
we will assume that the bobbin is 1 
inch in diameter and that it makes 
9,000 revolutions per minute, also, 
that the front rolls deliver 500 
inches in one minute. 1x3.1416x9,000 
equals 2,827 inches of yam the bob- 
bin has a tendency to wind. If the 
traveller did not follow the bobbin 
and lag behind in the first place, the 
yarm would break between the front 
rolls and the bobbin, in the iseoond 
place no winding would take place. 
So in order to wind the yam on a 
bobbin, and at the same time put in 
the twist, we must employ a traveller 
in ring spinning. In order to wind 



Cotton mill managemenI' 



369 



the yarn on the bobbin, the traveller 
must make the same numbeir of rev- 
olutions equal to the number of 
revolutions made by the bobbin less 
the number of revolutions required 
by the bobbin to take up the yarn de- 
livered by the front rolls. From what 
has been said, it can be seen that the 
bobbin has a tendency to wind on 
more yarn than is delivered by the 
front rolls "Which 

CREATES A TENSION ON 
the yam, and this temsion, which ex- 
ists all the time the frame is in op- 
eration, is transmitted to the traveller 
and causes it to revolve around the 
ring but gradually lagginig behind. 
Let us again assume as in the last 
example that the front roll delivers 
500 inches per minute and the bob- 
bin is 1 inch in diameter. In order to 
find the number of turns the traveller 
lags behind, we divide the circum- 
ference of the bobbin into the number 
of inches of yam, the front roll de- 
livers per minute. 500 divided by 
(3.1416x1) equals 159, 9,000 divided 
by 159 equals 8,841 revolutions of the 
traveller per minute. 

Now if the front roll delivers 500 
inches while the spindle is making 
9,000 revolutionis and the traveller 
must lag behind 159 incheis in order 
tc wind the yam on the bobbin, we 
lose 159 turns of twist in the 500 
inches of yarn delivered. So it is im- 
possible for us to agree with most 
writers that give us the rule of divid- 
ing the number of inches delivered 
by the front into the ' revolutions of 
the spindle to find the twist per inch. 
But instead, using the above example, 
v.-e have 8,841 divided by 500 equals 
17.68 turns per inch. From the above 
it can be seen that the traveller lags 
behind much more at the beginning 
of the bobbin than when nearly full 
or filled. As stated the front rolls de- 
liver the yarn at a constant 
RATE OF SPEED, 
so it should be clear to the reader 
that more coils are needed on the 
empty bobbin to wind on the yarn de- 
livered by the front roll. Again, it 
should be clear that if it takes less 



coils as the bobbin fills, more twist 
is being inserted in the yarn as the 
diameter of the bobbin becomes 
larger. 

The dlffeirence, however, is slight 
and is seldom if ever considered. 
However, ithe above subject has caus^ 
ed so much trouble and is so misun- 
derstood that an explanation is worth 
while. It only takes a little scrutiniz- 
ing in many textile books on the mar- 
ket to learn how such books as a rule 
are misleading. 

Look up the above subject in Nas- 
mith's "Cotton Spinning", and you 
will find on page 341 and 342 para- 
graph 295, the following: "Thus, the 
yarn when held at the base of the 
cone formed during building is — if the 
full bobbin be Ig inches diameter — 
being carried round through a space 
of 4.31 inches at each revolution. 
When it is held on the surface of the 
bare bobbin, which is three-quarters 
inch in diameter, it only travels at 
the rate of 2.35 inches at each revo- 
lution. It is thus clear that, if no re- 
tardation of the traveller took place, 
it would travel during each revolu- 
tion of the spindle a distance equal 
in each case to that stated. The ef- 
fect of this upon the twist is easily 
seen. Suppose that 100 revolutions of 
the spindles are made in each case, 
and the rollers deliver five inches of 
yarn, the effect would be that the trav- 
eller in one case would travel 431 
inches, and in the other only 235 
inches. The circumference of the ring 
being 5.1, this means that the traveller 
makes 84.5 and 46 revolutions respec- 
tively. There would thus be intro- 
duced into the yarn 16.9 and 9.2 turns 
per inch respectively at each of these 
periods, which is a considerable varia- 
tion." Reader notice the variation, 
16.9 minus 9.2 equals 7.7 turns. 

No. 116. 



CXVII. 



TRAVELLER RETARDA- 
TION. 



Now let us reason together and 
take every item apart given above 
and let us examine them. We will 
figure every item to prove each case, 



360 



tJQTTON MIDL MANAGEMBH3? 



and at the same tiiiie, show how the 
above is misleading. We first calcu- 
late the surface a,, the beginning of 
the bobbin and the full bobbin. |x3.- 
I4l6 equals 2.35 circumference of emp- 
ty bobbin, and 11x3.1416 equals 4.- 
31 circumferemce of full bobbin. Now 
let us reason the firs-t statement, if 
no retardation of the traveller took 
place it would travel 5.1 inches, or 
one circumference of the ring whether 
on the bare or full bohbin. This Is 
not an accepted theory, but a fact, be- 
cause the yarn is passed under the 
traveller and circles the ring In pro- 
portion to the amount of yam that is 
delivered by the front rolls. Suppos- 
ing 100 revolutions be taken in each 
case and the rolls delivered five inches 
of roving. The traveller in one case 
would travel 510 minus (5.00 divided 
by 4.31x5.1) equals 504.09 inches when 
on 

THE LARGER DIAMETER 

and 510 minus (5.00 divided by 2.35x 
5.1) equals 499.188 inches when on the 
smaller diameter. The circumfer- 
ence of the ring in each case being 
5.1, the traveller makes 504.09 divid- 
ed by 5.1 equals 98.84 revolutions, los- 
ing 1.16 turns in winding five inches 
of yarn on the large diameter of bob- 
bin, and 499.188 divided by 5.1 equals 
97.88 losing 2.12 turns in winding on 
five inches on the small diameter of 
bobbin. We next find the twist 98.- 
84 divided by 5 equals 19.76 turns to 
the inch when the bobbin is large, 
and 97.88 divided by 5 equals 19.57 
equals turns to the inch when the 
bobbin is bare; 19.76 minus 19.57 equals 
.19 of a turn per inch in difference and 
not 7.7 as given. So we think the 
above verifies our first statement that 
the difference is so slight that it 
should not be considered. Another 
point that is misunderstood by many 
spinners is the amount of pull which 
is found much greater when the bob- 
bin is bare than when nearly full or 
filled. In order to quickly understand 
this feature, the bobbin should be pul- 
led off the spindle and the end 
wound around the spindle, and if ex- 
amiJied it will be fooind that the end 



is almost in the centre of the ring. 
It should be seen that the more the 
end is toward the centre of the ring, 
the more pull is exerted on the yarn by 
the bobbin necessary to set the trav- 
eller in rojOtion. F'igure 36 shows 
the position of the yarn as it passes 
from the traveller to the bobbin, at 
(A), the circle a, represents the 
OUTSIDE OP THE SPINDLE 
and b represents the inside of the 
ring; c is the traveller under which 
the yarn line d passes to the spindle. 
At (B) Figure 36, is shown the bare 
bohbin on the spindle, while f at c 
shows the nearly filled bobbin. It can 
be seen at (A) that the line d al- 
most coincides with the radius of the 
ring, and as stated this position of 
the yarn tends to draw the traveller 
towards the centre of the ring in- 
stead of aroumd the ring like the posi- 
tion of line d and b, thus taking the 
yarn around the ring as is desired, 
and with much less pull, owing to the 
position of line d having a tendency 
to revolve the traveller around the 
ring instead of having a tendency to 
draw it towards the centre of the 
ring. The above is the chief reason 
why many spinners adopt a filling 
bobbin with a large barrel. Again af- 
ter many years it was discovered that 
a bohbin having a diameter of i of an 
inch with a 7-inch traverse as a rule 
gives the best results for warp wind. 
It can be seen that the effect of 
the traveller on the yarn Is not the 
same throughout the set, and it is a 
defect that is somewhat troublesome 
after doffing. The above defect 
has not as yet been success- 
fully met by builders of ring frames, 
and any improvement in this line 
would be welcomed. Travellers 
as a rule are run at a very 
high speed, and to meet this they 
should be carefully made, and from 
the highest grade of steel. But al- 
though 

TRAVELLERS ARE MADE 

\/ith the greatest amount of skill and 
exactness, it must be said that it is 
impossible to harden and temper 
them always the same 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



361 



The above can best be understood 

by taking into consideration the dif- 
fer emt kinds of tempered razors we 
often find, and many times the cheap 
lazor is much harder and of a better 
steel than the costly one. When we 
get a poor tempered razor we have 
trouble and the same can be said with 
the traveller. The above is given 
simply to show that at times trouble 
with the travellers is inevitable and 
it does not pay sometimes in being 
too hasty in making a change. Al- 
ways keep trying new travellers but 
be mightly careful to pick the best 
acd do this for the good of the plant 
— be honest. The round point trav- 
ellers are much preferred, because it 
has been found that the rings will be- 
come wavy .soomer with the square 
point traveller than with the round 
point. No. 117. 



CXVIII. TRAVELLER TROUBLES. 

In studying the path of the trav- 
eller, the reader must firmly fix in 
his mind what was said above; that 
is, regarding the yarn having a tend- 
ency of pulling the traveller to the 
centre of the ring more when the bob- 
bin is empty. Now let us consider a 
few mistakes the thoughtless spinner 
may make. Like the front roll the 
traveller must have 

A. FREE PASSAGE, 

but at the isame time like the front 
roll drawing the fibres the traveller 
too has its duty to perform, and it 
muFt keep the tension as even as pos- 
sible wben the yarn under its action 
is suitable to its weight. 

This is the very point that is most 
njisunderstO'-.-i *by spinners, be- 
cause mai:> spinners will put on a 
light traveller to ease the tension at 
the beginning of the set, never think- 
ing that they are injuring the rings. 

Now let us ask what makes the 
rings wavy? Surely the traveller 
must be interfered with — it must be 
pulled out of its path or else it would 
wear the ring evenly. 

Let us see what happens when a 
spinner puts on a lighter traveller to 
ease up on the yam at the beginning 



of the set so that there will be less 
breakage of ends after doffing. 

From what has been said the read- 
er should see that if the tension is 
just right at the start it will 
be much too slack when the bobbin 
fills, which will cause the yarn to 
balloon and strike the blades of the 
separators and adjacent ends. 

When the yarn strikes the blades 
of the separators, the adjacent ends, 
or the top of the bobbin on which it 
is wound, the traveller is affected 
correspondingly, because when 

A SLIGHT PULL 
is given to the yarn the traveller Is 
lifted. When the traveller is jerked 
a couple of times at each revolution 
it takes but a short time to wear out 
hollow places here and there on the 
surface of the ring. Expert ring spin- 
ners tell us that rings should run 
at least five years without changing. 

The writer knows of a mill where 
the rings are running ten years 
without changing, and they look good 
for ten more. I know many spinners 
will take exceptions from the above 
statement, but the writer will direct 
any skeptic to this very mill. No 
spinner can deny that all rings would 
be worn evenly if the path of the 
traveller was not interfered with, 
and if the above is true, then every 
spinner should study the different de- 
fects that will cause the traveller to 
lift. Uneven numbers will wear the 
rings wavy, because it is impossible 
to have on the proper travellers when 
the yarn is uneven. This causes the 
heavy ends to balloon and what has 
already been explained occurs. When 
the top rolls are not properly set 
light places are introduced here and 
there on the yarn, which will cause 
the traveller to jump. One of 
the worst evils existing to-day 
in many spinning rooms is having 
the ring rails travelling very fast. 
Why this is done is unknown to the 
writer, but I do know that 

TROUBLE IS FOUND 
where such conditions are found. 
This is more injurious to the rings on 
the filling wind than on the warp 



S62 



COTl'OJJ MILL MANAGEMENT 



wind, for the reason that the traverse 
is changed, a greater number of times, 
and besides the rail traverses much 
faster one way. We have pointed 
out how the yarn will act on the 
traveller so as to injure the ring, but 
it naiu&t be remembered that the trav- 
ellers at times have a bad effect upon 
the yam, especially if they ar© worn. 
As a rule, the travellers on fine yarns 
break as soon as they are worn. 
The reason for this is that there is 
very little body to begin with, and 
besides some spinners running comb- 
ed stock carry much tension on the 
yam in order to get all the yam pos- 
sible on the bohbin, and although this 
necessitates a little heavier traveller, 
they will fly off when they are slight- 
ly worn under the above conditions. 
The travellers should be changed 
sjistematically on imedium or coarse 
\<'ork — change oftener on the coarse 
work. Wie find in many mills to-day 
no system in changing travellers, and 
they are seldom if ever changed, but 
Instead they are let run until they 
fiy off. Very few ring spinners con- 
sider the injury a worn traveller will 
cause to a ring, sin^ply because the 
effect can not be detected by the na- 
ked eye. Examine the 

PATH OF THE TRAVELLER 

when the sun's rays are upon the ring, 
and it will be found that the traveller 
has no bearing on the outside of the 
ring. This proves that the centrif- 
ugal force of the yarn is stronger 
than the pull from the traveller to the 
bobbin, as the traveller runs always 
on the inside of the ring. If the pull 
from the traveller to the bobbin was 
greater than the centrifugal force of 
the yarn, we would not have a con- 
stant series of alternate accelerations 
and retardations of the velocity of 
the traveller as found on all ring 
spinning frames of to-day. From the 
above it should be seen that there is 
much to a traveller, and that many 
dollars can be saved yearly by giv- 
ing them proper attention and care. 
It will pay any spinner to examine 
the path of the traveller when the 
sun's rays are upon the ring, for he 



Avill then be convinced by the position 
of the traveller that the centrifugal 
force of the yarn is stronger than 
the pull from the traveller to the bob- 
bin. It will be seen at a glance that 
the centrifugal force of the yam 
tends to keep the Inner point of the 
traveller on the inside surface of the 
ring, and, as we stated, any effect up- 
on the yarn is of course transmitted 
to the traveller and acts upon the 
rings as described with the result of 
a wavy ring. 

Travellers are numbered by a 
scale commencing with the heaviest 

AND BECOMING LIGHTER 
as the numbers are reduced. As a 
standard a number 1 traveller weighs 
1 grain. When travellers are lighter 
than 1 grain, they are then numbered 
by whole numbers with added from 
1-0 to 25-0. It must be understood 
here that althoiugh the isame numbers 
are used by different makers of trav- 
ellers for designating their different 
sizes, that these numbers do not in- 
dicate the same weight in all makes. 
As was stated, the traveller should 
have the least resistance possible, so 
the ring on which it is mounted is 
raade of steel and perfectly smooth. 
There are at present on the market 
rings that are known as the mirror 
rings, and with their use, the chang- 
ing of travellers is unknown. Their 
surface is so smooth that a much 
heavier traveller can be used and at 
the same time not have as great a 
tension on the yam as is found on al- 
most all other makes. The size of 
the ring is determined by its inside 
diameter, a ring measuring 11 inside 
being called a li ring. When 
spinning filling a smaller ring than 
v/hen spinning warp should be used. 
There are two reasons for this: 1. 
The filling yarn is not twisted as much 
as the warp yam, besides it is finer 
and of course weaker, and will not 
stand the 

EXCESSIVE TRAVELLER PULL 
that exists when the ring is too 
large. 2. It must be remembered 
when changing from warp to filling 
that there is a limit to the size of the 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



363 



filling bobbisn. that can be placed in 
the shuttle, amd for this reason, when 
changing over from warp to filling 
Y/ind, a bobbin should be obtained 
ard the bobbin constructed according 
to the shuttl-e. No. 118. 



CXIX. SPINNING RINGS. 
There are differeait kinds of rings, 
some containing one flange and others 
two, but those with two flajiges are 
mostly used, for the simple reason 
that they can be turned over and 
used as new rings. Many spinners 
claim that when rings are turned 
over the surface has contracted 
rust, besides they claim that when 
the ring is forced into the recesis in 
the upper part of the holder the 
surface of the ring is roughened. All 
experienced spinners know that the 
above claims -are wrong, because 
from what we have already said, it 
should be clearly seen that the trav- 
eller travels on the inside of the 
flange as was explained. To prove the 
above, take a badly worn ring, and 
the inside will be foumd wavy, while 
the outside will be almost new, which 
proves that the traveller does travel 
on the inside of the flange, and that 
any roughness upon the outside sur- 
face Oif the ring, caused by the holder, 

WILL NOT AFFECT 
the traveller. As it looks to the 
writer, the use of single flange rings 
is a waste of money, and the claims 
against the double flange we think 
have been proven worthless, and you 
wlU find in most cases where the 
overseer will put up a strong argu- 
ment against turning rings over on 
account of the small inicks that may 
be caused by forcing the ring In the 
upper part of the holder, that they 
themselves will allow the rings to be- 
come ruined by allowing the help to 
bieak off travellers with clearer 
boards, bobbins and top rolls. When 
travelers require changing, they 
should be pulled off and not broken off. 
A small hook should be used, and the 
point of the hook should be placed 
under the traveller and then the hook 
should be pushed towards the centre 



of the ring. In most all our cotton 
mills to-day the travellers are pulled 
oft with a smaU hook, but they are 
pulled from the outside, and from 
what we have said it should be seen 
that this method will affect the path 
of the traveller more than when the 
travellens are broken off. When a 

TRAVELLER IS WORN 
it will be found by putting the fore- 
finger on the traveller, inside the 
ring and the thumb on the outside, 
then moving the finger to the left 
the sharpness on the right hand side 
of the traveller can be detected. Now 
if we imagine the traveller to be pull- 
ed off by pulling th© traveller to the 
outside of the ring, it can be seen that 
this sharp place will cut a nick in 
the inside of the ring — the very path 
of the traveller. On the other hand, 
it is well known that the traveller 
travels on the inside of the ring and 
that very small nicks on the outside 
of the ring will have little or no ef- 
fect upon the path of the traveller; 
so by pulling the travellers off by 
pushing the hook towards the centre 
of the ring, the inside of the ring 
will be saved, as also the outside, be- 
cause the traveller never wears on the 
outside of thei ring, but remains in a 
smooth condition. 

Remember this, that a poor ring 
will destroy enough travellers every 
five or six months to pay for a new 
ring, not considering the amount of 
v.'^aste that will be made from the 
spindle, and poor yam besides. Many 
builders advocate crowding a small 
piece of tallow between the neck of 
roll and stand in order to keep the 
bottom steel rolls well lubricated. We 
know from experience that using tal- 
low in any form is bad for spinning, 
and all rolls should be oiled. The 
chief aim of every good spinner is 

TO AVOID OILING 
the rings. All bulldiers of ring frames 
advocate this, because such a prac- 
tice has been found to be detrimental 
to the spinning. 

But the above is just what happens 
when tallow is used, for the reason 
that the spinners are coBitliiiiiiallj tak> 



364 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



tog a small portion of this tallow to 
put on a dry top roU, then theiy will 
replace a broken traveller without 
even wiping their hands, thus oiling 
the ring. When such conditionis ex- 
ist in any spinning room, it will be 
found that so many ends will have 
the proper tension and so many will 
whip. From what we have said, it 
should beiis-een that using tallow o'U the 
rolls will eventually injure the rings. 
One point the writer wishes to con- 
vey to the manufacturers, and that 
is, to not take so much notice of most 
selling agents. Most of these men 
unconsciously cause many hours of 
worry to many overseers. For In- 
stance, it was only a few days previous 
to this writing that the writer had 
the pleasure to have about one hour's 
talk with a Fall River mill treasurer. 
He said that he had just been given 
a good idea from a selling agent, 
which he thought would save the mill 
much money. The following is the 
idea: Spinners should be taught to 
feel of their travellers every time an 
end is pieced, and when any rough- 
ness is found on the right hand side 
of the traveller, (chiefly where the 
wear comes) to pull the worn travel- 
ler off. All ring 

SPINNERS WILL TELL YOU 

to-day that the chief defect In a ring 
spinning room at the present time is 
poor help. Again, the demand of 
most manufacturers for the greatest 
possible production from the machines 
causes him, in most oases, to lose 
sight of the fact that the help In this 
department is much poorer than it 
was years ago. So we must give a 
spinner as many sides as possible to 
make a fair wage, and in many mills, 
mast spinners are given more sides 
than they are able to run, consequent- 
ly, the quality and quantity of the 
work suffers. From, the above, It 
should be seen that manufacturers do, 
as a rule, take too much notice of 
these selling agents, because most 
spinners will agree with the writer, 
that it would be almost an impossibil- 
ity to carry out such an idea. The 
poor help is noticeable, particularly 



in prosperous times, when the man- 
ufacturers are running their front 
rolls at a maximum speed, and con- 
stantly calling for as much work as 
possible from their plant. Of course, 
this is only natural for the manufac- 
turers to do, as it is well known that 
increased production means larger 
earnings, but it must be said that In 
a good many instances. It Is car^ 
ried to extremes, and there Is no doubt 
that the majority of the bad work 
from this department comes from 
such practice. These are the things 
that should be considered, and be- 
sides, 

IT IS DOUBTFUL 

if it is possible to train help to be so 
skillful, because there are very few 
employed in a ring spinning 
room that can detect a worn traveller. 
The best way to do when a selling 
agemt claims that the carder or spin- 
ner is a poor man, is to have him meet 
the carder, or spinner, and let Mm 
point out the defects to these men, 
and give them a chanc© to defend 
themselves. All up-to-date manufac- 
turers know to-day, that all machine 
builders give in their catalogues tables 
for production for both warp and fill- 
ing which are altogether too high for 
the quality of cotton used in most 
mills, still it was O'uly a short time 
ago that these very men, whom the 
^vTiter refers to above, advised the 
manufacturers to follow these tables, 
claiming that they could if they had 
charge of the room. Rings are sup- 
ported by holders, which may be 
either of cast-iron, known as the box 
ring holders, or steel plate. Holes 
are out in the ring rail for the recep- 
tion of the holders, and the holes are 
made slightly larger than the outside 
diameter of the holder. The reason 
for this is to provide a ready means 
of making any necessary adjustment; 
thus the holder with the ring can he 
moved together to any position with- 
in certain limits, and at the same 
time held in position by the screws 
that fasiten the holder to tha ring 
rail. No. 119. 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



365 



CXX. RING HOLDERS. 

Many spinners prefer the box ring 
holders, because they claim that hox 
ring holders hold the rail more rigid, 
v/hich is accompiished Dy the should- 
der of the box ring, and as the ring 
rail must be perfectly level at all 
times, it is claimed that the aid from 
the .shoulder of each ring precludes 
the possibility of the rail sagging in 
the centre. Although the abov© is 
true, it will be found that the ring 
rails employed with the plate ring 
holdiens, are just as rigid, owing to 
the holes bored in the rail being much 
smaller than the holes boarecl for 
the former type of holders. However, 
there is one point we wish to convey 
to the manufacturers, and that is, if 
a change is made in the type of ring 
holders, or in other words, if box 
ring holders are discarded for the plate 
ring holder, change the rail also, be- 
cause it will be found that the space 
left after removing each ring, will 
weaken the rail to siuch an extent as 
to cause it to sag in the centre, and 
in most cases, will break from the 
least jar. 

A good practice that will 
help the running of any spinning room 
is to make a trough of isufficient size 
to hold a portion of a ring rail, fill 
the trough with a solution of potash 
and place the rails in the trough, 
while the frame is being scoured, and 
then wiped. Have the trough in the 
fire-room. The above will remove 
any oil or tallow that may be on the 
rings, and a more even tension is ob- 
tained. 

The spindles and rings form two of 
the most important parts of a ring 
spinning frame, and the isuccessiful 
and economical operation depends to 
a great extent on these two parts. 

The chief aim of every builder is 
to have the rings forged from the very 
best stock, and then carefully hard- 
ened and inspected before they leave 
the shop. After the ring has 
been forged and properly treat- 
ed to destroy the scale, they 
are machined. Great care, knowl- 
edge, and iskill are required in forg- 



ing the blanks from which the rings 
are tuirned. The mechanic must learn 
all about the nature of the material, 
and he must also comprehend the na^ 
tural laws which regulate the opera- 
tions connected with his. particular 
handicralt, because any lar^ excess 
of heat, or not heat enough me^^ 
spoiled forgings. The above short 
description of ring making is given 
simply to show how all rings on every 
new frame should be examined. The 
hardening of the rings is also inor 
portant, but no spinner can tell wheth- 
er a ring is hard enough, unevenly 
hardened, or hardened too much by 
looking at it. He must 

TEST THE SURFACE 
of the ring with a file or something of 
a hard nature, and this he can not 
do on a double ring. Rings that are un- 
true in roundness, need re-polishing 
or, for any defective tool work, are not 
perfect, the spinner should be able to 
detect on examination. The writer 
has in mind a mill where its up-to- 
date spinner threw out over 30 per 
cent of the new rings received at the 
mill, owing to defective tool work. 

The early type of spindle was sim- 
ilar to the mule spindle, and was sus- 
tained by a foot^step and bearing con- 
sisting of considerable weight. The 
special feature of all up-to-date ring- 
frame spindles is that it is allowed to 
find its own best centre of rotation 
within certain limits, with a bearing 
well within the bobbin, thus reducing 
the excessive vibration and wear that 
was found on the older type. There 
are numerous types of ring-frame 
spindles on the market, and the pur- 
chasing of the best type is an inapor- 
tant consideration, because in some 
cases the frame is made in one shop 
and the spindles in another, so it is 
not necessary to adopt any one make 
of spindle with any particular make of 
frame. Spindles, as a rule, are much 
neglected in our cotton mills. Some 
spindles are oiled every four weeks 
when they should he oiled every two 
weeks; others are oiled every two 
weeks, and are not as well lubricated 
as those oiled every four weeks owing 
to the poor quf^lity of oil. Buying a 



-36fi- 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



cheap spindle oil is false economy, 
and if the evils that poor oil cause 
were understood by mill managers, 
very little poor spindle oil would be 
used. 

No ring-frame spindle, no matter 
what type should be run over 9,000 
revolutiooiis per minute. No. 120. 



CXXI. WHITIN SPINDLES. 

Figure 37 is a perspective view of 
the Whitin spindle. From the figure 
i* can bie seen that the whole struc- 
ture of bolster, spindle, bobbin, and 
its yam load rests upon a solid pin 
milled into the bottom of the 
cuter casing. The inner casing is 
sliightly smaller at the bottom than 
the inside of the outer casing, which 
allO'Wis the base of the spindle blade 
a slight lateral movement, thus per- 
mitting the spindle to find its own 
centre of rotation within certain lim- 
its as stated. To prevent the es- 
capement of oil that the high speed 
of the spindle naturally works out 
under the whorl, a small ring, ex- 
tending down a short distance into 
the bolster, is driven onto the spin- 
dle under the whorl. By again re- 
ferring to the figure, it can be seen 
tbat the oil is admitted to the spin- 
dle bearings through two small 
ducts. Thus it can be seen 
that the main supply of oil is 
not agitated by the motion of the spin- 
dle, and all dirt settles at the bottom 
of the bolster case. This feature is 

A GREAT SAVING 
to the wear of the spindle 
and bolster, because the less 
we disturb the oil the less dirt we 
agitate, and the cleaner the space 
between the spindle and bolster. The 
writer has in mind a imill that has 
run the Whitin spindles for 15 years 
without changing a spindle or bolster 
on account of wear, the spindles mak- 
ing 9,000 revolutions per minute. 

The spindle carries a whorl, 
which forms a pulley for the spindle 
band to drive the spindle. Tliere is a 
tapered steel bushing that fits the 
inside of the bobbin. The Wood- 
mancy doffer guard and oil cap Is also 



shown. It consists of a cap, or cover, 
hinged to the enlarged portion 
of the upright oil tube. By close- 
Ij examining the figure, it can be 
seen that the portion nearest the 
spindle projects beyond its hinge and 
forms what might be termed a hook 
over the spindle whorl, in order to 
prevent the spindle from being re 




Fig. 37. Whitin Gravity Spindle. 

moved from its position in its bolster 
when the spindle is in operation. The 
cap or hook is needed most on a 
frame that is speeded too high, es- 
pecially if the taper at the base of 
the spindle is great and the band 
tight, for there will be a tendency for 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



367 



the spindle to be continually rising, 
which causes the coils to ride one an- 
other, and introduce much breaking 
at the spooling. 

It is claimed for this spindle that 
its superiority is largely due to the 
arrangement of the parts of the bol- 
ster as stated, and the placing of its 
case opposite the centre of the whorl. 
Again, the sllding-fit between the in- 
terior and exterior cylindrical sur- 
faces of th© bolster case and bolster 
respectively allows the foot of the 
bolster 

SUFFICIENT PLAY 

to remove any tendency to ro- 
tate. From what we have said 
above, it can be seen that 
with these surfaces arranged as de- 
scribed, and with the band pull at or 
near the middle of the surfaces, the 
spindle is kept in a vertical position 
at all times. The power of the band 
is exerted to bring these surfaces in 
alignment, even when the unbalanced 
load tends to throw the bottom of the 
bolster out of its central relation. 
Thus, if the ring is properly set, the 
spindle remains true with the ring. 
The band pull does not deflect the 
spindles, whether tight or loose, and 
no influence is felt by it on the spin- 
ning of yarn. The positiom of the 
whorl is such that an even pressure 
is exerted upon the whole length oif 
the spindle .bearing. The only point 
against this spindle is that as it 
weans it cannot be adjusted like many 
other types. The writer looks upon 
this as a good point instead of a bad 
one. The spindles are properly set 
before they leave the shop, and they 
require no resetting, as is the case 
with many other types, and the only 
thing to do is to replace the worn 
part. If the proper oil is used, it will 
be found that very little wear will 
occur. No. 121. 



CXXII. DRAPER SPINDLES. 

Figure 38 is a perspective view of 
the Draper spindle. 1 is the spindle 
blade, 2 the sleeve whorl, 3 the brass 
cup, to aid in positioning the bobbin. 
There is a brass washer, forced on 



the spindle blade under the whorl, to 
prevent oil from escaping, as was ex- 
plained on the Whitin spindle. 5 is 
the bolsteir, 6 the packing strings that 
secure the packing in position; 8 




Draper Spindle. 



the spring to serve as a cushion for 
the spindle, 9 the step, 10 the base, 11 
the cap or hook, 'and 12 the pin to pre- 
vent step from turning. 



368 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



By referring to the figuTe, it can 
be seen that the Draper spindle dif- 
fers in its details, principally in the 
construction of the inner casing. It 
can be seen that the bolster in the 
latter type is made up of four pieces; 
namely, the holster, packing, spring 
and step. It will be noticed by ex- 
amining the figure closely, that there 
is a notch cut in the step at every 
quarter of its surface, and the same 
at the lowest end of the bolster. Both 
of these slots engage with a pin in 
the base of the spindle. When any 
wear is discovered on this type of 
spindle, the bolster is removed from 
the base, and the step or bolster is 
turned one-quarter turn, so as to give 
the bolster a higher position; but it 
must be remembered, that the spindle 
blade will remain at the same height. 

If the bolster is raised too high, the 
spindle will bind, and if too low, 
the spindle blade will vibrate, so it 
can be seen that if the wear is slight 
enough to cause only a little vibration 
in most cases a quarter turn of the 
step or bolster will cause the spindle to 
bind, thus the spindle must not be 
disturbed until it wears enough so 
that the bolster can be raised to the 
amount of one-quarter turn. In order 
tc overcome this, Albert H. Morton, 
superintendent of the Lowell Machine 
Shop, has invented a device by which 
the step and bolster are clamped to- 
gether by a steel sheet tube that has 
a cut on its surface, so that it will 
act as a spring clamp witii strength 
enough, it is claimed, to prevent either 
bolster or step from turning. As the 
spindle wears, 1,000 part of a turn 
can be given, and the spindle can be 
properly adjusted at all times. Al- 
though 

THIS NEW DEVICE 
is much appreciated and giving the 
best of satisfaction to the writer, it 
seems that the vibration of the mill 
aided by the weight and rotation of 
the spindle will in time affect 
the position of the step and 
and bolster, and although a much 
finer setting can be obtained with the 
above device, it must be admitted 
that locking the step and holster to- 



gether by the notches engaging the 
pin in the base is the safest method. 
The writer wishes to be understood, 
for although he thinks at present 
that after years of usage the above 
device may give trouble, to date, it has 
given the best of satisfaction. The 
Draper spindle is, no doubt, one of 
the best types on the market, but it 
must be said that it is the most mis- 
understood and most abused. You 
will find many spinners running 
the Draper spindle who will tell you 
that raising the bolster will raise the 
spindle and that lowering the bolster 
will lower the spindle. It was only a 
few days ago that the writer, while 
trying to convince a ring spinner that 
the above was wrong, was told that 
he, himself, would be convinced be- 
fore he left the room. I was ushered 
to a frame, and there he pulled out 
the bolster and step, and turned the 
bolster one complete turn, and then 
replaced the spindle in the casing 
again. He called my attention to the 
fact that the whorl was closer to the 
Woodmancy doffer guard or hook, thus 
claiming that it was proof enough 
that raising the bolster did raise the 
spindle. My only wish is that the 
Ameeican Wool and Cotton Repoerte 
will reach every spinner that con- 
ceives the above idea so that they 
may have a chance to read the fol- 
lowing explanations on the above 
subject. 

EXAMINE YOUR BOLSTER 
on the Draper spindle, and you will 
find the recess in which the 
bottom of the spindle blade 
rests is larger at the top, while 
the bottom of the spindle has 
a corresponding taper. The ob- 
ject of such a construction is to have 
a close fit at all times, and at the same 
time to relieve any binding action 
that might take place between the 
tapered spindle blade and the 
inner casing. Let us assume 
that we find a spindle blade 
that has a tendency to bind 
slightly, we at once turn the bolster 
one-quarter turn downwards, thus 
bringing the bolster to a lower posi- 
tion on the spindle, and as they are 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



369 



both tapered, it should be seem that 
a slight movemeiit of the bolster will 
iLi'ake a great amount of difference 
in the' space between the spindle blade 
a.nd inner casing. On the other hand, 
iif the bolster is raised islightly, we 
have the same effect, only the space 
between the spindle blade and inner 
casing is reduced. No. 122. 



CXXIII. SPINDLE BOLSTER. 

The following will prove that 
any spinner that conceives the 
idea that raising the bolster 
raises the spindle is wrong: 1. The 
screw which fits into the bolster 
(Serves as as footstep for the spin- 
dle, and the spindle must rest at all 
times upon this step. 2. The foot- 
step rests always on the inside bot- 
tom of the outside casing and oc- 
cupies the same position at all times. 
From the above, it can be seen that 
when the overseer made a complete 
turn on the bolster, and raised the 
sp'Jndle, the spindle was supported by 
the recess in the bolster, and the 
spindle bottom was lifted from the 
step. On the other hand, if a spin- 
dle is found in the above condition, 
and the bolster is lowered, the spin- 
dle will be lowered also, owing to the 
fact that it is not resting on the spin- 
dle step. The above is the very cause 
of many frames using the Draper 
spindle, it being hard to drive. The 
Draper spindle has an advantage over 
many spindles in its construction, 
because when using the Morton clamp 
a snug fit can always be maintained 
as the spindle or bolster wears. On 
the other hand, the Whitin spindle's 
success does not depend upon the 
skill of those in charge, but, as stated, 
it is set at the shop and run in one 
position. It only takes a visit to 
some of our spinning rooms to realize 
how the Draper spindles are abused; 
for just look at the whorls and you 
will find them of different heights. It 
must be understood here that the 
Draper company are not to blame for 
the above existing conditions. The 
writer considers that it is without 
doubt as good a spindle as 



rBlad^ 



-Whif!) 



-Bas# 



Bolstefi' 



-^Stepi 



Fig. 39. McMullan Spindle. 

found on tne market if given 
proper care. The spring shown 
in the figure is seldom, if ever, used 
at present. One end of the spring, 



370 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



Nut- 



Fig. 39A. McMullan Spindle. 

when used, was passed into a slot in 
the lower part of the bolster, while 
its other end was passed through a 
hole in the footstep. Its object was 



that in case any binding took place 
between the spindle blade and the 
bolster, the revolving of the blade 
would tend to turn the bolster down 
on the screw or step, thus compres- 
sing the spring. However, it was 
soon found that the spring was con.- 
tinually getting tangled, and many 
mills discarded them. Figure 39 
and 39A shows 

THE McMULLAN SPINDLE 
which resembles, to a large degree, 
those already described. This spindle 
has a loose lock step wholly inside the 
bearing tube, which is itself loose, 
which permits the spindle to find its 
own centre, and locked in the outer 
case. Such a step, it is claimed, adds 
to the running power of the spindle 
sufficiently to admit the possibility 
of having the shank of the spindle 
blade made considerable longer, and 
the extra length of the .spindle below 
the main bearing gives the latter 
little chance to vibrate; besides, it 
serves to keep the spindle erect. It is 
also claimed for this spindle that the 
very slight taper holds the oil on the 
bearing, and does not allow it to rise 
to the top in sufficient quantities to be 
thrown off, and too, the taper Is so 
slight that it is impossible for the 
band, however tight, to raise 
the spindle from its step, as some- 
times happens with some other types 
of spindle are well made and give ad- 
mirable results. Below are the 
weights of the 
complete: Draper 
ounces; No, 3, 
No, 2, 16i ounces, 
standard 14| ounces, medium 19 
ounces, large 25 ounces. McMullan, 
standard 15 ounces, medium 153 
ounces, heavy 17J ounces. No. 123. 



above spindles 
No. 4, 22 

221 ounces, and 
Whitin gravity. 



CXXIV. SPINDLE POWER CON- 
SUMPTION. 

The elements of power consumption 
are the same on all types of spindles, 
but their proportion varies to such an 
extent with different forms that it Is 
necessary to determine the absolute 
influence of each type separately. 
From what we have said, it can be 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



3tl 



seen that the usual amount of lateral 
friction due to the tension of the 
band is the principal element of power 
consumption in a spindle. It has been 
pointed out also that the use of yield- 
ing bearings allows the speed to be 
increased without apparently increas- 
ing the vibration. 

To Mr. Sawyer belongs the honor 
of first applying the above principle 
successfully, because it was he who 
first constructed a spindle with a bear- 
ing well within the bobbin. As we 
have said, the first type of spindle was 
similar to the mule spindle, and was 
sustained by a footstep and bearing 
possessing considerable weight. This 
required the use of a larger band, and 
the tension ran up to 15 pounds. 
In our cotton mills to-day using the 
modern spindles, the average pull Is 
found to be from one to three pounds. 
Atmospheric conditions cause the va- 
riation, as one pound is ample for 
ordinary conditions, while over three 
pounds are necessary under certain 
others. It must be understood here 
that the above statement is not intend- 
ed for a defective spindle. Granted that 
the spindle is in proper order, the 
usual tension has to be 

HIGH ENOUGH 
to allow variation, because bands are 
greatly affected by moisture and dif- 
ference in temperature. 

It is safe to say that it is impos- 
sible to have the proper tension on 
bands at all times in a spinning 
room, and the only way that it can be 
accomplished with our present band- 
ing system is by constructing the 
bands of a new substance. 

All spinners of experience know that 
over eight per cent more power is 
consumed when the frames are start- 
ed up in the morning than when the 
bands have stretched by one or two 
hours' running. Many spinners blame 
the band boys for bands breaking on 
a heavy day, when they should blame 
a slight rain storm instead. We have 
said elsewhere that using cheap oil 
is false economy, which is true, be- 
cause spindles that are not properly 
oiled with good oil will allow the 
spindle to become dry, and grind out 
a er-ppt dpal of iron at tinnes. It can 



be seen that this dirt has a bad ef- 
fect on the spindles, besides increasing 
the consumption of power. For the 
above reason, it is a good practice to 
take so many frames each week, if 
only two, and remove the spindle and 
bearings and clean the base with a 
suction pump. How many spinners 
know the actual revolution of their 
spindles? There is no doubt that if 
such a question is put to any spin- 
ner he will quickly answer you, and 
tell you the number of revolutions to 
the best of his knowledge, because, as 
a rule, the writer has found spinners 
honest in this respect. However, a 
short ime ago I inquired 

THE SPEED 

of the spindles in a certain room, and 
was told that they were making 10,- 
600 turns. The writer has a device 
for timing spindles which will be de- 
scribed later. It gives the actual rev- 
olutions of the spindle. The above 
device was attached to the frame and 
to one spindle, and instead of getting 
10,600 revolutions, we found 9,300 
The spindle must be considered a 
small, upright revolving shaft, run- 
ning at an extremely high speed. 

Any defect that will offer any re- 
sistance to the spindle increases the 
consumption of power: 1. If the 
spindle shaft itself is necessarily 
somewhat imperfect. 2. If the spin- 
dle rests upon the bolster and not 
on thi© step. 3. If the bolster is too 
low Which causes vibration. 4. The 
load carried by it, while performing 
work, the lamoimt depending on the 
number of yarn and length of trav- 
erse. 5. Thje pull of ithe traveller. 
6. The amount of tension on the 
band. 7. The size of the band. 8. 
The quality of oil used, which varies 
the co-efficient of friction. 9. Not oiled 
properly. All the above must be con- 
sidered when timing spindle by cal- 
cula/tions. Some allow 4J per cent, 
which is found to be the average slip- 
page, where the spindles receive 
proper care, but it is isafe to say that 
in other mills, the slippage is often 
over ten, especially when the spin- 
dles are run on the bolster instead 
of on the step. No. 124. 



372 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



CXXV. SPINDLE SPEEDS AND 
TWIST. 

Some spinners are always in trouble 
for no other reason than not giving 
the spindle proper care, which af- 
fects the twist per inch in the yarn. 
Instead of allowing ten per cent for 
slippage, they only allow 4i per cent, 
thus besides having poor spinning, the 
weaving is likewise affected— even the 
cloth will not stand the strain it 
has to undergo in the bleacheries 



frame being about six inches long, 
while the other part that 

HANGS DOWNWARD 
beside the spindle is about seven inches 
long, and each part has a slot about 
IJ inches long at each end. 

Such a device is shown in Figure 
40. A is the thread board, B the 
guide wire, C the nut and bolt that 
tastens the device to the thread board, 
D is the brass angle, E is a small spur 
gear that contains one hundred teeth 



snc 




Fig. 40. Device for Ascertaining Spindle Speed. 



or print works. The cloth will tear 
and dm many instances has to be re- 
turned to the mill. Even when a 
proper device is used to obtain the ac- 
tual speed of the spindle, it must be 
remembered that the twist per inch 
must not be calculated by the speed 
ot the spindle, but hy the speed of 
the traveller. The device to obtain 
the actual speed of the spindle used 
by the writer is a simple one. It 
consists of an angle made of hrass, 
the part of the angle attached to the 



of suitable pitch to mesh with the 
worm F that is forced on the spindle 
blade G; H is a little wire rounded 
in such a manner that it protrudes 
from a tooth of gear E, without offer- 
ing any resistance to the meshing with 
worm F, and I is the spindle rail. The 
worm forced on the spindle is single 
and one turn of the spindle will 
move gear E the amount of one tooth. 
If follows that one hundred revolutions 
of the spindle will give gear E one 
complete revolution. The worm F 



rTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



373 



should be bored to fit the upper part 
of the spindle blade with a hole hav- 
iEg a taper corresponding to that of 
the spindle blade. In counting revolu- 
tions with this device, for example 
those of a front roll, or 

A CARD DOFFER, 
do not make the mistake made by 
most overseers ol countiiLg one as 
soon as the wire touches the finger 
v/hen the hand of the watch is on the 
desired starting point. To illustrate 
this point, we will assume that we are 
t ming a card doffer, and that at the 
start, as soon as the timing place 
strikes the finger, we count one, and if 
the doffer makes 12 revolutions 
per minute, it should be seen that 
we would count 13 turns. It can be 
seen that the above is an im- 
portant point, and that it must be con- 
sidered when timing a spindle. The 
average speed of a ring frame spin- 
dle is about 9,000 revolutions per min- 
ute, so that when timing the above 
speeded spindle, gear E will make 90 
revolutions per minute, which is 
equal to li turns of gear E per second. 
To be accurate requires the greatest 
care and attention possible wben tim 
ing, because if only one sec- 
ond is miscalculated, 150 turns 
arfe lost. However, even if such 
a mistake was made, the results would 
be much closer than in the above case, 
because 10,600 minus 9,300 equals 
1,300 in difference, while using the 
above device, the loss of a second 
only makes a difference of 150 turns. 
This is the only way to get the actual 
spindle speed, and if the above de- 
vice is used, a good 

MANY SPINNERS 
will realize that they are not putting 
in the standard twist. We wish to 
remind the reader again not to figure 
the twist per inch from the speed of 
the spindle as advised by most all 
text books, and textile schools, but 
from the speed of the traveller. We 
have given elsewhere the rule for 
finding the speed of the traveller. To 
obtain the full value of the above de- 
vice, it is first necessary to obtain 
the speed of a spindle in proper con- 



dition and banded with the ordinary 
tension. By knowing the proper 
speed of a perfect spindle, a great 
many defects about the room can be 
discovered, and the user will thank 
the day that the American Wool and 
Cotton Reporter gave the above sug- 
gestion. For instance, let us assume 
that we size the yarn and find it very 
even in weight, but very uneven in 
breaking, what is the cause? 

No. 125. 



CXXVI. POOR WARPING. 

With the above device, the trouble 
can be quickly located, but instead 
of using a bolt to fasten the angle 
to the thread board, a screw should 
be used. All experienced spinners 
obtein what is termed a pick-up to 
produce average yarn. This means 
that the bobbins are obtained from 
different frames about the room, and 
sized. The carder is then advised of 
conditions found and he regulates his 
work accordingly. Now, why not use 
the above device on different spin- 
dles about the room to get the aver- 
age speed, besides finding all kinds of 
defects? 

As stated, by knowing the speed of 
a spindle in perfect condition, the in- 
stant that the above device is ap- 
plied to any spindle out of order, the 
speed obtained will indicate that there 
is something wrong. Let us assume 
that when we size, one bobbin of 
28s yarn breaks at 61 pounds and the 
other at 44 pounds. The above de- 
vice should then be applied to the 
spindle from which the weak yarn was 
obtained, and if the spindle is up to 
the proper speed, the conclusion will 
be that the trouble is 

IN THE DRAWING, 
rolls, in the strand fed, or due to poor 
stock. On the other hand, if the spin- 
dle is not up to speed, the conclusion 
is that the trouble is either in the 
band or the spindle itself. The 
writer has often found a variation of 
4,000 turns in different spinning rooms 
h\ New England, and a variation of 
over 1,000 has been found in every 
spinning room the writer has visited. 



374 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



Let us ask what is done when the 
warpexs are continually stopping from 
weak yarn? The cry is poor stock. 
But how is it that the roving will as a 
rule last a week, and we have good 
warping to-day and poor warping to- 
morrow. Mosit spiinners will tell you 
that it is due to atmospheric condi- 
tions, and they are right, but what is 
done to help it? Nothing, in most 
cases. 

The following is the trouble with 
poor warpmg in most every cotton 
mill: 

If the ispinner has only sufficient 
twist to give the yam enough 
strength to unwind the spools at the 
warper under favorable conditions, 
it should be seen that on a heavy 
day, the frame spindles are not up to 
their proper speeds, besides the 
warper spools will offer more resis- 
tance on a heavy day which increases 
the amount of breakage. The yarn 
made on a heavy day will in most 
cases be felt for days after, because 
yarn as a rule is binned, and this weak 
yarn is mixed with 

THE STRONG YARN 

and poor warping is the result As 
we have stated, the strength of a 
v/arp is governed by the weakest end 
in it. It follows then that it is the 
same with the warper; that is, one 
weak thread will possibly stop the 
warper 100 times. 

As soon as a spinner complains to 
the superinjtendent about the roving 
breaking back, the carder is at once 
told to insert more twist in his rov- 
ing, and the superintendent expects 
the carder to take the twist out again 
as soon as conditions warrant it, but 
here are the same conditions, the 
spools are breaking back from the 
lack of twist, and instead of insert- 
ing a tooth of twist for the time being, 
atmospheric conditions are blamed, or 
if the weather conditions have been 
favorable, and they can not blame the 
weather, they will blame the man that 
buys the cotton. 

The reader should see that the 
above device will show all such de- 
fects, and when it is used, the spin- 



ner is sure it is not guesswork. No 
mill man can deny that the above are 
facts, because they know that in some 
mills, 

THERE IS TROUBLE 

with the spinning, the year round, 
while in other mills, very little trouble 
is found in the spinning. The writer 
has seen a mill running one-inch 
American cotton, the spinning being 
much better than another mill running 
one and one-eighth inch cotton. This 
proves that there is something wrong 
with the latter mill. For the above 
reason, many mills pay very little at- 
tention to the figured twist, but in- 
stead a small machine is used to ex- 
tract th© twist, and in almost every 
case where it has been used, it has 
been found that the yarn lacked the 
necessary number of turns to the inch. 
The spinning overseer as a rule has 
little concern in the amount of power 
used in the engine room caused by tne 
above numerous defects simply be- 
cause it does not show in his own 
cost of production. Many spinning 
overseers have accomplished the pre- 
vention of slack yarn at the cost of 
extra coal, and wear of the spindles. 
In summing up the above. It must be 
said that no spinning overseer can 
operate a spinning room successfully 
without knowing the actual speed of 
his spindles. And from what we have 
said above, it should be seen that 
watching the number of turns that 
should be inserted in the yarn is just 
as important as it is 

FOR THE CARDERS 
to waitch the number of turns that 
should be inserted in the roving. Some 
readeris may take exceptions to the 
above, and perhaps say that the 
above is all theory, but let me say 
that the writer has experienced the 
above defects, and has had a chance 
to study them when many mills adopt- 
ed the long bobbins. If the spindle 
is not responsible for most weak 
yarn, why was the long bobbin a 
failure? Among some of the reasons 
that were given at the time was the 
one that the drag of the filling in the 
shuttle was the cause. However, most 



COTTON MILL MANAGEME3NT 



375 



mill men know better, because they 
know that only one inch more of drag 
will not cause the amount of yarn 
breakage which was experienced at 
that time. 

The writer, after weeks of study, 
found the cause to be in the extra 
load on the spindle. The longer the 
bobbin the more uneven it is in dis- 
tribution of weight. It is not symmet- 
rical and the centre of gravity is not 
in line with the axis. This retards 
the spindle and consequently the yarn 
is weakened. No. 126. 



CXXVII. CLEAN TRAVELLERS. 

The accumulation of fly on the 
traveller should be .given much at- 
tention, because it quickly adds to the 
friction on the ring. Some writers 
advocate greasing the rings with a 
special grease when doubling. We 
have already explained the evil a 
greased ring will cause. When doub- 
ling, instead of greasing the rings af- 
ter allowing the traveller to accumu- 
late fly, adjust your traveller cleaner 
so that it will circle one-third of the 
traveller. 

The traveller cleaner is only an up- 
vardly projecting piece oif metal, 
which removes the fly from the trav- 
eller if properly adjusted. Very few 
ring frames in operation are foimd 
with all the traveller cleaners prop- 
erly adjusted. You will flnd some be- 
low the traveller, others knocked down 
and allowed to remain so, and some 
set too far away from the traveller. 
The best method to set a traveller 
cleaner is to obtain a very thin piece 
of paper, and then push the traveller 
outwards as far as it will go, then 
place the paper between the traveller 
and cleaner and set the cleaner up 
to that traveller, and tighten it there. 
If the fly still collects, or if running 
double, file the cleaner with a round 
file a little larger in diameter than 
the traveller, this will allow the clean- 
er to circle about one-third of the 
tiaveller. In setting the cleaner, take 
your time and your patience and la- 
bor will be well rewarded, because to 
have good spinning you must have a 
free traveller, and in order to have a 



clean traveller you must have the 
cleaner properly set at all times. 

THE TRAVELLER CLEANER. 

There are but very few spinners who 
don't understand the principle of the 
traveller cleaner. They know full well 
that a cleaner will not do its work 
when too far away from the ring, or 
if the cleaner does not project up- 
ward to the extent of one-eighth inch 
above the traveller, or it knocked out 
of position. Still, knowing the amount 
of friction that this neglect will cause, 
they advocate oiling the rings rather 
than taking the trouble of adjusting 
their traveller cleaners. Mr. Reader, 
if you are a mill man, take a walk 
into some spinning room and you 
soon will be convinced that there are 
few spinning rooms that have their 
traveller cleaners properly adjusted; in 
fact, in all my travels, I have «een 
only four spinning rooms where the 
traveller cleaners were properly set. 
It should be seen that the above neg- 
lect will create much friction be- 
sides injuring the rings, and that it 
is highly important to keep the trav- 
eller free from fly. 

Another point we wish to give to 
the manufacturers is that traveller 
cleaners are useless when the length 
of the cotton used is below an inch. 
STOCK GOVERNS PLY. 

The above is also a good point for 
a spinner, because he can judge his 
stock by the amount of fly that ac- 
cumulates on the traveller. You will 
always find in all mills where long 
staple cotton is used much fly on the 
travellers, and if the cleaner is not 
properly set, you will find that the 
cluster of fibres forms a tail. If the 
cleaner is properly set, you find many 
fibres wound around the traveller 
with their ends chopped off by the 
cleaner. On the other hand, if short 
stock is used, it is very seldom that 
fly will accumulate on the travellers, 
the amount being so small as to make 
the traveller cleaner useless. There 
are different types of traveller clean- 
ers, some are fastened to the plate, 
while on others a lip is punched out 
of the plate ring holder, which pro- 



S76 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



jects high enough to catch the fly that 
may be carried by the traveller. It 
must be remembered that the top of 
the projected part must at least be 
even with the top of the ring, in or- 
der to receive any benefit from the 
cleaner. When cast-iron holders are 
used, the traveller cleaner consists of 
a bent piece of wire, sprung 
around the ring with one e-nd bent 
upwards to project a little above the 
ring, and set to the thickness of writ- 
ing paper to the traveller, when the 
latter is pushed to occupy an outward 
position as far as it will go. The po- 
sition of this latter type is more liable 
to get out of order, owing to its posi- 
tion depending on the strength of the 
spring in th© wire. No. 127. 



ufacturers should not let the follow- 
ing pass unnoticed, as it will be evi- 
dence that what is said is true. Let 
us take the above statements apart 
and examine them. 



CXXVlll. SEPARATORS WRONG. 

The traveller makes a number of 
revolutions equal to the number of 
revolutions made by the bobbin less 
the number of revolutions required 
by the bobbin to take up the yarn de- 
livered. Thus the traveller revolves 
around the ring several thousand rev- 
olutions per minute. We are told by 
writers of texts books, that, due to the 
yarn being held within a limited space 
between the thread guide and travel- 
ler, the loose yarn between these two 
points revolving around the ring at 
such a very high speed, tends to bulge 
out this loose portion of yarn at the 
centre, on account of centrifugal force, 
causing the yarn to balloon, as it is 
termed. (Continuing, they tell us that 
the ballooning results in the yarn 
from one traveller striking against the 
yarn from the next traveller, causing 
entanglement and breakage of ends. 
Again, they say to have ©pace enough 
to allow this loose yarn freedom would 
entail unnecessary expense in build- 
ing so long a frame, as well as a 
waste of floor space; consequently, 
they advise us to use what is known 
as a separator to reduce the space be- 
tween the spindles. 

OPEN FOR CRITICISM. 

The writer does not claim to be 
right always, and if wrong in criticis- 
ing the above, the builders and man- 




Fig. 41. Portion of Spinning Frame 
Equipped Witli Separators. 

It is admitted that with the pres- 
ent gauge of ring-frame, the yarn 
from one traveller will strike the yam 
from the next traveller if separators 
are not used to check the ballooning 
within certain limits. So by placing 
a separator between each end we are 
taking up still more space, and it 
must be admitted that more resis- 
tance is offered to the yarn revolv- 
ing freely. The writer is willing to 
admit that the plates of which the 
separators consist are made very 
smooth, to avoid any unnecessary fric- 
tion on the yam. 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



377 



But we have already explained that 
any pull on the yarn which is caused 
by the latter being struck would lift 
the traveller and cause the inside 
point oif the traveller to wear the ring 
hollow at the point where the end 
is struck, which is twice every rev- 
olution, thus making what is termed 
a wavy ring. As regards the state- 
ment that building a frame with a 
gauge to allow the iportion of yarn be- 
tween the guide wire and traveller 
enough space to revolve freely would 
be unnecessary expense is very er- 
roneo'us, and to the writer it seems 
misleading. By picturing in our 
mind a frame built with a gauge wide 
enough to allow this loose yarn free- 
dom to revolve, it should be seen from 
what we have said that the path of 
the traveller would not be changed, 
and the rings would wear evenly in- 
stead of wavy. In such a case as re- 
ferred to above, the ring would give 
many years of good service, because 
its surface would be smooth at all 
times, and no resistance would be of- 
fered to the traveller, thus saving the 
latter. As the writer sees it, the 
separators are ring and traveller des- 
troyers. I would like to isee a room 
equipped with ring^frames consisting 
Oi a wide enough gauge to allow the 
ballooning of the yam freedom, and 
the expense saved in rings and trav- 
ellers recorded. I am afraid that such 
a test would ostracize the separators, 
when such a record was compared 
with the expenses of a room equipped 
vnth separators. The cost of a wider 
gauge frame and an extra amount of 
floor space is not as great as writers 
would have us believe. If the reader 
has already paid ring and traveller 
bills, he will admit that the extra 
iuitial cost is not important. 

No. 128. 



CXXIX. SEPARATORS USELESS 

Instead of being an unnecessary 
cost as claimed, it is an expense laid 
to advantage. Rings and travellers 
would be saved, and the runing of the 
work improved. We have proven 
elsewhere, that in order to have good 



spinning, the traveller must have 
freedom to revolve, as must also the 
loose portion of yarn between the 
guide wire and traveller. We all 
agree that the traveller revolves 
faster as the diameter of the bobbin 
becomes larger, for such has been the 
Vvell-founded, and almost universally 
accepted theory for many years, which 
proves that the smaller the ring the 
faster the traveller revolves. Again, 
all practical spinners will admit that 
a large ring will wear much quicker 
than a small ring. Why is this so? 
As we isee it, the faster the traveller 
revolves the quicker the ring should 
wear. Of course, it must be admitted, 
here that there is less tension on the 
yam when the ring is small, but it is 
not the tension itself that destroys 
the rings, because the tension only 
would wear the ring evenly. Rings in 
most cases, are not 

TURNED OR CHANGED 

because they are worn enough not to 
fit the traveller. It is the uneven 
wear that offers so much resistance and 
wears the traveller. So if the large 
rings wear sooner than the small 
rings, what is the cause? Surely, it 
is not the slight difference in tension, 
because, as stated, the ring would 
be worn even, and besides, we admit 
that the traveller revolves slightly 
faster when the iring is small. Then 
what wears the large rings sooner 
than the small rings? Here is wher© 
the writer proves that a wide gauged 
ring-iframe will save a (great amount 
of unnecessary expense besides turn- 
ing off a better and larger production. 
When a frame is running filling the 
space beitween the blades is not so 
limited, because the manufacturers as 
a rule demand a wide enough gauge 
so that the frame can be changed 
from warp to filling or vice versa. 
Now the chief reason for the uneven 
wearing of the larger rings is be- 
cause the space between the separa- 
tor blades is reduced, which causes 
the yarn to give the separator blades 
a harder blow, and thus, as we have 
proven elsewhere, the traveller is lift- 
ed €orres;pondingly, and we have a 



S78 



COTTON MILL MANAGEME2NT 



wavy ring. Again, the harder the 
yarn is made to hit the traveller, the 
more fly we have. 

EXAMINE A FRAME 
with small rings that has space enough 
BO as not to hit the separator blades, 
aJid you will find a clean frame. On 
the other hand, when this space is too 
limited, you will find a large amount 
ot fly, especially on the weights. 

The above tends to make the face 
of the cloth harsh, because if the fly 
was allowed to follow the 
yarn, most of the fly found 
about the frame would serve in 
making the face of the cloth smooth. 
From what we have said above, it 
should be seen, that having no sepa- 
rators and a gauge wide enough to 
give the free portion of the yarn free- 
dom to revolve, a higher speed and 
better spinning could be attained. So 
if the above is true, the advantages 
that would result from spinning 
frames built with a wider gauge, 
should clearly be seen by the reader: 

1. We save travellers and rings. 

2. We allow the fly to follow the 
thread, which improves the face of 
the cloth, and at the same time it 
gives the room a cleaner appearance. 

3. By giving the yarn and traveller 
freedom, we can run at a higher 
speed, thus increasing the production. 

4. The initial 

COST OF PURCHASING 
separators is removed. To the writer, 
the separators do not only appear 
useless, but as stated they create 
much unnecessary expense. All the 
above points have been obtained by 
years of practical experience, and the 
writer knows that many practical 
spinners will enjoy reading the above 
facts, because they themselves have 
had such experience. 

All practical spinners agree that sep- 
arators are an evil, and besides be- 
ing expensive and injurious to the 
strand, they are in the way. They oatch 
much dirt and waste that is distribut- 
ed on the bobbins when the least 
draft is created in cleaning the frame. 

They also interfere with the full 
view of the bobbins when looking to 



see if the traverse is even and th6 
bobbins on the frame all one height. 
They are an obstruction in remov- 
ing the bobbins, and many spinners 
have experienced bad cuts on pulling 
off the bobbins. However, on high- 
speeded narrow-gauged frames, they 
are necesisary, but why install a nar- 
row-gauged frame and leave a large 
spare floor as found in the majority 
of our mills? They tell us that spare 
floors are a comfort to the 
help, but if the spare floors 
in mills where they are found 
were reduced and large spaced frames 
installed without separators, it would 
be found that the help, and also the 
mill, would be more benefited. 

No. 129. 



CXXX. LIFTER RODS. 

The lifter rods are an important 
consideration, and they are the most 
neglected part oif the frame. The 
writer has often entered a spinning 
room and found the lifter rod in such 
a condition, that the end of the ring 
rail could be swung laterally one-eighth 
of an inch, and in some cases three- 
sixteenths of an inch. 

To prove what harm a worn lifting 
rod will do to the ends, find a worn 
lifting rod by feeling of the ends, on 
the end of the ring rail. If much vi- 
bration is felt on the finger, continue 
to hold the finger on the end and 
with the other hand push or pull the 
ring rail, so that the spindle will be in 
the centre of the ring. You will note 
the difference easily, and the extra 
amount of vibration that the above de- 
fect creates will be realized. No mill 
man need be told that the spindles 
should be se. in the centre of the ring, 
as they spend many dollars yearly for 
setting the spindles. But in many 
cases, setting spindles is a step in the 
wrong direction, because it is too 
often true when spindles are set, that 
the lifting rods or bushings should 
have been changed instead. 

Lifter rods should be examined and 
oiled often, and if too much play Is 
found, a new bushing or rod should 
take the place of the old. On some 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



379 



frames, In order to prevent the accu- 
mulation of fly and dirt on the lifting 
rods, which causes them to hind, a 



stead of preventing dirt and fly from 
collecting, it allows more to collect 
than when the rod is exposed, owing 




casing that extends 

THE ENTIRE DISTANCE 
between the spindle and arch rails is 
provided, but it must be said that in- 



MSTMCDO oi= seT-rir\jc3 

Fig. 40A. 

to the fly and dirt collecting Inside 

the casing which thus binds the rod. 

The best type of lifter roda, ore 

those that are held in place by two 



380 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



vertical sections, which form the 
bushing, for the simple reason that if 
a slight binding is noticed, it is pos- 
sible to remove and clean them while 
the frame is in motion. 

Another defect in connection with 
lifting rods is in the step in which 
the lifter rod rests. On almost al) 
makes of frames, there is not enough 
body around the recess of the step, 
so that when the step is removed 
and replaced again, when it is tight- 
ened, it too often happens that the re- 
cess bursts. The best method in 
keeping the lifter rods clean is to 
b«ni a wire so that each end will 
closely fit the lifter rod, and have 
each end covered 

WITH BRAIDED CORD. 
Have one end of the wire on top of 
the bushing through which the lifter 
rod passes, and the other end under 
the bushing. It can be seen that, with 
stich an arrangement, the wire 
and bushing can be quickly removed. 
Again, if fly or dirt accumulates un- 
der the braided cord, the pressure of 
the wire will give way and the dirt 
collected will fall to the floor. Lifter 
rods often give trouble, owing to their 
not being in a perfect vertical posi- 
tion, and for this reason, a level should 
be placed along side of the rod, and 
if it is found to be in a perfect vertical 
position, the bushing ishould be 
changed at once. No. 130. 



CXXXI. BOBBIN SLIPPING. 

Bobbins raising up on the spinning 
frame spindles is a defect misunder- 
stood. Many spinners are to blame 
for such conditions through their own 
carelessness, especially when ordering 
new bobbins. When bobbins are con- 
tinually raising on the spindles, the 
cause should he located, because it Is 
an evil that is more detrimental to 
the twist per inch and poor warping 
than any other. Very few ring spin- 
ners understand the principle of a bob- 
bin, and for this reason, they accept 
conditions as they find them, and strug- 
gle along with misfit bobbins. The 
best method of locating the cause Is 
to split a bobbin and then lay the 



spindle blade with cone on the whorl 
on one section of the bobbin; the 
cause can then be easily seen. But as 
stated, it is necessary for the spinner 
to understand the principle of the bob- 
bin. The bobbins should be made so 
that the bases will set snugly in the 
brass cap which aids in positioning 
it, and the cone on the whorl, but It 
must fit the cone snugly at all times. 
Figure 42 shows the section of a split 
bobbin on the spindle. A is the cone, 
B the spindle blade, C the recess for 
the reception of the spindle blade. The 
brass cup is net shown for the reason 
tljfi! it is well imderstood by the mill 
men. 

The bobbin, as stated, should fit the 
co^e A snugly, in order to 

DRIVE THE BOBBIN. 

C, the recess or hole, should fit the 
spindle without friction. Thus it will 
be seen that the bobbin should be driv- 
en at the base, and not at the point 
of the spindle. It should be seen that 
if the bobbin does not fit the cone snug- 
ly, the former must be driven by the 
spindle point, which creates much vi- 
bration, and finally works the bobbins 
ap on the spindles. Some overseers 
misunderstand the different parts of a 
snindie, and for this reason, the brass 
c^ps on the cone of the spindles have 
found their way to the scrap heap. 
Brass cups do aid in positioning the 
spindle, and if the bottom Inside of 
the bobbin does fit the cone snugly the 
bobbin will be driven by the cup in- 
stead of the point of the spindle. Thus 
the bobbin is always driven at the 
base, and the liability of vibration is 
not as great. We hear much about 
band slipping from different writers, 
but bobbin slipping is never consider- 
ed, and it does affect the twist per 
inch more than band slippage. Imag- 
ine a bobbin loose on the blade of the 
spindle dragging the traveler, especial- 
ly on a heavy day. Think how the 
turns to the inch are affected, and the 
amount of slack twisted yarn that Is 
made. 

Again, imagine how that one end 
will continually break and stop the 
warper. I think the reader will admit 
that bobbin slipping is the chief evil 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



381 



5 'A Traverse 




382 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



of poor warping. It must not be for- 
gotten that it is tlie revolving of the 
bobbin that exerts the pull on the yam 
necessary to set the traveler in motion. 
When ordering bobbins, a spindle 
should be sent to the bobbin maker, 
and at the same time, he should be 
given the above instructions. If man- 
ufacturers realized how much misfit 
bobbins cost them in running their 
mills, probably they would wake up. 
Bobbin slipping has often been the 
cause of a cramped cylinder. 

No. 131. 



CXXXII. BANDING. 

The cylinder of a ring frame is com- 
posed of very heavy tin, and is made in 
sections mounted on a shaft. For this 
reason, the bands should have as near 
as possible the same tension. When 
banding a cylinder, in order not to 
cramp it, tie a band on one side, then 
tie a band on the opposite side, and 
from side to side until it is all banded. 
Remember this, never tie a band on a 
cylinder when it is stopped, because it 
is impossible to obtain the proper ten- 
sion, besides much damage may be 
done, even at times causing fire. Al- 
ways band a cylinder when running, 
and the spinner will be well rewarded 
In the good running of his room if 
he will spend a little time with the 
band boy and teach him the skill of 
having as nearly as possible thie same 
tension on each band. The spinner 
should watch the diameter of his bands 
always; never neglect this, because 
different sized bands give different 
speeds, which 

AFFECT THE TWIST 
per inch. This will be proven when 
the twisit is calculated. The layers on 
a warp bobbin extend nearly the entire 
length of the bobbin, each succeeding 
layer being a little shorter than the 
preceding one, which gives to the full 
bobbin a taper at both ends. Before 
the mechanism adapted to produce 
these results is explained, it is neces- 
sary to understand how a different 
weight of traveler will affect the 
amount of coils possible to be placed 
on a bobbin. The above is one of 
the most important points In ring 



spinning, and also a costly one. Many 
writers will tell us to have the coils 
closer to the inch in order to prolong 
doffing time. Such a statement is very 
erroneous and misleading, because 
it is based on the fly frame principle, 
in which the coils to the Inch do af- 
fect the compactness of the bobbiH. 
But on a ring frame, the secret lies in 
a heavy traveler, whether you have 
50 or 100 coils to the inch. The trav- 
eler is to the surface of a ring frame 
bobbin, as it rotates, what the heavy 
presser rod and finger are to the surface 
of a speeder bobbin as it revolves ; that 
is, the heavier the traveler, the more 
continuous pressure is exert-^d on the 
preceding layers, thus laying each lay- 
er closer and making a more compact 
bobbin. This should be 

THE CHIEF AIM 

of all spinners; that is, to always run 
a heavy traveler, because (1) you are 
able to put much more yarn on the 
bobbin, which reduces the cost of the 
spinning, and it reduces the number of 
doffs, which increases the production; 
(2) you will have less whipping, which 
prolongs the life of the ring and trav- 
eler, besides less fly is made and you 
have a cleaner room; (3) the cost of 
spooling is greatly reduced, because 
when you make a compact bobbin you 
weigh yarn instead of wood in the 
spooler box. The writer has seen cases 
where 3,000 pounds more production 
was put through without disturbing 
the cost in the spooling room; (4) 
when you run a heavy traveler on your 
frame it is a telltale to defects in the 
spinning. For instance, let us sup- 
pose that the yarn lacks the necessary 
number of turns to the inch, or that 
it has weak places, etc. Is it not 
much better to have the traveler break 
the yarn than to have this defective 
yarn run through other processes, and 
makie trouble and waste? As stated 
elsewhere, many mill managers force 
the spinner to take out twist, and he 
does ?o, but finds that the yarn will not 
stand the pull exerted by the traveler, 
so he puts on a number lighter trav- 
eler to 

REMEDY THE SPINNING, 
which, of course, is the only thing 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



383 



to do, but what about the following 
processes? The above is responsible 
for the deplorable conditions found in 
all mills where the yarn lacks the 
proper number of turns to the incn. 
When the yarn is weak, the spooler 
guides must be opened to ease up on 
it, thus allowing large piecings and 
bunches to pass beyond their action. 
On the warper the ends are contin- 
ually breaking, causing more piecing, 
and increasing the hitch backs on the 



cotton is changed, when, of course, 
the frame must be changed accord- 
ingly. 

Taking out twist for the winter in 
a ring spinning room, when the same 
grade of cotton is used, is the basis 
for fault-finding from the mill office. 
As stated, when the front roll is speed- 
ed, a lighter traveler must be used to 
help the weak yarn. This increases the 
production for a few months in the 
spinning, then when the same amount 




Fig. 43. Section Tlirough Warp Wind Bobbin. 



slasher. On the slasher the amount 
of gum in the sizing must be reduced, 
owing to the weak ends following the 
slasher cylinder. In the weaving, we 
have more hitch backs. The yarn 
continally breaks, which again causes 
more piecings, and the result is that 
a much larger percentage of cloth 
Is put Into seconds. 

All experienced mill men know that 
the above is true, and that at this very 
writing there are mills running where 
the correct number of turns to the 
inch are not used. In most cases, you 
will find that the superintendent is to 
blame. In a spinning room the con- 
ditions are much different from, those 
in the card room. When the proper 
amount of twist is inserted to carry 

A PROPEE, TRAVELER, 
let such conditions alone through sum- 
mer and winter, unless the grade of 



of twist is again inserted in the yarn 
and the speed of the front roll reduc- 
ed, a reason is demanded from the 
office for the falling off of production. 
Besides, as was explained, when using 
a lighter traveler, the bobbins are not 
so compact, and the proportion of wood 
in each bobbin is increased, which In- 
creases the cost in the spooling room. 
To most overseers of spinning and 
spooling, the above is hard to explain. 
because very few overseers of spinning 
ever even consider the amount of dif- 
ference a tooth of twist will make in 
after processes, both in running and 
cost. No spinner deserves any credit 
for speeding up a front roll by 
changing the twist, as any ordinary 
fixer can do that. 

Credit is due to the spinner who can 
judge the stock and change the twist 
to advantage, and at the same time in- 



384 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



crease the production and make con- 
ditions better in after processes. Then 
an explanation for the 

INCREASED PRODUCTION 

can be given — better stock. A great 
mistake is made by many overseers In 
conceiving the idea that very few mill 
managers understand the structure 
and peculiarity of the cotton fibre. 
This is very erroneous, and the m.an 
that conceives such an idea is stand- 



the mechanism that indirectly guides 
the coils on the traverse of the bob- 
bin, and forms the taper at each end. 
The arm, A, is fulcrumed at the point, 
Al, and carries a cam-bowl, A2, that 
is operated by contact with cam Y. 
As the cam, Y, revolves, arm. A, Is 
free to move to the extent of the shape 
of the cam. The chain, B, is connect- 
ed at the point, A3, to a rack, A4, by 
means of a hook that passes over 
a pulley, Bl, and the other end is con- 




Fig, 44. Diagram of Combination Builder Motion. 



ing on dangerous ground. The writer 
has had the pleasure of discussing the 
subject of cotton grading with many 
of these gentlemen and has found in 
each case that they understand and 
know what can be done with a certain 
grade of cotton. Some can even tell 
you the average tensile strength of 
the fibres before and after running, and 
they also know the number of grains 
at which a poor or good single fibre 
should break. No. 132. 



CXXXiil. RING SPINNING. 

Figure 43 shows a section through 
a warp wind full bobbin. By the 
taper on each end of the bobbin it can 
be seen that the first layer extends 
almofct the entire length of the trav- 
erse on the bobbin, and the next suc- 
ceeding layers are a little shorter than 
the preceding ones. Figure 44 shows 



nected to a quadrant, B2, by an eye 
bolt and two nuts, which serves as a 
check. Figure 45. 
The 

QUADRANT IS ATTACHED 
to an upright arm, B3, which is con- 
nected to a rod, B4, that is supported 
by a bracket, C3. The rod, B4, runs 
transversely across the frame, and 
bracket, C3, is bolted to the rail, 02. 
Connected to the rod, B4, is a hor- 
izontal arm, T3, which supports the 
lifter rod, T. Another arm, B5, carry- 
ing the weight, B6, is also connected to 
rod, B4. It can be seen with such an 
arrangement that the weight, B6, has 
always a tendency to swing the up- 
right arm, B3, to the right. As the 
ring rails are supported by the lifter 
rods when they make their up-and- 
down movement, the ring rail will 
move with them and give a traverse 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



385 



to the coils of yarn as they are laid on 
the bobbins. By referring to Figure 
44, it can be seen that as the cam, Y, 
revolves, it forces the arm, A, down 
until the cam-bowl has reached nearest 
the centre of the cam. When the 
cam-bowl is nearest the centre of the 
cam, the arm. A, is then allowed to 
rise through the action of its own 
weight. Motion is imparted to the 
ring rail by the chain, B, and its con- 
nections. When arm. A, is forced 
down, it takes the chain, B, with it, 
and as it is attached to the quadrant. 



suflEiciently heavy to over-balance the 
weight of the ring rail, which forces 
the lifter rods and ring rail up, and 
an up-and-down traverse of the yarn 
on the bobbin is obtained. As stat- 
ed, the chain, B, is connected to the 
rack, A4, which is supported in 
grooves cast in the arm, A. A4 lias 
teeth on its lower side in which the 
worm, A5, works, the worm receiving 
motion from shaft, A6, througb a 
ratchet gear, A7, on the end 
of shaft, A6, and pawl, A8. A8 
is mounted on an arm, AlO, which is 




Fig. 45. Diagram of Combijiation Builder Mot on. 



it acts upon it and will swing the 
arm, B3, to the left and turn the rod, 
B4, thus lifting the weight, B6. 

When the weight is raised, it al- 
lows the lifter rod to drop, owing to 
the weight of the ring rail and its con- 
necting parts. Thus, it can be seen 
that bv this action 

THE RING RAIL 

is moved from the top to the bottom 
of the bobbin. 

When the chain is slackened by the 
action of the cam, which is caused by 
the cam-bowl being nearest the cen- 
tre of the cam, the weight is made 



also supported by shaft, A6, and works 
into the teeth of the ratchet gear, A7. 
The other end of AlO is connected to 
a threaded rod, All, which carries two 
set-nuts, A12 and A13, plainly shown 
in the figure. It can be seen in the 
figure that the rod. All, passes through 
the casting, A14, which is bolted to the 
rail, C2. A15 serves to regulate the 
distance to which the rack, A4, may 
be moved to the left, and it can be 
placed in any desired position. The 
arm, A, is moved to the left as far as 
A15, as the first layer of yarn is placed 
on the bobbin. This brings the chain, 
B, as far from the fulcrum point of 



886 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



arm, A, as it cam go, and thus the 
greatest traverse is obtained. Each 
downward movement brings the nut. 
Al?., against the casting, A14, which 
prevents the rod from moving any 
farther in its 

DOWNWARD DIRECTION. 

Thus it can he seen that this will 
cause the pawl, A8, to turn the ratchet 
gear, A7, a certain number of teeth, 
the number being regulated by the po- 



moved slightly higher every succeed- 
ing layer. Thus it can be seen that 
the length of the traverse is not chang- 
ed. Each succeeding layer is moved 
slightly higher, and the same distance. 
The tapered part of a filling bobbin 
is called the chase, the point being call- 
ed the nose and the bottom of the 
traverse the shoulder. There is much 
argument among mill men about the 
manner in which the rail should be 
driven. As is well known by mosi 




Fig. 46- Section Through Filling Bobbin Wound With Yarn, 



sition of the nuts, A12 and A13, to ac- 
commmodate any counts of yarn. If 
the different parts in the figure are 
followed, it can be seen that when the 
ratchet gear, A7, is turned, motion Is 
imparted to the shaft, A6, which carries 
the worm, A5. So when shaft, A6, re- 
volves a part revolution, the worm, 
A5, engages the teeth on the lower side 
of rack, A4, and causes it to move to 
the right, and the traverse is slightly 
shortened. When the weight forces the 
lifter rods up, and the quadrant is 
brought to its former position, the 
rod, All, is" raised by the arm, A, 
bringing the other pair of set-nuts, 
A12, in contact with the casting, A14, 
which moves the pawl, A8, back to 
the right, and thus it is brought again 
in its correct position to engage with 
the teeth of the rachet gear on the next 
downward motion of arm A. It will be 
noticed that there is another pawl, 
A9, which is simply a stop pawl, to 
hold the ratchet gear in its position as 
the other pawl is moved to the right. 

Figure 46 shows a section of a full 
filling bobbin. It can be seen that t'le 
build of the bobbin differs to a large 
extent from that of the warp bobbin. 
The filling wind instead of having lay- 
ers extending from one end of the bob- 
bin to the other, only extends a short, 
distance, and the traverse is 



mill men, the ring rail travels much 
faster in one direction than in the 
other. The reason for running the 
ring rail faster one way is to stop the 
yarn from being pulled off in bunches 
at the loom, which is termed slubbing 
off at the nose. 

When the ring rail is made to travel 
slowly in one direction, the coils are 
laid closer together; then if it is given 
a quick motion when traveling in the 
other direction, the coils will traverse 
the preceding coils and will tend to 
hold the yarn together. When the rail 
is making its slowest movement while 
going up, it is called binding from the 
nose to the shoulder. 

If it travels slowly when moving 
down, it is called binding from the 
shoulder to the nose. Each method 
above described is adopted on ring 
frames, and you will find mill men that 
claim advantages in both methods. 
Now, which is the better method? 

No. 133. 



CXXXIV. SPINNING SUGGESTIONS. 

Let us consider what happens when 
we do the binding from the shoulder 
to the nose, or in other words, when 
the ring rail moving up has its quick- 
est motion. Let us assume that the 
ring rail is moving down with its slow- 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



387 



est motion, and the coils are laid clos- 
er, until the rail has completed its 
traverse and the direction of the rail 
is changed. It will be found that, as 
soon as the ring rail starts to move 
up, its quick motion will cause the 
yarn to balloon slightly. From what 
we have already said about the ten- 
sion and traveler, it should be seen 
that the tension must be somewhat re- 
lieved to cause ballooning. As we see 
it, the above method should be favored, 
because when the rail is making its 
quickest motion when moving up, it is 
moving in the opposite direction to the 



ring rail is moving up when having 
its slowest motion and the coils are 
laid closer until the rail has completed 
its traverse, and its direction is chang- 
ed It must be admitted here that if 
the sudden change of direction and 
speed of the rail will cause the yarn 
to balloon when the rail changes on the 
bottom of the traverse to make its 
quick upward movement, the ten- 
sion will be affected correspondingly 
when the rail changes on the top of 
the traverse to make its quick down- 
ward movement. From the above. It 
can be seen that the ring rail is mak- 




Fig. 47. Builder Motion Showing Fill !ng-wind Cam. 



delivery of the yarn, which causes the 
latter to balloon slightly. In the above 
method, the only objection is that the 
yarn may whip, which can be remedied 
by the properly weighted traveler. On 
the other hand, let us assume that we 
are binding from the nose to the shoul- 
der, or the ring rail having its slow- 
est motion when moving up, and its 
quickest motion when moving down. 
It should be easily seen that the 
movement of the ring rail will have the 
opposite effect upon the yarn in the lat- 
ter method. So let us consider in this 
case as we did in the last that the 



ing its quickest movement in the same 
direction of the yarn, which, of course, 
has more tendency to 

PULL THE YARN 

from the front rolls. Again, from 
what we have said, it should be seen 
that this slight increase of the ten- 
sion will cause the traveler to dig into 
the surface of the ring at every down- 
ward change of the traverse, thus 
wearing the rings and travelers. If 
the reader is a mill man, he should 
clearly realize from the above that 
the binding from the shoulder to the 



388 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



nose is best, because it not only helps 
the running of the work, but also 
saves the wearing of the rings and 
travelers, which is quite an expensive 
item. 

All up-ito-date ring spinning frames 
are, as a rule, equipped with 
what is known as a compound 
builder. Such a builder is shown 
in Figures 44 and 45, (see our 
issue of March 9), and when 
changing from a warp wind to a 
filling wind the warp cam, Y, which 
is known as the warp cam, is replaced 
by the filling cam Yl, Figure 47. By 
referring to Figure 44, it can be seen 
that the chain, B, is connected to the 
rack, A4, while in Figure 47 it is con- 
nected to the arm, Y2, which has no 
function to perform when the warp 
cam is used, and is supported by the 
arm. A, by means of a projection, Y3, 
which extends laterally over arm, A. 

The chain, B, must be shortened 
when using the filling-wind cam, be- 
cause the arm, Y2, must be raised 
until it comes in contact with the 
stud, Y4, on the rack, A4. The chain, 
B, is shortened by the nuts, B7, Figure 
45. 

It must be understood here that 
there are various types of combination 
builders, but they are all constructed 
on the above principle. On some types 
of builders, the arm that carries the 
cam-bowl or Whitman roll, as it is 
known, is changed to the other side of 
the builder. This arm 

IS SO CONSTRUCTED 

that it has a reception for the roll or 
cam-bowl on either side, and the cams 
are so placed that when this arm is 
turned it will come directly under each 
cam, so that the roll will engage the 
full width of the face on the cam. 

Again, a special hook must be used 
when the chain is connected to rack, 
A4, and instead of an eye for the re- 
ception of the hook on" the chain, B, 
on the end of the arm, Y2, the end 
of the arm is hook-sliaped. From 
what we have said, it should be seen 
that the revolving of each cam al- 
ternately forces the arm. A, down 
and allows it to be raised in both 
systems by means of weights. We will 



now explain the change in position of 
each codl of yarn on the bobbin, which 
in the tllling-wind is obtained in a dif- 
ferent manner than the varying posi- 
tion of the coDs in a warp-wind. 

By referring ito Figure 45, it will be 
seen that the action of the pawl is ex- 
actly the same in both systems, and that 
the downward motion of the arm. A, 
causes the pawl to act on the ratchet 
gear, A7, and thus the ratchet gear is 
turned a certain number of teeth. We 
have explained elsewhere that every 
movement of the ratchet gear acted 
correspondingly on the worm, A5, 
which is given a part revolution, and 
forces the rack, A4, to the right in 
both systems. We now refer to Figure 
47, and as was stated before, the arm, 
Y2, must be brought into contact with 
the stud, Y4, that is carried by the 
rack, A4. As the bobbin fills, the point 
of contact between the stud and the 
arm, Y2, will be moved to the right 
together with the rack, A4. Owing to 
the shape of the face of the arm, Y2, 
and also the groove in which the rack, 
A4, slides, the arm, Y2, is made to 
occupy a higher position, due to the 
weight, B6, forcing up 

THE LIFTER RODS 

which slackens the chain as In the 
warp-wind. One point that should be 
noticed here is that the arm, Y2, bears 
the same relation to the fulcrum, Al, 
of this arm during the entire building 
of the bobbin, and that each succeed- 
ing layer is made to occupy a higher 
position on the bobbin by the point at 
which the chain, B, is connected to 
the arm, Y2, being raised at each suc- 
ceeding downward movement of the 
ring rail. 

The chain should be connected 
exactly in the centre of the rack, so 
as to t ave the same amount of working 
on each side of the rack. This Is a 
point much neglected in many mills, 
especially in mills where the length 
of the traverse is changed often. It 
is often that a change will bring the 
connecting point in some cases as far 
as two inches from the centre of the 
rack. When the chain occupies such a 
position, it is impossible to produce 
a perfectly built bobbin. We have 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



389 



said that in both methods the rack 
was moved to the right until the bob- 
bin was filled. So it follows that the 
rack must be moved to the left before a 
new set can be started. By referring 
to Figure 45, it can be seen that the 
hole in the centre of the ratchet gear 
is square-shaped. This is for the re- 
ception of a handle that fits the centre 
of the ratchet gear, and by turning 
the gear and its connections, the rack. 
A4. is moved to its correct position, 
and the different parts will also be 
In position to place the first layer <if 
yarn on the bobbins. As stated, there 
are various types of builders, single 
and compound, and each maker claims 
some advantages, but it must be said 
that there is very little difference in 
all types except that some are more 
simple than others in construction. 
Again, there are so many different 
methods of effecting the construction 
of the bobbin and regulating the 
length of the traverse, that it is al- 
most impossible to explain each 
one. No. 134. 



CXXXV. FRAME FIXING. 

Some fixers will change the position 
of the rack to affect the shape of the 
bobbin, while others will change the 
position of the bearing supporting 
chain pulley, Bl, others will lengthen 
the traverse by the chain, B, while 
some will change the position of the 
quadrant. The chain should be ex- 
amined often, also the position of thfl 
take-up nuts, B7, because the frames 
are run so long in some mills that the 
points of the chain become worn to 
such an extent that even the take-up 
nuits will not take up the amount of 
wear when they are turned as far as 
they can go. The set nuts themselves 
are liable to get loose and work their 
way to the end of the small threaded 
rod, which often happens, owing to the 
vibration of the mill. When the chain 
is too long, the coils are made to oc- 
cupy a different position on the bobbin, 
which causes much dissatisfadtion, es- 
pecially in the weave room. When the 
first coils are laid too high up on a 
filling-wind bobbon, it should be seen 
that the ring frame will be doffed 



oftener, and the amount of yarn on the 
bobbin will be much less, and a shorter 
length of cloth will be woven. Besides, 
the bobbins run empty sooner, which 
causes more shuttle changing. All mill 
managers will agree that when you In- 
crease shuttle changing you affect the 
quality of the cloth. It only takes a 
visit to some of our spinning rooms to 
see how the positioning of the yarn on 
the bobbins is neglected. The writer 
has seen the first coils so high up on 
the bobbin that they measured li inches 
from the first coil laid to the bottom 
of the bobbin. 

Examine your filling bobbins in your 
weave room and yoii will find that 
the majority of the bobbins are not 
filled as they should be. Why are 
such conditions allowed to go on? 

If a lot of expense was necessary to 
remedy the above defect, it could be 
oft'ered as an excuse, but from what 
we have said about the builder, it 
should be seen that even If the man- 
ager refused to buy new chains, the 
chains could at least be shortened by 
cutting out one or more links so that 
the positioning of the first coils 
would come under the Influence of the 
set nuts. It should be seen that in all 
mills where this defect is found it must 
be laid to lax methods, and it should 
not be tolerated 

IN ANY COTTON MILL. 

The writer has found the above defect 
in almost every cotton mill he has vis- 
ited, and it does seem a pity that a 
waste of money should be allowed to 
continue, which also causes much dis- 
comfort among the operatives. I re- 
cently called on a man whom 
I knew to bft a spinner of much 
ability. I noticed that his bobbins 
were not properly filled, the majority 
of them had no yarn on more than hal P 
the large end of the cone on the bot- 
tom of the bobbin. When I called his 
attention to it he made the following 
reply, which is instructive as well as 
Interesting. It must be admitted that 
he gave us a good point. Now, wheth- 
er or not he was careless, and when the 
question was put to him this 
ingenious thought stole into his mind 
T do not know, but I do know that he 



3&0 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



gave us a good idea that will in the fu- 
ture change the construction of the 
filling bobbins when the separators are 
not used. His answer was: "You see, 
vvhen I lallow the ring rail to travel 
until it reaches the bottom of the bob- 
bin, the cone being then so large it 
decreases the tension or pull so sud- 
denly that the yarn will whip, and if 
1 put on a heavier traveler to suit the 
tension when the rail is at its lowest 
position, it will almost pull the major- 
ity of ends from the rolls when it oc- 
cupies its uppermost position. So, 
by using only a small portion of 
the cone on the bobbin, the tension 
is more equally divided throughout the 
travel of the rail". 

From the above, it must be admit- 
ted that using a filling-wind bobbin 
with a cone at its lower end is a mis- 
take, because a coneless filling bobbin 
will not only equalize the tension but 
it will also build a much better bob- 
bin. If the reader is a spinner he can 
very quickly try the above by cutting 
the cone off one bobbin, and run this 
bobbin for a set on one spindle. The 
result will be surprising. No. 135. 



CXXXVI. FAULTY BOBBINS. 

Faulty bobbins may be caused in va- 
rious ways. When a band is slack, it 
not only makes the bobbin faulty in 
appearance, but the yarn does not have 
the required amount of twist. Such a 
bobbin is only noticed here and there 
about the room, and it must be said 
that, with the present system of hand- 
ling, slack bands will never be entirely 
eliminated. Faulty bobbins, which do 
not have the proper taper and which 
are not properly filled, are the cause 
of much unnecessary expense. 

A long taper on the bobbin decreases 
the length of yarn that can be put on 
the bobbin, and this requires the frame 
to be doffed more frequently, which in- 
creases the per cent of stoppages, be- 
sides the cost in the spooling room is 
much greater. For this reason, a short 
taper for warp yarn is better than a 
long one. A long tapered bobbin is the 
same as a light traveler, a certain 
amount of yarn is lost in the winding 
in either case. The American Wool 



AM) Cotton Reporter has often point- 
ed out this unnecessary expense, and 
it has no doubt helped many mills by 
so doing. 

SPRUNG RING RAILS. 

dirty lifting rods or bobbins not 
fitting on the spindle sleeve prop- 
erly will cause a bobbin to have 
uneven surfaces. On the filling frames 
the bobbins should be reamed out 
at the top. The reason for this is 
that when the filling is moistened or 
steamed, the wood of which the bob- 
bin is generally composed expands and 
contracts. As stated, bobbins should 
be tried on the reamer before they are 
again filled with yarn. When building 
a filling bobbin, it should be under- 
stood that the taper cannot be varied 
to a large extent. A change in the 
take-up of the builder does not affect 
the taper the same, but merely changes 
the diameter of the bobbin. No. 136. 



CXXXVII. STANDARD EQUIPMENT 

There are several methods of driving 
the cam from the head. Some are. 
driven by means of a chain and sprock- 
et gears, others have an upright shaft, 
while others have connecting gearing 
using no chain or upright shaft. There 
is much argument about the superior- 
ity of each method, but the fact re- 
mains that there is very little differ- 
ence in the movements of the rail in 
either one. 

It is admitted by most all 
practical spinners that the chain 
drive works the easiest, besides each 
link is fitted so snugly that there is no 
play in the chain and there is very lit- 
tle dwell on the turning point of the 
cam. On the other hand, when gear- 
ing is used, there is more chance for 
back lash, owing to the large amount 
nf gears meshing into one another. 
There is also some back lash when an 
upright shaft is employed, but not as 
much as when all gearing is used. 
However, although the above is true, 
the difterence is so slight that it should 
not alter one's mind in the selection 
of a certain make of ring frame. After 
selecting the frame great care should 
be taken in making out the specifica- 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



3di 



tions for tne Duiiaing of it. This is 

the most common mistake made when 

EQUIPPING A MILL. 

One good point in equipping a mill 
is to have a few frames with their 
parts proportioned so as to be able 
to change them on either warp or fill- 
ing and thus balance the production. 
Too often we find many cotton mills 
where they are flooded with filling yarn 
and are unable to change over, owing 
to the gauge of the frame being too 
narrow. Take your time when making 
out specifications and consider the 
proportion of all parts according to 
whether they are to spin warp or fill- 
ing. The number of yarn intended for 
both warp and filling must also be 
considered, whether fine, medium or 
coarse. The space is the mosit impor- 
tant consideration, for it is here the 
manufacturer must make up his mind 
whether he will equip his frames with 
or without separators. 

Prom what we have said about 
the amount of evil that separa- 
tors cause, even if the manufac- 
turer does favor separators, it should 
be clear thait a wide gauge is a 
benefit, if only the pulling off of the 
bobbin by the spinner is cxjnsidered. 
There are many who will say that 
they cannot see by examining the trav- 
eler while it is dragged around by the 
yarn how it can be affected by the 
YARN WHIPPING, 

because they will say that there 
are many that do not even touch 
the separator blades. This is one 
great fault the writer has always 
found to exist in all cotton mills; that 
is, the Avorkers never learn how to 
think. It should be clearly seen that 
what was said about the evils caused 
by separaJtors should not be applied to a 
case where the yarn is free to revolve 
between the blades. Again, some man- 
ufacturers claim that the blow of the 
yarn is so slight upon the blades that 
they fail to see how it is possible for 
it to injure the traveler or ring. 

Then, let me ask, what is wearing 
your rings wavy? We know that the 
blow is not like the whip to a horse, 
but it is the number of times per sec- 
ond, minutes, hours, days, weeks. 



months and even years that count. 
Another point that is little understood 
by most mill men is the amount of 
freedom to the revolving end a slight 
increase of the space will give. One- 
eighth inch will give 

SURPRISING RESULTS. 

Space means the distance between the 
centres of two consecutive spindles, 
and is usually found to be 2g inches. 
Filling yarns are much weaker 
than warp yarns, owing to the differ- 
ence in the number of turns to the inch 
inserted, and the filling yarn is unable 
to stand any excessive traveler pull 
that exists when the ring is large. For 
this reason, the filling frames are 
equipped with li inch ring and the 
warp usually with 11 inch. A good 
rule to follow is to have the largest 
ring diameter about one inch less than 
the gauge of the frame, and it will 
be found that there will be very lit- 
tle trouble with the travelers and 
rings. It must be understood here that 
most any reasonable size of ring can 
be furnished by the builders, which, of 
course, anects the gauge correspond- 
ingly. The diameters of rings most 
commonly used vary from IJ to two 
inches. No. 137 



CXXXVIII. LENGTH OF TRAVERSE 

Another important consideration in 
making out specifications for the build- 
er is the length of the traverse. Fine 
yarn should have a shorter traverse 
than coarse yam. Another point that 
is much overlooked is the diameter of 
the cylinder. Some mill men, in order 
to have the same sized pulleys through- 
out the room, have a smaller diameter 
cylinder on the frames spinning coarse 
and filling yarns. They claim that the 
spindle speed should be higher when 
spinning fine yarns, and that the warp 
spindle Fhould be higher speeded than 
that making filling. Although the 
above is true, it is much better to have 
the cylinders all one size, and have 
different sized pulleys to give the nec- 
essary speeds 

WHEN MAKING CHANGES, 
because it is much easier to change 
Dulleys than to change cylinders. 



SdS 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENl 



Another important consideration 
when making out the specifications Is 
the distance from bay to bay. This is 
a duty that falls into the province of 
both the administrative and construc- 
tive work. Misitakes have often oc- 
cun-ed, and in some cases the machin- 
ery has had to be altered. When build- 
ing a mill, the size of all machines 
should be determined and the distance 
between the bays gauged accordingly. 
The writer has recently visited a new 
mill that has a distance of 11 J feet be- 
tween the bays, and the machinery 
was so well laid out to save walking 
for the operatives that the writer is 
glad to recommend the above distance. 
As a rule, a spinner is paid by the 
number of spindles she runs, and for 
this reason all ring-frames in certain 
mills are generally built of one length. 

We have repeatedly said that it is 
impossible to learn the practical part 
from a book, because we know that the 
practical part is obtained only by 
every-day practice in the handling of 
tools and diligent study. However, we 
nifer the following method of setting 
the spindle to the ring: The bob- 
bin consists of two bosses, A and B. 
The first thing to do in setting spin- 
dles is to lower the rail so that the 
ring, C, on the rail, will be just even 
with the lower boss, B, and then adjust 
the spindle concentric with the ring. 
Next run the rail up so that the ring, 
C, will be even with the top of the 
upper boss, and again adjust the spin- 
dle concentric with the ring. When the 
spindle is not 

CONCENTRIC WITH THE RING, 

the best method is to shim under base 
of spindle to throw spindle one-half 
of the distance required, to make the 
spindle concentric to the ring. The 
quickest method and one used iu most 
cotton mills is that of placing a piece 
of paper under the side of the casing. 
In setting spindles, the rail should be 
run up and down often, in order to 
average the lower and upper adjust- 
ment. 

It should be clear to the reader that 
even if all the spindles were found con- 
centric with the ring when the rail 
is at the bottom boss, many will not 



be concentric with the ring when tue 
rail is at the top boss, and when the 
spindles are shimed, or packed to 
throw the spindle, it may disturb 
the position of boss, B, and for this 
reason, the rail should be raised and 
lowered many times to ascertain the 
proper position of the spindle when 
the rail is in both positions. Mill man- 
agers themselves are to blame in most 
cases for poor spindle setting, because 
if they employ spindle setters by the 
day, they demand that a certain num- 
ber of frames must be completed. On 
the other hand, if they let it out as 
contract work, the jobber will do as 
many frames as possible each day, so 
as to get away to another job. All 
practical spinners will tell you that 
in most cases no man 

CAN SET A FRAME 
of spindles correctly every day. 

I know that many mill men will 
take exceptions to the writer for such 
a statement, but if the reader is a mill 
manager, let him step into his spin- 
ning room and pick out a frame where 
the bobbins are nearly filled, and lower 
the rail and examine the position of 
the spindles, then raise tne rail and 
do likewise. 

If this is tried in many mills some> 
body will wake up to the fact that 
what the writer claims is true. 1 have 
myself set a frame of spindles in one 
day, but not often, and in some casei 
it has taken me two days to do one 
frame. No. 138. 



CXXXIX. SPINDLE SETTING. 

Manufacturers need not be told 
that good spinning is impossible un- 
less the spindles are concentric to 
the ring when the rail is at the lop 
and bottom. I have often examined 
a frame after the spindles were set 
in a hurry, and set only to the ton 
boss, and I always found when the 
rail was at the bottom of its travers3 
that some of the bobbins almost touch- 
ed the side of the ring on a frame 
where the bobbins were nearly filled. 
The best method is to employ a couple 
of men and set them to work, and In- 
stead of demanding that a certain num- 
ber of frames be done each day, re- 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



393 



quest that they be done right and to 
the satisfaction of the overseer in 
charge. It is only natural for any 
spindle setter to do the number of 
frames demanded of him, because he 
wants to hold his job; so he sets the 
spindles the best way he can In the 
time allowed him. How can any mill 
manager demand a certain number of 
frames to be done from any spin- 
dle setter, when no time can be 
fixed for doing one frame? Have it 
understood on hiring your spindle setr 
ters that each frame done 

MUST BE EXAMINED 
by the overseer in charge, and 
that they, themselves, are under 
his charge. In this way the spindles 
will be positioned as near right as 
possible, because the overseer in 
charge will realize that he himself 
will suffer the most if a hurried job 
is permitted. In order to have com- 
fort afterwards and a nice running 
room, he will closely examine each 
frame of spindles after being set. 
There are men continually going 
around doing spindle setting by con- 
tract; that is, they get so many dol- 
lars for setting one frame, and the 
pass word is, while the job is being 
done, rush. 

Most manufacturers have got wise 
t(> this fact, and they generally have 
one or two of their own men do the 
work, but there are still many mills 
that have this work done by con- 
tract, simply because the boss spin- 
dle setter has won the overseer's friend- 
ship or the overseer is not a prac- 
tical man. Here is where it pays to 
hire men with 

PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE. 
All mill men know that the overseer 
who has had no practical experience 
seems out of place at all times. Hi? 
method of handling the machinery 
and material is faulty. The writer 
wishes it to be understood here that 
he is not against textile or any cor- 
respondence school. He is a grad- 
uate of the latter himself. Both are 
very beneficial to any mill worker, 
but one must have the practical part 
to go hand in hand with the theory. 



The above is given as only one case 
where the work is affected, and mon- 
ey wasted by placing a graduate of 
a textile or correspondence school in 
charge of a room without making 
sure that he has also had practical 
experience. It has been the writer's 
object from the beginning of these 
articles to let the truth survive, and 
having had both theory and piractioe, 
he is in a position to judge the value 
of such a training. The writer is will- 
ing to admit that the practical part 
without theory is of much more value 
to a plant than the man with no prac- 
tice and theory. 

THE DRAFT CALCULATIONS 

are of importance in connection with 
rin g spinning frames. The draft, togeth- 
er with the hank of the roving, governs 
the size of the yarn produced. There 
is much arguing among spinniers as 
to the isuperiority of the so-called 
double end, and single end gearing. 
Some spinners claim that the double 
end gearing is best, because the fast 
running front roll drives the back roll 
at the head end, and the same fast 
running front roll drives the middle 
roll at the foot end. Agaiin, they 
point out that with such an arrange- 
ment, a small fast running gear drives 
a large, slower ruining crown gear, 
and a small change gear drives a 
large, slower runining back gear, 
There is much truth in the above 
claims, because the amount of strain 
on the gears being divided makes a 
perfectly smooth and even action on 
all of the drawing rolls. However, 
it must be said that the advantage 
over the single end gearing is slight 
and is important only when running 
the most perfect work. On the other 
hand, fewer gears and less labor are 
required to make changes with the 
single end gearing. 

ANOTHER POINT 
against the double gearing is the cost 
of the replacement of this extra train 
of gears when broken or worn. Sin- 
gle end gearing spinning frames are 
used mostly. They are easy to han- 
dle, and it must be admitted that the 



394 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



best of yarns have been spun on single 
end gearing ring spinning frames. 

Altliough the art of drafting is very 
important in connection with ring 
spinning frames, it receives as a rule 
very little consideration, and is the 
most abused operation about a ring 
spinning frame. Perfect drafting 
means to provide throughout the whole 
length of a cotton strand fibres so 
arranged as to be present in equal 
numbers at every point acted upon 
by the front rolls. This duty of 
course falls on the carder. In order 
to obtain such drafting the roving fed 
must be perfect. The writer will ad- 
mit that a perfect strand of cotton 
cannot be produced in our present 
carding isystem. Textile schools and 
text-books tell us that every alter- 
nate fibre should overlap its predeces- 
sor and successor to the same extent. 
Again, they tell us that the drafting 
operation is like the overlapping found 
in the operation of the comber. Con- 
tinuing, they say, that when a strand 
so formied is compressed and twisted, 
the chance of any rupture of the yarn 
is largely avoided. Every practical 
spinner will agree with the writer that 
it is impossible to attain such draft- 
ing, and that the above is all theory 
and worth nothing in practice. It 
has always been my practice to write 
only possibilities, and not demand that 
a certain thing should be done in a 
certain way, knowing at the same time 
that it cannot be done. Such work 
has caused much trouble for many 
overseers. No. 139. 



CXL. EXAMINING DRAFT. 

The best method to find what really 
takes place between the drafting rolls 
is to procure a good magnifying 
glass and examine the strand as it 
is acted, upon by the rolls, and it will 
be admitted that all kinds of over- 
lapping takes place. The frame must, 
of course, be run as slow as pos- 
sible, in ordter to observe tine move- 
ments of the fibres between the rolls. 
When a powerful magnifying glass is 
used to watch the drawing operation 
between the rolls, the variation in the 



fibres can be detected. You will see 
a certain number of fibres offer much 
resistance to the action of the front 
roll, while others are drawn into it 
in bunches. 

Every mill man who will examine 
the action of the fibres between the 
rolls as they are being acted upon 
by the drawing rolls, will give the 
draft more consideration, and he will 
see that the rolls are kept in good 
condition. 

The chief aim in drafting should be 
to have the rolls properly spaced, ana 
in such condition that the surface of 
each roll will be as even as possible. 
As we have said, do not try to do im- 
possibilities, but instead study always 
to have the necessary space between 
the rolls at all times, and in as perfect 
a condition as possible, so that the fi- 
bres will be under their influence at 
all times. Let us picture in our mina 
a speeder delivery with the second roll 
grooved, and the front rolls continual- 
ly pulling the stock from the second 
rolls. 

It can be seen that instead of creat- 
ing a gradual drawing action, as the 
case would be if the second roll was 
in good condition, the fibres are drawn 
only in periods, thus not being under 
the influence of the rolls at all times, 
and only partially subjected to the 
draft. When the fibres are not equally 
drawn, weak places develop in the yarn 
with all the ill effects. It should De 
clearly seen that an excessive draft 
will increase the irregularity, and that 
anything approaching an even draft 
will help out such conditions. When 
the statement is made that the method 
in laying the fibres is the same as that 
by combing, it is very erroneous, be- 
cause 

IN COMBING 
the fibres are returned and pieced to- 
gether all at one time, at each iter- 
mittent action, and each portion fol- 
lows one another. We find a different 
action between the rolls, each fibre 
here being acted upon separately; that 
is, the long fibres come under the in- 
fluence of the front roll first, and if of 
considerable length, will leave the In- 
fluence of the second roll last. To 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



395 



make the above more clear, let us as- 
sume that the longest staple is 1| inch, 
and the space between the first ana 
second rolls Is 1 5-16 inch, it can be 
seen that there is only a field of one- 
sixteenth of an inch allowed the staple 



the second rolls for a long^er period, 
which retards it. If the longer fibre is 
presented to the influence of the front 
rolls one-sixteenth of an inch ahead 
of the shorter fibres, it can be seen 
that tlie short fibres are carried 





Fig. 48. Spinning Frame Twist Gearing. 



to iree itself from the second roll until 
gripped by the front rolls. Again, let 
us assume that other fibres are laid 
side by side and passing through the 
drawing rolls spaced as above, the 
longest staple being 11 inches. It can 
be seen here that the effective draw- 
ing all depends on the position of the 
short fibres; that is, if the short fibres 
are even with the long fibres to come 
under the influence of the front rolls 
at the same time, the chances are that 
the short fibre will be drawn ahead of 
the long fibres, owing to the longer fi- 
bre remaining under the influence of 



from the second to the front rolls hy 
the longer fibres, and the short fibres 
leave the second rolls and enter the 
front rolls, while the longer fibre is 
under the influence of the rolls. Thus 
it can be seen that the short fibres are 
not drawn from one another, and a 
hand, if the longer fibres are, say, one- 
quarter of an inch ahead of the short 
fibres, the long fibre will pull awa> 
from the short fibres owing to coming 
under the influence of the front rolls 
first, and aided by the draft. 

The above is given simply to show 
that it is wrong to run irregular sta- 



S96 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



pie cotton, to have rolls running with 
uneven surfaces, and to have an ex- 
cessive draft on the frame. Few mill 
men even consider the above fact, but 
nevertheless, it is this very point that 
throws your section beams 20 to 3D 
pounds on the heavy or light side. It 
has been explained elsewhere that a 
strong cotton or a long cotton will of- 
fer more resistance to the front rolls 
pulling the fibres apart, and from the 
second rolls, which retards the front 
top leather roll. The strand pro- 
duced is somewhat heavier than it 
would be otherwise if the necessary 
space was allowed between the rolls. 
From the above, it can be seen that, in 
order to have the actual figured draft, 
the rolls must be given proper care and 
attention. 

Some ring spinners will 

OPEN THEIR ROLLS 
only when the staple is long. They 
never notice wiry cotton. However, 
this is better than some spinners I 
know that never open or close their 
rolls, no matter what kind of stock Is 
used. I have stated many times thai 
any overseer who can judge when to 
spread his rolls or when to insert or 
take out a tooth of twist, when con- 
ditions demand it, is worth a great 
deal to any plant, and it is with regret 
that I must say such men are very 
rare. 

The art of drafting Is, as we have 
said, one of the most abused functions 
in most cotton mills. You will find that 
the majority of spinners will tell you 
that you should not have a draft on 
single roving fed to exceed 6.5. Still, 
these very men will change a frame on 
double roving and have a draft of 14 
on the frame. No. 140. 



CXLI. DOUBLE ROVING. 

As a rule, in mosit cotton mills you 
will find four-hank roving in the spin- 
ning creel to make 28s warp single 
roving, which callp. for a draft of about 
seven on the ring frame. 

Now lot us suppose that we change 
over to double roving and make tne 
roving 4.60, which is the hank roving 
most commonly used to make 28s 
warp yam when using double roving. 



The hank roving fed would then be 4.60 
divided by 2 equals 2.30 hank roving. 
Now let us double the draft and we 
have 2.3 times 14 equals 32.20 yam. 
The above proves this, that the 
amount of overlap 

MUST BE GAUGED 
by the number of fibres in the cross- 
section of the strand. 

What we mean is that in order to 
prove that double roving is better than 
single, the conditions under which they 
are run should be as near alike as pos- 
sible. From the above example, it can 
be seen that doubling the draft would 
make a very light yarn, and that, in- 
stead of doubling the draft, the draft 
should be shortened to the same pro- 
portion as to the reduction of the fi- 
bres in the cross-section of one of the 
double ends is to the draft on the 
frame when running single roving. 
The writer has seen and knows of mills 
to-day that have a draft of 16 on their 
filling frames, and 14 of a draft on the 
warp frames. These are in charge of 
men that are crying, down with double 
roving. 

When everything we have said about 
the rolls being perfect and properly 
spaced is considered, it is a wonder 
how ring frames run at all under such 
conditions. However, conditions are 
found very bad where excessive drafts 
are used, and you will hear the weav- 
ers continually complaining. Another 
mistake that is made by most mill men, 
especially superintendents, is that they 
will tell the treasurer that a litttle long- 
er draft in the spinning room makes 
very little difference in the running of 
the work, and that a great deal is sav- 
ed in the carding room by turning off 
a much 

LARGER PRODUCTION. 
My advice to all mill managers is to 
have double roving. It is the only way 
to make a strong and even thread, be- 
sides, as stated, the face of the cloth 
is made much smoother. F^m 
what has been said, it cam be seen that 
in order to have a good running spin- 
ning room, there are a number of con- 
siderations of value which are neces- 
sary to remember. Let us assume that 
everything is perfect; that is, that the 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



397 



rolls are in good order and properly 
spaced with an even draft. It should 
be remembered that these can be dis- 
turbed by a different kind of stock. So 
the spinner must continually watch his 
work, inquire from the weaver if any 
cockle filling is found, and if so, open 
the rolls. Another excuse for not open- 
ing rolls is that if the rolls are opened 
to accommodate the long staple, the 
work will be weaker and the spinners 
will not be able to run as many sides. 
There is no doubt that spreading tho 
rolls does affect the work in the above 
manner, but this is no reason why 
hundreds of pounds of yarn must be 
sent to the rope works, in addition to 
spoiling many rolls. Spread your rolls 
a little and 

INSERT THE TWIST 
and prevent cockle yarn. Yards of 
cloth may thus be saved that would 
otherwise find their way to seconds. 

What we need to-day in our textile 
schools and mills is to give the young 
man good, practical, skilful knowl- 
edge. I like to see the overseer or 
superintendent who will at every 
opportunity take a young man 
and teach him all he can. You will 
find where such a spirit exists that 
every young man in such a managed 
plant is trying for the goal which he 
knows he will get if he justly earns it. 
There are perhaps many young men 
who will read the above who are to- 
day spoiling their chances. 

No. 141. 



CXLII. DRAFTS. 



Every young man should learn how 
to draft all machines in a mill; he 
should also learn how to figure 
out the twist per inch and other 
calculations. It is all easy, and a 
little effort may make much difference 
in his life, and also in his pay en- 
velope. Every young man should fix 
firmly in his mind what he would like 
to be, and then without violence of di- 
rection, he should aim for that goal. 
We have in the largest cotton manu- 
facturing cities textile schools which 
can be attended free of charge. 

For calculating the draft of a spin- 
ning frame, the rule is the same as 



for other machines. Rule: Consider 
the back roll the driver; multiply the 
diameter of the front roll and all the 
driving gears together for a dividenfl; 
then for a divisor multiply the diam- 
eter of the back roll and all the driven 
gears together. Example: diameter of 
front roll, one inch or eigh.t-eighths; 
diameter of back ix)ll, seven-eighths; 
crown gear, 84; front roll gear, 27, 
Back roll gear, 86. Draft gear, 45. 
8x84x86 divided by 27x45x7 equals 6.79, 
draft. 

To find constant, leave out draft 
gear, as was explained elsewhere, or 
multiply the draft by the draft gear: 
45x6.79 equals 305.55 constant. From 
the above example it can be seen that 
it is an easy matter to find the figured 
draft, but to be able to judge the rela- 
tive position of one pair of rolls to 
another, which is governed by the 
length of the staple and bulk of cotton 
being used, and the speed of the rolls 
which makes drafting an art is what 
counts in the work produced. One 
point that must not be forgotten when 
drafting a frame Is that the distance 
between the centres of each pair of 
rolls must always exceed the 

AVERAGE LENGTH. 

of the staple of the cotton being used 
by at least one-sixteenth of an inch. 
From explanations already given it 
should be seen that if the space be- 
t.v.'een each pair of rolls did not slight- 
ly exceed the length of the staple, the 
fibres would come under the action of 
the front pair of rolls before they were 
released by the preceding pair, and as 
the front rolls' speed is higher than 
that of the preceding pairs, a dual 
operation exists between the long sta- 
ple and each pair of rolls. If th.e fi- 
bres are strong enough to resist the 
strain, the front roll will slightly lag 
behind, and, in most cases, the leather 
covering is injured. When a front 
roll lags behind, the twist runs up to 
the bite of the front rolls, and when 
the long staples are released, the short- 
er fibres are wound around the longer 
ones, which constitutes a hard end or 
cockled yam. 

The above is just what occurs when 
the stock comes in better and you 



398 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



neglect to open out the rolls. To the 
writer such neglect seems as bad aa 
stealing, because by your own neglect, 
you are wasting money and besides re- 
ceiving money in your pay envelope 
that is given you to attend to such du- 
ties. Although we are sometimes told 
that drafting is all theory, from what 
we have already said it can be seen 
that drafting Is 

AN ART, 
and requires experience, judgment and 
diligent study. 

For this reason, it is impossible to 
lay down rules to be followed in books 
and textile schools. We will just cite 
the following case that would make 
the inexperienced helpless: Let us sup- 
pose that in dog days the work 
in the card room is running so 
badly that the carder must insert con- 
siderable twist in order to put through 
a fair production. This move on the 
part of the carder will, of course, make 
the yarn much heavier in the spinning 
room. Not having experience, instead 
of sizing and examining the roving, 
the spinner will increase the draft by 
changing the gears. Now, reader, can 
you imagine the amount of damage that 
Buch a move will do to the rolls. The 
yarn is made heavy by the slight In- 
crease in the twist per inch in the 
roving, and also due to the fact that 
it is more difficult to draw the fibres 
past each other when the strand fed 
contains an excess amount of twist. 
The experienced spinner, when the 
work changes, will examine the roving 
by pulling a few arm-lengths of rov- 
ing from the bobbin, then let the two 
strands come together, and see how 
high up to the hand they will twist 
themselves. This, of course, requires 
judgment. Then he will size the rov- 
ing, and if to his judgment the roving 
is made slightly heavier by an extra 
amount of twist, he will at once give 
orders to have the rolls spread to a 
certain amount, his experience en- 
abling him to judge the proper dis- 
tance. No. 142. 



CXLIII. TWIST. 
To make an absolutely accurate cal- 
culation of the necessary number of 



turns that should be placed in the 
yarn is the most difficult task in any 
cotton mill. 

In explaining the above subject, the 
writer will give practical proofs and 
suggestions, and not take the diam- 
eters of the fibres which most writers 
claim affect the thickness of the 
yarn. We give below a little theory 
before giviag the methods of inse^^ 
iiig the proper amount of twist in the 
yarn just to show how such explana- 
tions are misleading. We are told, by 
men considered experts that cotton 
is naturally possessed of good 
spinning qualities, owing to tne 
structure of the fibres having a 
natural twist, which induces the In- 
terwinding of the fibres with one an- 
other which, of course, helps the con- 
ditions while passing each process, 
because it is not necessary to have 
as much figured twist to the inch 
with such a constructed cotton fibre. 
Then they go farther to help discour- 
age the istudent, and say that when 
mixing he should be very careful to 
notice in wthat direction the fibres are 
twisted, as this affects the twist of 
the yam. 

The writer is a practical man, and 
in his mill life has often seen young 
men try to put such statements in 
practice. They 

BECAME DISCOURAGED, 

because they really believed that their 
judgment was very poor, so this isen- 
timent clings to them, and instead of 
reaching the goal they sling 
shuttles all their lives. All practical 
men will agree with the vs^'iter 
that in a cotton mill the na 
tuTal twist in the staple is not con- 
sidered. The only and best way 
to quickly determine the amount of 
twist in the staple, is to give the por- 
tion of cotton, when sampling, a quick 
pull, and if the staple consiists of many 
semi-spirals the action will be heard 
the same as when crushing a hand- 
ful of snow. It must be understood 
that the writer is willing to ad- 
mit that these convolutions assist in 
the formation of a strong thread, and 
that the convolutions will interlock 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



399 



•with one another, and help to resist 
any tension put on the yarn. To 
ask a carder to determine the direction 
of these convolutionis at mixing time 
Is out of reason, and if the reader is 
a practical mill man, he will admit 
that such a practice is never found 
to exist in any cotton mill. What all 
practical men and textile schools 
should teach, is that the twist comes 
under local conditions, and that the 
necessary number of turns to the inch 
is a matter of judgment, experience, 
and study and cannot be obtained 
by certain constants multiplied by 
the square root of the yam. To 

PROVE THE ABOVE 

let us assume that all the mills in the 
United States are using one-inch 
American cotton, and that they are 
all running 28:S warp yarn, thus the 
t'Viiist per inch would be the same in 
the North as in the South. The read- 
er, if a practical mill man, must admit 
that the above does prove that the 
twist comes under local conditions. 

The twist that may suit a mill near 
the water in New Bedford, will never 
do for a mill in the centre of Fall 
River, The above is simply given to 
prove that the tables are only 
handy to get an approximate idea. 
Another point in finding the 
twist per inch to be inserted in the 
yam is that the conditions under 
which the frame is run, must also be 
conisidered. A frame running single 
roving requires more twist per inch 
than a frame running double roving. 

This is one of the reasons why 
double roving is much preferred. The 
cloth has a much smoother face, be- 
sides a greater production of a better 
quality is produced. One point about 
twist that should be remembered is 
if too much twist is put into the 
yaxn made up of fair cotton, the yam 
will not be strengthened, but weak- 
ened. However, 

WITH SHORT COTTON, 

the greater the amount of twist In- 
serted into the yam the stronger the 
yarn. Many elaborate tests are often 
made in the different textile schools 



and they, too, agree with the writer 
on this point, but they do not give 
the reason why an extra amount 
of twist will weaken the good and 
fair staple, and help the short staple 
in all cases. The following reason 
is given which the reader may accept 
as one man's opinion. 

For the convenience of Illustration, 
let us assume that we braid long and 
short hair. The reader should quickly 
see that the harder the liair is braided 
or twisted, the more difficult it is to 
extract one of the hairs from the 
strand. 

The reason for this is that the 
hairs are so compact that each offers 
a certain amount of resistance to the 
other, and as each end offers a cer- 
tain amount of pull, the long hair is 
consequently parted in its central part, 
From the above, it should be seejQ that 
the longer the hairs the more resis- 
tance is offered to the hairs slipping 
by one another, owing to the long 
hairs having a larger bearing surface. 
No-w let us picture short cotton being 
twisted into a strand, and at the same 
time holding the above explanation in 
mind, it should be clear to the reader 
that, owing to the ends being so near 
together, very 

LITTLE RESISTANCE 
is offered to either end following the 
body of the fibre, and the staple is 
not injured. The above is the very 
reason why we must have less turns 
to the inch in the finished roving, 
otherwise the long fibres would be 
strained or broken. If the above is 
considered, it shows that it does re- 
quire judgment, experience, and study. 
As we have stated elsewhere, 
many inexperienced overseers run 
their room according to tables and text 
books, which is the cause in moist cases 
for deplorable conditions found in a 
cotton mill. We have already given an 
example pertaining to the loss of twist 
from the beginning to the ending of 
the bobbin, proving that instead of a 
loss of 7.7, as given in Nasmith's 
"Students' Cotton Spinning", the loss 
was found to be less than a quarter 
turn. No, 143, 



400 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



CXLIV. TWIST CALCULATIONS. 

For calculating twist consider 
the whirl a driver. Multiply the di- 
ameter of the whirl by all the driv- 
ing gears, and the circumiference of 
the front roll, and divide the product 
into the diameter of the cylinder, 
multiplied by all the driven gears. 

Continuing, if the whirl is three- 
quarters of an inch, consider it 3, amd 
also put the diameter of the cylin- 
der in fourths. If it is seven inches 
put it 28. If the whirl is seven- 
eighths of an inch, use seven in 

THE CALCULATION 
and 56 for the cylinder. Example: 
Cylinder seven inches, whirl three- 
quarters of an inch, cylinder, gear 25 
teeth, crown gear 100 teeth, twist gear 
56 teeth, front roll gear 112 teeith. 
What is the twist, with 10 per 
cent allowance? 28x100x112 di- 
vided by 3x25x56x3.14 equals 23.77 
less 10 per cent, equals 21.40. 
Now let us examine the above, 
and we find that no allowance is 
made for the diameter of the band, 
which is usually one-eighth of an inch 
thick. 

Now a great many spinners refuse 
to accept such calculations, claim- 
ing that the difference is so small 
that it should not be considered. We 
must admit that the thickness of a 
belt will affect the speed, so 
why not a band? Again, it is only 
fair to assume that there is only half 
of the band acting on the whirl of 
the spindle, so we should allow one- 
sixteenth of an inch for the band. Us- 
ing the above figures and allowing one- 
sixteenth for the band we have: 113x 
100x112 divided by 13x25x56x3.14 
equals 22.15 twist to the inch, not 
counting the number of revolutions 
made by the bobbin in excess of those 
made by the traveler. 23.77 minus 22.- 
15 equals 1.62 turns. 22.15 less 10 
per cent equals 19.93. 

Assuming in the above example 
that the diameter of the bobbin is 
seven-eighths of an inch, and 
one inch of strand delivered, we 
have 1 divided by 3.1416x1 equals 



.36 turn. 1.63 plus .36 equals 1.99, 
or nearly two turns. So we find 

THE ACTUAL TWIST 
per inch in the above method to be 
19.57 and not 21.40 as given. Some 
say that, as in other calcula- 
tions, the twist multiplied by the 
twist gear equals the twist constant. 
Such a statement is misleading, be- 
cause it depends upon whether the 
constant is a dividend or a factor. 
Of course, the writer is willing to ad- 
mit that it is very seldom that a spin- 
ning frame is so hung as to make the 
coiustant a factor. However, all makes 
of machines, such as speeders, spin- 
ning frames and looms, that are run 
to-day, can be, and are in some cases, 
himg so as to make the constant a 
factor. Again, some say that the best 
way to ascertain the twist is to mark 
a bobbin and count the number of 
turns it makes while the front 
roll revolves a certain time. 
Divide the number by 3.1416, 
and the quotient is the actual 
twist per inch. Now from what we 
have already calculated, it can be 
seen that such a statement is very 
erroneous, and misleading, and it is 
for such a reason that the writer 
deems to explain it here. 

Not having the 

NECESSARY TURNS 
to the inch in the yarn Is the chief 
trouble in our cotton mills to-day, 
because, in most cases, the wrong 
method is employed to find the fig- 
ured twist, and besides, the spinner 
in charge is unable to judge by ex- 
amining the yarn produced whether 
the yam has enough or too much 
twist to the inch. 

The writer gives oeiow the proper 
method of finding the actual twist 
per inch. However, there are such 
variations in the stanle and so many 
different local conditions to consider, 
even when employing this meth- 
od, the right number of turns 
will not be inserted at all times. Still, 
it must be admitted that you are 
always on the safe side with 
the following method, and every- 
thing considered, it is the only praotJ- 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



401 



oal rule for spinners who are poor 
judges of cotton. First find the speed 
of the spindle with the device shown 
in Figure 40 (see our issue of March 
2). Next find the^ number of 
revolutons per minute of the bobbin 
necessary to take up the amount of 
yarn delivered per minute by the front 
roll. Next subtract the number of 
revolutions per minute of the bobbin 
from the revolutions per minute of the 
spindle. Let us now assume that the 
spindle is making 9,000 revolutions per 
minute and the front roll delivers 360 
inches per minute, what would be the 
speed of the traveler when the bobbin 
is one inch in diameter? 360 divided 
by 1x3.1416 equals 114.59 revolutions 
per minute of the bobbin necessary to 
take up the amount delivered by the 
front roll. 9,000 minus 114.59 equals 
8885.41 revolutions per minute of the 
tra,veler. To find the actual turns per 
Inch multiply the revolution of the 
front roll by its circumference and 
divide this into the speed of the trav- 
eler. 

From the above example, it can be 
seen from the diameter of the bob- 
bin, that a one-inch front roll must 
make 114.59 revolutions in order to 
deliver 360 inches of roving. So 
using the above rule, we have 3.1416x 
114.59 equals 360. 8885.41 divided by 
360 equals 24.68 actual turns per inch. 
Mill men should clearly realize 
the benefit in using the above rule, 
and if put into practice, it will be 
found that the yarn produced will 
give very little trouble. No. 144. 



CXLV. TENSILE STRENGTH. 

I have in mind a large plant in Fall 
Kiver which will never allow the speed 
matter what kind of cotton is used, 
or what the atmospheric changes 
might be, and all hands must struggle 
along and accept conditions as they 
are. We find in the last new mill 
built by this plant, that the condi- 
tions in every department of the mill 
are deplorable. 

The reason is that the yarn lacks 
the necessary amount of twist, and 
when it reaches the spooler, the least 
Miction when passing the guide will 



snap the yarn. The overseer in 
charge said he could put his knife 
blade in the spooler guides, but that 
we must have them opened or lose 
our help. He said that besides 
the yarn having too little twist it was 
very lumpy, but if the necessary 
amount of twist was inserted the 
guides could be set closer, but 
not as close as in other mills. At 
the warper, the overseer had to con- 
tinually take a certain number of 
bobbins out, because the warper tend- 
er was unable to start it up. On the 
slasher, one or two ends would snap 
and entangle the others and bring them 
down also'. This, combined with the 
poor work already made on the warp- 
er, making iit impossible to produce 

GOOD WARPS 

foi' the weavers. 

When such conditions exist, you 
will find a large amount of good cot- 
ton finding its way to the waste 
house, and the cloth produced piled 
into seconds, unless the com- 
pany has a printing plant to cover 
up mistakes. The above conditionis 
exist in this new mill at this writing, 
and also in a few other mills. You 
will never find such conditions exist- 
inig in a ring-spinning room vdth a 
practical man in charge, unless, as 
in the mill quoted above, the 
overseers are not allowed to change 
their twist gears. Another point that 
should be considered is the strength 
of the cloth, as well as the yam. 
When a mill owns its own printing 
plant, the cloth is handled with care, 
and no one suffers from this weak 
yarn and cloth_ but the consumer. 
But with other mills which must send 
their cloth to bleacheries and print 
works, the strength of the cloth is 
an important consideration, and many 
mill men know that many yards of 
cloth are often returned, owing to it 
not having the 

NECESSARY STRENGTH, 
both traverse and lengthwise. Cloth 
is isubjected to a certain amount of 
stretching in all bleacheries and print 
works, and the yarn must have the 
necessary amount of turns to the 



402 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



inch, otherwise there is trouble. The 
writer has recently had the pleasure 
of meeting a gentleman who studied 
the conditions abroad. 

This man. I class as a mechanical 
genius. He ©aid that the yarn in Eng- 
land was superior to the American 
yam, isimply because mare attention 
was given to its construction. The 
speeds are changed to accommodate 
the stock run, and no matter how 
slow the front rolls must be run, the 
•ppipes'sary number of turns to the 
inch are always inserted. Then when 
the yam reaches the loom, it can 
be driven at a much higher speed. 

To the writer, it seems as it it 
would pay the American manufactur- 
er to install more machinery and run 
the istock through a little slower 
with the proper attention, then speed 
up the looms. This certainly would 
reduce the cost somewhat, besides the 
cloth would be of a better quality. 
All practical mill men know that ihe 
weaving cost is much higher than the 
cost of other departments, and by 
increasing the quality and quantity 
of the weaving, the total cost would 
be largely reduced. No. 145. 



CXLVI. BANDING. 

If the reader will refer to Fig- 
ure 49. the manner in which the band 
fits the V-shaped groove or whirl, 
can be plainly seen; that is, it is ob- 
vious, that the greatest influence of 
the band on the whirl is where there 
is the greatest pressure. For this 
reason, it should be seen that in tak- 
ing only the diameter of the cylin- 
der and whirl, granting that no slip- 
ping takes place, the actual figured 
speed can never be obtained. Reader 
examine Figure 49, and picture In 
your mind what happens in a ring 
spinning room when very little atten- 
tion is paid to the band, spindle and 
bobbin. Granted that the traveller is 
of suitable weight for the yarn run, 
it can be seen that the twist can be 
affected by not having the proper 
tension on the band, the spindle not 
properly set, or the bobbin not fitting 
the spindle properly. 



If the yam Is even and the aver- 
age band pull is nearly two pounds, 
and the bobbin and spindle in proper 
order, it will be found by using the 
device shown in Figure 40 (in our is- 
sue of March 2) that the loss in slip- 
page is about 4i per cent. If the 




Fig. 49. Section Through Spinning 
Frame. 

spindle speed is obtained here and 
there about the room, it will be found 
that the loss will vary from 4i per 
cent to 15 per cent, and in some cases 
more. 

Assuming that the figured spindle 
speed is 9,000, we have in the first 
case .955x9,000 equals 8,595 spindle 
speed, and in the second case .85x9,000 
equals 7,650 spindle speed. Assuming 
that 360 inches are delivered by the 
front roll, we have in the first case, 
ignoring the drag of the^ traveller, 
8,595 divided by 360 equals 23.87 
turns per inch, and In the second 
case we have 7,65'0 divided by 360 equals 
21.25 turns per inch, a difference of 2.62 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



403 



turns. Tliat such canditions do exist 
in our ring spinning rooms no one 
can deny, and there are some ma- 
cliine builders wlio advocate allow- 
ing 13 per cent in order to be on tbe 
safe side. Although to some this may 
seem to be too much, stj]l, for a 

■^■"^ ' NEGLECTED ROOM, 

the above would help the struggle. The 
above is given so that if the reader Is 
a spinner he may consider it and help 
out the spooling, warping, slashing and 
weaving. 

Examine the bands yourself, take 
so many frames each week and feel 
of the bands while doffing or clean- 
ing is going on, and in all cases, you 
will find that many bands are too 
slack. They should be out off 
when found. Of course, many spin- 
ners will tell you that they have al- 
ready too mucn to ao, ana nave no 
time to go around feeling of bands. 

There is no doubt that in the ma- 
jority of spinning rooms the spinner 
has more than he can swing to, 
but who is to blame? The work 
in any cotton mill runs bad be- 
cause the strand is not constructed 
properly. If the spinner gives the 
bands, spindles and bobbins proper at- 
tention, he is repaid two-fold in the 
running of his room, for instead ot 
helping different spinners about the 
room, be can then be observant, ana 
not feel that every day is his last, but 
enjoy conditions and feel proud of 
them, beoause there will be very lit- 
tle fault found in after processes. 

Another good practice is to have 
the scrubber, or any other hand 
who can spare a little time, go 
about the room looking for any 
bobbin that is vibrating or raised 
on the spindle. They should pull 
off such a bobbin at once. After 
all the spindles have been examined 
throughout the room, the defective 
bobbins should be run on one spooler 
and "When empty they should be fitted 
on one standard spindle. Ill-fitting 
ones should be reamed, and those that 
fit the top of the spindle blade too 
loosely should be taken to the fire 
room and burned. The same method 



can be employed to find whether all 
the spindles are resting on the step 
or not. This can be easily done when 
the rail is not at the bottom of the 
traverse, by glancing from one end 
of the frame to the other. All the 

HIGH WHIRLS 

can be detected and they should 
be marked, the spindle should be re- 
moved, and the bolster lowered so that 
the spindle will rest on the step instead 
of on the bolster. 

A good many spinners will not even 
consider the above, and as stated else- 
v/nere, there are many spinners who 
conceive the idea that the step raises 
the spindle when adjusted. The 
writer has continually pointed out de- 
fects, and has asked the readers to 
make different tests for the simple 
reason that the writer himself has 
made them, and found that such de- 
defeots do alter greatly the con- 
struction of the yarn. You will find 
cotton mills where the numbers vary 
rrom one and one-half to two, while in 
other mills you will find a difference or 
eight numbers. 

You will also find some mills where 
the yarn is fairly even, but the break- 
ing strength of the yarn varies from 
44 to 61 pounds. It should be ob- 
\'ious that if the yarn is even and 
the breaking strength varies so, 
the trouble is in the speed and not 
in tne number of fibres in the cross- 
section of the strand. These men will 
size and break the yarn every day, 
and when such a variation is noticed, 
insteaa of sizing the roving from 
which the yarn sized was obtained, 
or examining the bands, spindles, and 
bobbins, they quicky come to the con- 
clusion that the trouble is in the stock. 
This is an impossibility, because it 
must be admitted that in most cotton 
mills there are at least 28,000 doub- 
lings of lap in the yam produced. It 
can be seen that it is impossible for 
all the poor stock or all the good 
stock to follow one sliver. Be honesit 
with yourself, and if the yarn is even 
and the breaking istrength uneven the 
trouble is in the speed of the spindle 
oi" bobbin. No. 146. 



404 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



CXLVII. CHANGING TWIST. 

When the yarn is sized and found 
even and the breaking strength un- 
even, it is not much trouble to go 
and examine the spindle on which the 
yarn sized was constructed. The de- 
fects found on these spindles should 
be a basis for the spinner to clearly 
realize the conditions under which he 
is running his room. The Amekican 
Wool and Cotton Repokter has 
often pointed out that one weak end 
will stop a warper many times while 
running out a siet of spools. If the 
reader is a practical spinner, he will 
admit that, when sizing the yarn, 
the difference in the breaking strength 
quoted above is often found. The 
thread breaking at 44 pounds will 
be a constant source of annoyance 
to the warper tender and to the spool- 
ers, and after processes as well. This 
is the chief reason why the spooler 
guides are opened more than they 
should be, which allows large nebs 
and bunches to follow the thread. 

Another point that should be con- 
sidered when the number of turns to 
the inch in the yarn is changed is 
the contraction of twist. When 
the twist is inserted, the strand 
fed should be made slightly light- 
er, or if the twist is taken out, 
the strand fed should be made slightly 
heavier. Not doing this is the rea- 
son why the beams in some of our 
cotton mills jump so. The writer has 
seen beams jump from 388 to 430 
pounds, while in some mills 10 to 20 
pounds variance is common. Such 
conditions are found where the twist 
is changed and the strand fed not 
taken into consideration or by the 
spinner being a poor judge of cotton. 
Such conditions make 

UNEVEN CLOTH. 

You will find the cloth in mills where 
such conditions exist to be either a 
quarter of a yard lighter or heavier 
than the standard. Few mill men 
consider the above, but let me ask if 
it is not the cause. Of course, 
if there are more or less fibres in the 
cross-section of the strand fed, the 
weight of the strand produced will 



be correspondingly affected, but what 
the writer wishes to convey is that 
when the work is even and the 
number of fibres in the cross-section 
of the strand fed remains the same, 
the change in the amount of twist 
does affect the weight of the beams. 

When the cloth is lighter than the 
standard, the goods are often rejected, 
and when they are heavier than the 
standard, you are giving away many 
yards of cloth daily, which many 
times turn profits into losses. In 
order to understand how the strand 
produced is affected by the different 
number of turns inserted in the yarn, 
let the reader stop and consider that 
if the circumference of the front roll 
is multiplied by its revolutions per 
minute, it gives the distance that a 
point on its circumference travels in 
one minute. This corresponds to the 
length of untwisted yarn delivered 
from the front roll if no friotional 
contact takes place between the front 
top leather and bottom steel rolls. 
Now even if there is no frictional con- 
tact between the two front rolls, the 
strand is shortened. As the twist Is 
inserted in the stock, it contracts 
slightly, and the actual length of the 
yarn is usually assumed to be 4 to 8 
per cent less than the delivery of 
the front roll. This amount depends 
upon the number of yam spun, ana 
the twist per inch inserted in the yam 
spun and the kind of stock used. 

Another point that must be con- 
sidered about the twist in the yam 
is that local or temporary conditions 
in the humidity of the room reduce 
the speed of the traveller, and for 
this reason, ^as stated elsewhere, it 
becomes necessary to put in a little 
more twist to compensate for the re- 
duced speed. When there is much 
humidity in a 

RING SPINNING ROOM, 

the path of the traveller is 
made harder; that is, the surface 
of the ring is not as smooth as when 
perfectly dry. It must be understood 
here that the speed of the traveller 
is reduced very little, and although 
the reduced speed Is given as the 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



405 



reason for inserting a slight extra 
amount of twist, the chief cause is the 
pull on the yam. It should be seen that 
even if the speed of the traveller 
was not affected the yarn must 
be made stronger by an extra amount 
of twist, in order to enable it to over- 
come the resistance offered to the 
traveller. Another point to be con- 
sidered about twist is the variation 
with a filling wind; that is, whether 
the weight of the traveller is gauged 
when the rail is at the smaller or 
larger end of the traverse. Although 
the amount of variation is slight, it 
should be taken into consideration, 
and all spinners should try and gauge 
the necessary traveller to suit the 
tension when the traverse Is at its 
intermediate point. It should be clear 
to the reader that a constant multi- 
plied by the square root of the count 
does not give the required turns to 
the inch. 

Again, combed stock does not, as a 
rule, require the standard turns to 
the inch, while carded stock used In 
most cotton print cloth mills, requires 
more turns to the inch than the stand- 
ard. 

One point Avhioh few spinners con- 
sider is the stopping of the filling 
frames when the rail is at the larger 
end of the traverse. From what we 
have said elsewhere about the yarn 
coinciding more with the radius of the 
ring when the bobbin is nearly empty, 
and that in such a case the pull of 
the yarn has more tendency to draw 
the traveller toward the centre of 
the ring, the reader should clearly see 
that in the filling wind when the 
ring is at the smaller end of the trav- 
erse the pull of the yarn tends to 
draw the traveller towiard the centre 
of the ring. When the ring is at the 
larger end of the traverse, the pull of 
the yarn will tend to revolve the 
traveller around the ring rather than 
pull it toward the centre of the ring. 
The frames on the filling-wind should 
be started and stopped when the rail 
is at the larger end of the traverse. 
When the frames are started and 
stopped when the rail is at the small- 
er end of the traverse, this extra pull 



that the smaller end of the traverse 
occaisions, aided by the sudden start 
of the bobbin, causes many ends to 
come down. This is why the filling 
frames, as a rule, start up badly, es- 
pecially Monday mornings, when the 
rings are cold. Every overseer should 
instruct the spinners to stop the rail 
alwiayis on the large end of the trav- 
erse, and the reason should be ex- 
plained to them, as it is more for their 
benefit if they are careful not to 
stop the rail on the small end of the 
traverse. All practical spinners see 
that the rail is stopped at the large 
end of the traverse, because they un- 
derstand the disadvantage of stop- 
ping it at the small end. No. 147. 



'"rXLVIII. BELTING. 

The driving of a spinning frame is 
accomplished through ordinary tight 
pulleys, the pulleys mounted on the 
counter shaft lor main shaft being 
very much larger in diameter than 
the tight pulley mounted on the cylin- 
der shaft. The difference in diameters 
is the cause for much belt slipping 
found in all spinning rooms. 

The reason for this is that the 
pressure of the belt is only on about 
one-third of the pulley mounted on 
the cylinder shaft. 

The amount of belt slipping in a 
spinning room is best determined by 
timing a frame that is driven from 
the main shaft, then by timing a 
frame driven from a counter shaft 
farthest from the main shaft, and the 
results are surprising. This difference 
in speed will make a difference in the 
doffing time, and the best way to 
even up matters is to start the dofiing 
on the frames driven from the main 
shaft and then work toward the 
frames away from the main shaft. 
When the doffing is started from the 
counter shaft farthest from the main 
shaft and worked toward the same, 
it is often the case that the 
frames nearest and on the main shaft 
have to be stopped on account of the 
bobbins filling the rings. Such con- 
ditions are found existing to-day in 
many spinning rooms. It is costly, 
because it is the same as not having 



406 



COTTOM MILL MANAGEMENT 



the bobbins filled the full length of 
the traverse. It should be seen that 
if the dofflng is started on the frames 
farthest from the main shaft, 
the bobbins on those frames are not 
quite full, and as in the case when 
the bobbins are not filled the full 
length of the traverse, you are weigh- 
ing wood in the spooling room in- 



is in not having belt dressing for the 
belts. 

There are many good belt prepara- 
tions on the market to-day that would 
certainly surprise the manufacturer in 
the extra amount of production made 
possible with their use. 

No mill man can deny that what is 
said above is true, and that there is 




Fig- 50. Draft Gearing For Ring Spinning Frame. 



stead of yarn. Why not cross all the 
belts driving all ring frames? It 
should be seen with such an arrange- 
ment that the belt would occupy much 
more of the working surface of the 
pulley mounted on the cylinder shaft 
and the slipping would be reduced to 
a large extent. 

ANOTHER MISTAKE 
that is made by many manufacturers 



much belt slipping in all spinning 
rooms wheie no belt dressing is used. 
Still, you will find many mills where 
the spooling, warping and weaving are 
waiting for yarn, and the spinner Is 
allowed to struggle under such con- 
ditions. In some cases, the superin- 
tendent, instead of laying out a little 
expense in buying belt dressing, will 
order the frames to be speeded higher, 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



407 



cauising more friction. The spinner, 
to save his job, will do as he is or- 
dered, and then it is a dual between 
the pulleys and the machine. Fortu- 
nately, the machines gives ouit first 
The fact that the machines give out 
first is the only safeguard we have 
to check such managem.ent. Other 
superintendents will change the belt- 
ing from single to double to run on 
a pulley designed to carry a single 
belt, with the result that the pulley is 
unable to stand the istrain, and the end 
is very discouraging reading for the 
stockholders of the mill. 

There is nothing gained by too 
high a speed, because it makes the 
work run badly, and this means a 
larger number of ends down at each 
frame. It takes very few ends down 
to affect the production, and for this 
reason, at the end of the quarter in 
some mills, the spinner is 5,000 pounds 
behind in production. When the spin- 
ner is called on to explain, in most 
cases he does not want to be dis- 
honest, but does not figure on the 
number of dead spindles about the 
room, and for this reason he is as 
much at sea as the office. In such a 
managed mill, you find friction. The 
following rule for finding the produc- 
tion is given by most text books and 
textile schools. First, find the hanks 
per spindle per day. Rule: 

Divide the product of the circum- 
ference of the front roll, the number 
of revolutions per minute of the from 
roll, the minutes per hour and the 
hours per day by the product of the 
number of inches in one yard, and the 
lumber of yards In one hank, f 
ample: What would be the number 
of hanks per ispindle, per day of 10 
hours, on a frame with a one-inch front 
roll diameter which makes 120 revolu- 
tions per minute? Solution: lx3.1416x 
120x60x10 divided by 36x840 equals 
7.48 hanks per spindle per day. Next, 
to find the number of pounds per spin 
die, divide the number of the yarn 
Into the number of hanks turned otf 
per spindle. Let us assume that the 
number of yarn in the above case Is 
.SOs; we have 7.48 divided by 30 equals 
.249 pounds per spindle. Then we are 



told that certain necessary hUow- 
ances must be made, owing to the 
stoppages necessitated by oiling, 
cleaning, break downs and dotting. 
Then they give us a table for allow- 
ances usually made. For 5s to 10s 
yarn allow 12 per cent; 10s to 20s, 11 
per cent; 2iOs to 30s, 10 per cent; 30s 
to 40s, 9 per cent; 40s to 60s, 8 per 
cent; 60s to 90s, 7 per cent; 90s to 
UOs, 4 per cent; 110s to 130s, 2 per 
cent. 
All 

PRACTICAL SPINNERS 
know that the reason for the varia 
tions in the above allowances is owing 
to the coarse yarn requiring more fre- 
quent dioffing than the fine yarn, for 
the bobbinis are filled in a shorter pe- 
riod of time. Now let us examine 
the above method. In the first place, it 
must be said that when a large num- 
ber of ends are down a large 
amoiunt of waste is made if the strand 
fed is not broken back. In a spinning 
room of about twenty thousand spin- 
dles, the amount varies from two to 
four hundred pounds per week. The 
amoiunt depends upon the number of 
the" yam run, also upon the condi- 
tions under which the room Is run 
No allowance is made in the abovw 
method, and although the writer !& 
willing to admit that it is almost an 
impossibility to have a certain per- 
centage of allowances, it does prove 
that with the above method it is 
only guesswork. The above method 
is employed by most spinnws, es- 
pecially by spinners that have had 
no practical experience. In the sec- 
ond place, in most all cotton mills 
running a certain number of yarn, 
this number is reported every week, 
and at the same time, the numbers 
vary in some mills from 2 to 3 num- 
bers, while in others, like the 
ill-managed mill, a variation of 4 to 8 
numbers is a common occurrence. 
Now all practical mill men will agree 
with the writer on ithis point; namely, 
that when a mill is running, say, 28s 
warp yarn, no matter how the yaro 
sizes, whether it sizes 26s or 29s, 28s 
is reported every week in the nuar 
jority of cotton mills. 



408 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT. 



Again, when the roving is sized, it 
Is taken from a certain number of 
roving that was sent by the carder, 
which is termed as the day'is sizing 
by all practical men. This yarn is 
sized and broken on the breaking ma- 
chine, and the numbers of the yarn 
found daily are averaged up at the 
end of the week, and put on the week- 
ly report as the average yarn run. 
Others employ another method, which, 
althougih not the proper one, gives a 
better estimate than the latter meth- 
od. The 

YARN IS SIZED 
as in the first method from the rov- 
ing sent by the carder, but it is only 
sized and broken simply to test the 
construction of the yarn, to see if 
the proper amount of twist is in the 
yarn for the different kind of cotton 
that is liable to come in at any time, 
and the strength necessary to turn 
the spools on the warper is gauged 
here. For the average number of the 
yam a bobbin is taken from each side 
around the room, and the daily aver- 
age size is averaged at the end of 
the week, and put down on the week's 
report as the average yarn. As stat- 
ed, the above will give a fair estimate, 
but it does not give the actual weight 
of the yarn. No. 148. 



CXLIX. WEIGHT OF YARN. 

After the yam is constructed at the 
ring frame for cloth manufacture, it 
must be spooled, warped. and slashed. 
If the spooler guides in which the 
yarn must pass through are properly 
set, the yarn will lose a slight amount 
of weight, the action here being sim- 
ilar to the yarn passing under the 
traveller on the ring frame. 

On the warper, the loss of fibres 
In the yam is very little, and should 
never be considered, but owing to the 
spools being situated at so great 
a distance from the measuring 
roll, the amount of stretch is great, 
and to such an extent that the weight 
of the yarn is very much affected, es- 
pecially if the yarn contains very lit- 
tle twist. On the slasher, 
the yarn is again stretched. 



because a certain amount of friction is 
added on the first few beams, and 
aided by the weight of the beam it- 
self makes the strain on the yarn 
very great Consequently, more 
stretching takes place, which again 
lightens the yarn. There is only one 
v/ay to find the actual weight of the 
yarn, and that is, by dividing the 
weight of the beams into a certain 
constant. Rule to find constant for 
beams: Multiply the number of yards 
in one rap by the number of ends 
in the beam, and by the number of 
raps on the beam and divide by 840. 
Example : What is the number of yarn 
on a beam weighing 397 pounds, num- 
ber of ends 390, number of raps 7, 
number of yards in one rap 3,000. 
3,000x390x8 divided by 840 equals 11,-, 
142 constant. 11,142 divided by 397 
equals 28s yarn. The weight of the 
beam can also be found by dividing 
the number of yarn into the beam, 
11,142 divided by 28s equals 397 
weight of beam. It can be seen that 
when the number of the yarn is ob- 
tained by the above method, you 
get the actual weight of the yarr 
without making any allowance, ant 
very little figuring, as comipared with 
methods given above. Besides, the 
small amount of weight of yarn that 
must be run on the beam at the 
beginning of each one, makes up 
for the stretching of the yarn at the 
warper, which helps to give the right 
scale to pay for the number of yarn 
run. At the end of each week, find 

THE AVERAGE WEIGHT 
of all the beams, and divide into con- 
stant. What is the average yarn on 
four beams weighing 397, 396, 398, 397? 
397 plus 396 plus 398 plus 397 divided 
by four equals 397. 11,142 divided by 
397 equals 28s yarn. Of course, the 
number of beams turned off in a mill 
varies from 20 to 200, the above 
being given simply to show how 
easily the actual weight of the yarn 
can be found. Again, with the above 
rule the average number of yarn can 
be found if the same number of ends 
is on every beam. Suppose you arf. 
m.aking 36s, 50s, 70s and 80s yarn on 
separate beams, what is the average 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENP 



409 



number of the yarn? The weight of 
the beam of 36s yam would weigh 
-M)9.5 pounds, the weight of 50s yarn 
222.8 pounds, the weight of 70s yarn 
159 pounds, the weight of 80s yarn 
139 uounds; 309.5 plus 222.8 plus 159 
divided by 139 divided by 4 equals 
207.5 average weight of the beams. 
11,142 divided by 207.5 equals 53.69is 
average yarn. In textile schools and 
text books, the following method is 
employed to find the average number 
of the yarn being produced. Rule. 
Multiply the number of pounds pro- 
duced by each frame by the counts 
of yarn being spun. Add the results 
thus obtained and divide by the total 
number of pounds. Using the above 
figures we have the following: 

309.5 X 36 equals 11142 
222.8 X 50 equals 11142 
159 X 70 equals 11142 
139 X 80 equals 11142 



;0.3 



44568 divided by 830.3 equals 
53.68s average number 
of yarn. 

It can be seen that the above meth- 
od would take up much time, and the 
result would be the same. Even if 
mere were a different 

NUMBER OF ENDS 
in each beam, by first finding the 
constant for each one the average 
lumber of yarn can be found which 
would be a much shorter method than 
the one given by textile schools 
and text books. Of course, the writer 
is willing to admit that if the con- 
stant must be found in each case 
the operaition would be just as 
long, but as a rule in all cotton mills 
the number of ends in the beams are 
seldom changed, and when a table of 
constants for every beam is once 
made, it can be used to advantage at 
all times afterwards. Below we give 
such a table to show how the carder 
or spinner can tell by the weight of 
each, how much the yarn produced 
varies: 

Number Weight 

of ends, of beams. No. yarn. Constant. 

390 397 28s 11142 

367 374 28s 10485 

357 364 28s 10200 

344 351 28s 9828 

300 306 28s 8B71 

371 378.5 28s \0600 



Let US assume that a mill Is run- 
ning a certain style that calls for 
367 ends in each beam, which should 
weigh 374 pounds. If the beams are 
found to weig'h 390 pounds, what is 
the weight of the yarn on the beam? 

Referring to the above table, we 
find the constant to be 10,485 divided 
by 390 equals 26.88 number of yarn 
on the beam. Now let us assume that 
the beams in the following week are 
weighing 370 pounds; 10,485 div- 
ided by 370 equals 28.34 minus 26.88 
equals 1.46 variation. It can be seen 
from the above that the actual condi- 
tions can always be figured from the 
beams^ and secured in no other way, 
Besides, you get 

THE ACTUAL WEIGHT 
of the yarn, the variation, and the 
actual weight oif the beams from a cer- 
tain number of yarn produced at the 
ring frame. All spinners and card- 
ers should have such a table of con- 
stants for use at the slate where the 
weights of the beams are reported. 
No mill superintendent or manager 
should calculate a piece of cloth from 
the reported sizings from the reel, 
because there are so many tricks to 
the game that the writer has found 
that the weight of the beams only can 
be depended upon, and in some cases 
even here, you will find the beam 
heads wrongly marked. No. 149. 



CL. PRODUCTION. 

In some mills you will find that 
the overseers are familiar with th« 
stretch of the yarn at the warper, 
and they give the arms of the reel one 
turn so as to reduce the diameter oi 
the latter. They know full well that 
the reel is seldom if ever measured, 
and that the superintendenit will ac- 
cept the number of the yarn found. 
This enables the carder and spin- 
ner to run their work a little 
heavier, thus obtaining a much larger 
production, but of a shorter length 
The construction of the reel, on which 
the ends are wound in coils or lay- 
ers, depends upon whether it un- 
winds the yarn from cops or bobbins. 
However, the central part on which 



410 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



the arms are mounted whicli cou- 
stitutes the reel is as a rule li yards 
or 54 inches in circumference. The 
writer has often 

FOUND THE CIRCUMFERENCE 
of the reel in many cotton mills to 
measure 52 inches, and in some cases 
50. 

The writer has in mind a mill 
where the diameter of the reel was 
slightly reduced, and even the size- 
in g found at the reel was changed 
and made still lighter before it was 
handed to the superintendent. The 
beams which should have weighed 374 
pounds were found to weigh 404 
pounds, but on the slate we found 
374 pounds, or in other words, the 
slasher man deducted 30 pounds from 
the weight of each beam. Now in a 
cotton mill of about 20,000 ring spin- 
dles the warpers should turn off about 
60 beams of 28s yarn. 30 pounds de- 
uucted from each beam would give 
30x60 equals 1,800 pounds, or almost 
the weight of five beams. This over- 
seer received beams from another mill 
of the same plant and he would count 
from 3 to 5 of these beams with the 
5 obtained in the above meth- 
od, and they were distributed among 
the warper tenders, thus increasing 
their pay. Such conditions existed for 
a long time, and the cloth was found 
30 and 40 points heavier than the 
standard, and from what was said 
above, it can be seen that the difficulty 
was hard to locate. The superintend- 
ent was formerly a machinist, and 
knew very little about the operation 
of a cotton mill. Consequently, the 
mule room suffered, because the filling 
had to be made muc!h lighter to bring 
the cloth somewhere near right. Mak- 
ing light filling is quite 

AN EXPENSIVE ITEM, 

and besides the production is great- 
ly reduced. From the above, it can 
be seen that not only were these 
beams paid for, but they were counted 
in the production a second time. This 
same overseer has had as high as 64 
sides stopped at one time, and it 
never was discovered by the superin- 
t/Pudent. The above is simply given 



to show the mill men that if the num- 
ber of beams are watched, and also 
the weight, it is impossible for a dis- 
honest overseer, like the one men- 
tioned, to lead the superintendent 
astray. Another costly practice found 
in many cotton mills is allowing a 
considerable length of yam to be 
wound on each beam before the meas- 
uring motion is set. This not only 
reduces the production, but a great 
amount of waste is made, which 1h 
very costly at this stage of manufac- 
ture. However, this will be treated 
more fully later. 

Many carders are obliged often to 
insert a little extra twist into the 
roving on account of a little breaking 
back at the ring frame, when the real 
trouble is in the conaition of the 
skewers in the creel. 

All practical spinners will agree 
that they are much neglected, and 
that there are very few spinning 
rooms to-day but that are running 
sliewers that should be changed. Like 
other moving parts of a frame, the 
bottom of the skewer will wear out. In 
some cases the tenders will hammef 
the bottom of a skewer which causes 
it to offer 

A SLIGHT RESISTANCE 

to the unwinding of the roving. It Is 
often found in the spinning creel that 
the vibration will unwind the rov- 
ing faster than it is taken up by the 
drawing, and a certain amount ac- 
cumulates, and a number of coils are 
drawn into the drawing rolls which 
cause the end to come down. 

For this reason, the skewer should 
be hammered slightly, but the best 
of judgment should be used. Help 
should not be allowed to hammer them 
to such an extent as to offer any re- 
sistance to the strand unwinding the 
roving from the bobbin. 

It must be said that In most spin- 
ning rooms very little is lost, both 
in twist and production, from the 
above practice. However, as sitated, 
there are many spinning rooms where 
much cockle yarn is found, and many 
rolls grooved and cut, the cause of 
which can be laid to the above prac- 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



411 



tice. Many spinners, while walking 
through each alley on noticing the 
roving broken back here and there, 
run to the carder for more twist in- 
stead of examining the skewer. In 
some cases, the roving breaks back 
on account of dirty skewers, the bot- 
tom of the skewers collecting the fly 
when the spinners are allowed to 
blow off, as it is termed. Many spin- 
ners, instead of using a hand bruisih 
provided for such a purpose, will use 
a piece of cloth tacked on two sticks 
about twenty inches long, and the fly 

IS BLOWN OFF 

by the draft that this device creates. 
Blowing off should not be allowed in 
any room oif a cotton mill, because 
when this method of cleaning is em- 
ployed, the fly collects in bunches, 
which gather on the yarn and form a 
bad looking place. 

Besides, such a practice causes a 
loss of production, in the spinning 
and card room, because as was ex- 
plained when twist is inserted in the 
roving, the front roll speed must be 
reduced. In the spinning, too, much 
twist will cause cockle yarn, besides 
spoiling many top rolls, and injuring 
the fibres. Another point that is 
overlooked about creels in many spin- 
ning rooms is in not having the 
creel boards of a proper height. Of- 
ten you will find many spinners 
bothered taking out an empty bobbin 
and putting in a new one, owing to 
the creel board being a little too low. 
The creel board should be set so that 
the top of the skewer will be about 
one-eighth of an inch from the surface 
oif the top side of the creel board, so 
that, besides making it more handy 
for the spinners to take out and 
put in the roving, anything that may 
be lagged on the creel will not come 
in contact with the top of the skewers. 
Many spinners set their creel boards 
so that the top of the skewer will be 
just even with the surface of the top 
side of the board, seeming to forget 
that at times when a large number of 
roving is on the creels they are low- 
ered, and for this reason, the above 
allowance should be made. No. 150. 



CLI. SPINNING COSTS. 

From what we have said, it can 
be seen that it is impossible to ob- 
tain the actual production from the 
speed of the front roll. 

Even if all the spindles were kept 
in operation, the actual production 
could not be obtained from the speed 
of the front roll, owing to atmois- 
P'heric conditions affecting the work 
to such an extent, as to greatly af- 
fect the production. Again, there is 
a difference in speed from one line 
of frames to another, and sometimes 
the speed of the whole room varies 
So the only way to find the actual 
production is from the weight of the 
beams. There you get also the ac- 
tual average yarn. You are then on 
the safe side, and you will not take 
off a thousand or two more pounds 
of yarn than the carder in roving 
This amount may not look very large, 
but when totalled up at the end of 
the quarter, it is in some cases a 
week's production, then there is 
trouble. 

There is, of course, a certain amount 
of waste made between the ring 
frames and the warpers, but the 
amount is very slight in most mills, 
and it is much better to sacrifice this 
small amount and be a little under 
the actual production than over. There 
are times, of course, through break- 
downs or shortage of help when the 
warpers may be stopped for a con- 
siderable period of time, while the 
frames are continually kept in opera^ 
tion. It then becomes impossible to 
obtain the actual weight from the 
beams. 

When this happens, the best thing 
to do instead of finding the production 
by the speed of the front roll, is to 
average all the weekly produc- 
tion reports for twelve weeks 
back, thus giving you a more 
accurate report. Below are given 
the methods and also a report 
of the warp and filling department for 
the benefit of learners and spinners 
who are continually in trouble over 
taking off too much production. 



412 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 




COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



413 



The first thing to do in making out your 
production report, is to find the num- 
ber of beams taken off for the week, 
then total up the number of pounds. 
Let us assume that 68 beams total 
up 26,533 pounds of yarn, and the 
spinning room has 20,000 ring spin- 
dles. One-half the beams contain 390 
ends and the other one-half 367 ends. 
For the convenience of calculation, 
let us assume that 34 beams of 3rf0 
ends weigh 13,977 pounds, and that 
34 beamis of 367 ends weigh 12,- 
546. 12,546 divided by 34 equals 369 
pounds on each beams; we now divide 
this average weight found into the 
constant for 367 ends and we have 
10,485 divided by 367 equals 28.57s yam. 
13,977 divided by 34 equals 411 pounds 
on each beam. Constant for 390 ends 
11,142 divided by 411 equals 27.11s yarn; 
27.11 plus 28.57 equals 55.68 divided 
by 2 equals 27.84 average yam. We 
next find the production per ©pindle: 
26,533 divided by 20,000 equals 1.32 
pounds per spindle. We then find 
the cost. Let us assume that there 
are 125 spindles to a side, and that a 
spinner runs ten sides for six days 
at .11 pier side. We have 10x6 equals 
60x.ll equals 6.60, which is about the 
average pay for a 10-side ring spin- 
ner. Some mills pay by the 100 spin 
dies, while others pay by piece work. 
20,000 divided by 250 equals 80 frames. 
80x2 equals' 160 sidoiS times 6 equals 
960 for the week; 960x|.ll equals 
$105.60 cost, or 16 spinners at $6.60x 
16 equals $105.60 cost. We next di- 
vide the production into the cost, to 
find the cost per pound for th© spin- 
ning only. $105.60 divided by 26,533 
equals $.0039, 

COST PER POUND. 

We next find the production of the 
filling frames. The writer employ t^ 
the following method. Take one frame 
of th© average speed, and weigh thn 
bobbins on the first doff and the full 
bobbins, after doffing, and deduct the 
weight of the bobbins from the weight 
of the full bobbins, doing this every 
doff for a week. Let us assume that 
we find affier weighing a filling frame 
of 256 spindles for a week that its 



production is 183 pounds of filling 
yarn, and the weight of the stock and 
clearer waste is four pounds. We 
have 183 divided by 256 equals .71 
pounds per spindle for th© week 
Number of spindles 18,944x.71 equals 
13,450 pounds of filling. 18,944 divid- 
ed by 256 equals 74 frames. 74x4 
equals 296 pounds of waste made 
on all frames. The only way to give 
an accurate report of thie filling de- 
partment afterwards is to weigh the 
waste, which is a small matter, and 
if less waste is made add the amount 
to the production. If the frames are 
stopped for any length of time, deduct 
the same per cent from the produc- 
tion. If the frames stopped 9 hours, 
9 divided by 60 equals 16 per cent. 100 
minus 16 equals .84x13,450 equals 11, 
298, production. There are, of course, 
various methods in finding the pro- 
duction on ring filling frames, some 
calculating it by the speed of 
the front roll, and by mak- 
ing a certain allowance, as on the 
warp. The writer has employed the 
first method for years and has found 
that it balances the production 
throughout the mill. We next find the 
cost of th© filling spinning only. 

THE PRICE PER SIDE 

on filling is about three cents 
more than the warp, because a 
spinner is unable to run as 
many sides on filling; besides, as a 
rule, thie filling is much finer than the 
warp, and although the fronit roll speed 
is much less, the best of help is re- 
quired on the filling frames. 

Assuming the price per side to De 
$.14 and the spinner running 8 sides. 
we have 8x6 equals 48x$.14 equals $6.72 
or 74x2x16 equals 888x$.14 equals 
$124.32 cost of filling. $124.32 divided 
by 13,450 equals $.0092, cost per 
pound. We next total the cost of the 
warp and filling $105.60 plus $124.32 
ecjuals $229.92. We next total the pro- 
duction 26,533 plus 13,450 equals 39,- 
9S3 pounds of total production. We 
then find the total cost per pound 
of all the yarn: $229.92 divided by 
39,983 equals $.0057 cost for 
pounds of both yarns. The cost for 



114 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



day help for the above number of spin- 
dles is generally about $183. In 
this case w© will call the day help 
cost $183.79 plus $229.92 equals $413.71 
total cost. $413.71 divided by 39.983 
equals $.01 or practically one cent. 

It will be noticed in the report that 
J, space is left to report machinery 
stopped. The reason for this is that if 
a number of frames are stopped all 
week or for any length of time, the re- 
port must show a decrease in money 
to the amount that is required to op- 
erate them. Referring to the report, 
let us assume that four framies of fill- 
ing are stopped all week. This would 
reduce the cost of filling: 2x4 equals 
8x6 equals 48 sides x$.14 equals $6.72. 
The cost of the filling yarn would be 
$118.60 instead of $124.32, and the 
number of spindles from 18,944 to 17,- 
920. 

From the above explanations, any 
person should be able to make a re- 
port of the above form. Such a re- 
port is valuable to the superintendent, 
because like, the carding report, it i? 
not guess work, and the cost for mak- 
ing any style of cloth can be quicklv 
and accurately calculated. No. 151. 



CLII. DAY vs. PIECE WORK. 

The following question has been 
put to the writer many times, which 
is preferable day work or piece work? 
The answer is that it all depends 
whether quality or quantity is the 
main object in view. There is no 
doubt that day work is preferable to 
piece work for quality, for this has 
been proven in the past, and the fu- 
ture Is sure to bear witness to it. 
Piece work means an overstraiu on 
the help, and they will while in such 
a con:d!ition allow poor work to go. 
Poor quality means a decreased de- 
mand, and a decreased demand results 
in a curtailment or reduction in 
wages. (See article "Ill-managed Mills" 
in issue of August 23, 1910.) 

When the help are told that 
if a certain amount of production is 
not taken off they are going to 
lose their jobs, this tends to make 
noorer quality than before, because 



the help will work harder, drive their 
machines faster, if they can, and l*^* 
more poor work go. 

The demand of most manufacturers 
for the greatest possible production 
from their machines causes them, in 
the majority of cases, to lose sight 
of the fact that there is a limit to a 
machine's proper production, which 
leads to the machinery being over- 
speeded, sometimes to an alarming 
extent, as in the "ill-managed mill". 

FOR FINE GOODS 
and yarn, that day work system 
is preferrable; that is, if the man- 
ufacturers will pay as much at least, 
if not more, by the day as they do by 
the piece, or in other words, equalize 
it. Of course, it must be admitted, 
when considering production, that the 
speed of the front roll is the most 
important factor. The speed of the 
spindle must also be sufiiciently high 
to give the necessary turns per inch 
to the yarn while the front roll is 
running at a fair speed, and not have 
it so high as to cause breakages. This 
is where the knowledge, judgment, 
and experience counts. The latter is 
attained by experimenting with dif- 
ferent speeds until one is attained 
that will give the greatest production 
with the least amount of work to the 
spinners. This gives the spinners more 
time to do their oiling and cleaning. 
Any mill manager can increase the 
speed of his machines, but the 
question is, is it economy to do so? 
A large production means economy, 
as it reduces the total cost of a 
mill, and it is, therefore more economi- 
cal to run all machines as high as 
vtjssible, but the speed of the ma- 
chine should be no higher than the 
the machine is designed for. 

This is why the American Wool 
AND Cotton Repoetek has continually 
pointed! out to the mill men, that It 
is wrong for a superintendent to give 
orders to speed up carding and spin- 
ning machinery, etc., without knowing 
the limit of a machine's 

PROPER PRODUCTION. 
This, as stated before, leads 
to the overspeeding of machines. 



I 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



415 



If the reader is a practical spinnier, 
what would he think, if, like the writ- 
er, he should find a spinning room 
where the spindles are running 1,401' 
revolutions per minute? Such a speed 
is attained at this writing in one of the 
Fall River mills, and in order to keep 
the bobbins from rising on the spin- 
dies, the Fall River Bobbin and Shut 
tie Company make a special design 
bobbin for this mill. Now let us con- 
sider- the mistake and unnecessary ex^ 
pense caused at this mill. In the first 
place it must be admitted that the 
work does not run as well with such 
a high speed, which means more 
waste. In th© second place, it must 
be admitted that there is a greater 
amount of wear. In the third place 
it must be admitted that one of the 
greatest expenses in connection with 
ring frames is the wearing of the trav- 
ellers. All practical spinners will 
agree with the writer that even if the 
spindle speed and the weight of the 
travellers are proportioned, that the 
travellers will heat by isuoh a high 
-3peed and cause the travellers to lose 
rheir temper. When a traveller loses 
its temper, it quickly wears and flys 
off. The above is just what occurs 
Vr'hen such a high speed is attained, and 
when everything is considered, it 
is safe to say that such methods are a 
loss and not a gain. One of the great- 
est mistakes- that is made in the man- 
agement of a spinning room is in the 
changing of the rings. Some over- 
seers will allow the rings to be 
changed or turned over here and 
there around the room, which is one 
Df the worst evils existing to-day in a 
ring spinning room, because you must 
have a different traveller for a new 
ring on account of its rough surface, 
and if th© new rings are distributed 
around the room, it will be seen that 
it is impossible to 

SELECT PROPER TRAVELLERS 

to suit all rings. The only way 
to change rings is to order a 
half dozen or more frames of new 
rings, and put all the new rings on 
a certain number of frames and run 
a lighter traveller on these frames, 



then pick out all the good rings taken 
off where the new rings were put 
on, and use them about the room. In 
this way a standard traveller can be 
used for the mew rings, and a stand- 
ard size for the old rings. As stated, 
new rings require a different travel- 
ler from an old ring, but as the new 
rings become smooth, a heavier trav- 
eller should be used. The above is 
the very reason why thiere is a certain 
amount of friction between the spin- 
ner and carder in most all new mills 
after running a few months. The 
spinner blames the cardier for the 
yarn ballooning on a dry day, claiming 
that the work is coming in light, 
when the real cause is In the new 
rings getting smooth after a tew 
months running, thus requiring a heav- 
ier traveller. Another defect that can 
be noticed in the management of the 
different spinning rooms is in the 

OPENING OF WINDOWS 

as conditions demand. 

You will see some mills open their 
windows on the west side and shut 
ou the east side, or vice versa, some- 
times they are opened on the north 
side or vice-versa, and other times 
they a^e all opened or all shut. In 
some mills, however, the windows are 
never attended to, unless by some of 
the help who are overcome by 
the conditions existing insidie the 
room. This is an important point in 
managing a spinning room especially. 

Prom what was said about the 
rings and travellers, it should be seen 
that if the weather is damp and the 
yarn a little heavy the windows 
should not he opened. The reason for 
this is that, owing to the yarn being a 
little heavy, if the windows are 
opened a larger amount of humidity is 
allowed to enter the room which Is 
quickly absorbed by the stock, thus 
increasing the weight of the yarn and 
causing it to balloon still more, 
and the travellers are continually fly- 
In"? off. Many spinners conceive the 
idea that a great amount of humidity 
finds its way to the rings, and they 
point out that the rings when damp of- 
fer a certain amount of resistance to 



416 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



the travellers, wMch they claim pre- 
vents the yarn from ballooning. 

There is no doubt that there is a 
certain amount of moisture on aJi 
rings on a damp morning whether the 
windows are opened or shut, but it is 
obvious, too, that as soon as the 
frames are in operation for a short 
time this 

MOISTURE DISAPPEARS, 

and no matter how much humid- 
ity is allowed to enter the room, 
it is impossible for any mois- 
ture to find its way to the 
rings, owing to the high rotation speed 
of the traveller. On the other hand, 
if the work is light and the day damp, 
it can be seen from what has been said 
above that opening of windows will 
remedy conditions. When the work 
Is light there is too much pull on the 
yarn, because the traveller becomes 
too heavy, and when the windows are 
opened, and a greater amount of hu- 
midity Is allowed to enter the room, 
the stock absorbs this moisture, and 
the pull or the strength of the yarn is 
more equalized. In very dry weather, 
or when the work comes In very light 
the only remedy is either to shorten 
the draft on the frames, or to put on a 
heavier traveller. In the manage- 
ment of a spinning room, in order to 
obtain the best results, the spinner 
should make a careful study of the 
relation between the diameter of the 
ring and bobbin to be used for spin- 
ning different counts of varn. 

All practical spinners know that it is 
not practical economy to purchase new 
bobbins or replace all the rings In a 
spinning room to accommodate every 
change in the counts of yarn made, 
and for this reason, a given size of 
ring can be chosen when equipping 
a room that can be used for a range 
of counts with a bobbin of a given 
diameter, and a change In the size 
of the traveller to regulate the ten- 
sion on the yarn is all that is requirea. 
It may be assumed that, whenever 
practicable, a long bobbin used with a 
large ring would be a great advantage 
by saving time in doffing in the spin- 
ning. The same is also true in filling 



the bobbin throughout the traverse, 
thus saving time and reducing the 
number of knots made in spooling, 
by running longer on the loom, as in 
the case of filling yarn. As was stated 
elsewhere, conditions outside the spin- 
ning room will put a limit upon the 
above by requiring the filling bobbin 
to accommodate the size of the shut- 
tle, while the warp bobbin must be 
governed by the weight and tension 
that the yarn is capable of pulling 
when in the spooler. No. 152. 



CLIII. ADJUSTMENT OF GEARS. 

We have said elsewhere that at 
times, the deplorable conditions found 
In many spinning rooms, can be 
traced to too great a difference be- 
tween the diameter of the ring and tbe 
diameter of the empty bobbin, and 
for this reason It is difficult to reg- 
ulate the size of the traveller to suli 
the variation of diameters and keep 
a proper tension at all times, result- 
ing In bad spinning, uneven yarn, too 
much waste, irregularities in twisr 
and consequently strength, all of 
which tend to reduc© the quality and 
quantity of the yarn produced. The 
proper weight of the traveller for the 
3'am spun should be gauged by the 
pull on the yarn on the warp frames 
when the bobbins are one-half full, and 
on the filling when the rail Is making 
Its slowest traverse and when the 
ring is at one-half the traverse. When 
there is too great a difference between 
the diameter of the ring and thse diam- 
eter of the empty bobbin on the filling 
frames, great care and attention 
should be given in stopping and 
starting the frames. As was stated 
elsewhere, this neglect is bad enough 
when the variations of diameters are 
not very great, but in such a case as 
referred to above the frames should 
be stopped and started when the ring 
is at the larger end of the traverse- 
In a spinning room, as in other 
rooms, it is important that all gears 
be correctly set; that is, neither too 
leep nor too shallow, because gear? 
iihat are set too deep will grind 
which causes friction, while if set too 
shallow, there is danger of the teeth 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



417 



jumping one another at intervals 
which causes cut yarn and also 
much trouble in after process- 
es. A book could be written on gears 
alone, about how the tooth should 
be made, whether round or involute. 
This is all right for the machinist, but 
it is necesisary for the spinner to Know 
how the 

GEARS SHOULD BE SET. 

It must be admitted that our ma- 
chine builders turn out as near a per- 
fect tooth as can be made, and there 
is very little chance for a spinner or 
carder to improve upon them, and 
for this reason it is better to pay 
attention to the setting of gears in- 
stead of their construction. The 



ence in fixing, and are capable in that 
line, but they seem to lack that man- 
aging ability to have their fixers so 
set the gear together that they will 
mesh freely at all times. Yarn 
cut from improper gearing can be 
detected in the cloth. The same can 
be said when the spinners are creel- 
ing, in allowing long ends of roving 
to run m with the portion pieced. 
Again, many ring spinners will dou- 
ble the end of roving in order to stif- 
fen it so that it can be put through 
the hole in the guide rod to the draw- 
ing rolls more easily. Some ring 
spinners do not only double the end 
of the roving, but they also twist it 
very hard so that in most cases the 
rolls are cut or grooved. This Is a 



Report of Frame Spinning Dept. 
MILL NO. 1. 



Week ending Jan. 28, 1911. 



No. of days, 6. 



No. of hands, B4. 



Total pay roll, $413.71. 



Total Cost .01. 





Spindles. 


Hank roving. 


No. of yarn. 


Production. 


Per spindle. 


Pay roll. 


Cost f)er lb. 




20.000 
18,944 


4.60 
6.60 


27.84s 
42s 


26,533 
13,450 


1.32 
.71 


$105.60 
124.32 


.0039 


Filling 


.0092 






Totals 


38,944 






39,983 

1 




$229.92 


.0057 



Pay roll, day help, $183.79. 
Machinery stopped 



reader, perhaps like the writer, may 
have often entered a room and heard 
gears grinding here and there. It is 
astonishing to see how such men 
can be comfortable under these 
conditions. No honest man will 
allow a gear to grind in the room of 
which he has charge, because if he 
is a practical man he knows that such 
is a waste of money and such a neg- 
lect is just as bad as stealing. Set 
all gears usually about two-thirds deep 
■although a little deeper is better, if 
the fixer is a person of good judgment. 
Never allow your second hand or 
fixer in changing gears to hammer 
them into place, a practice that is 
found in almost all spinning rooms in 
our cotton mills. As a rule, all prac- 
tical spinners have had much experi- 



practice that is found existing m al- 
most all print cloth mill spinning 
rooms, and very little, if any, atten- 
tion is given to it. It is only a 

HABIT AND CARELESSNESS, 

because in the first place the 
roving should not be allowed to 
run out, and in the second place, 
when the help are accustomed to 
it, it is just as easy to creel a rov- 
ing without doubling or twisting it. 
The above practice is even seen in spin- 
ning rooms where double roving is 
found, and the only reason that can 
be given for this practice is that the 
spinners are so accustomed to doubling 
and twisting the roving in the mills 
where single roving is run, 
that when they are employed In a 



418 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



spinning room running double roving 
they continue the habit, and are 
not prevented from doing so by the 
overseer. Almost all ordinary spin- 
ners can so construct a thread that 
it will weave, but the question is how 
will it appear in the goods after 
weaving, especially in shade cloth? 

Another good point in the manage- 
ment of a spinning room is to have 
at least two teeth of draft between 
the back and middle rolls. This will 
greatly help the spinning, because a 
little extra draft at this point will 
nelp out the hard twisted places In 
the roving. The draft will be just 
as regular if the rolls are in good 
order, and there is a better oppor- 
tunity at this point to act upon heavy 
or hard twisted places in the roving 
owing to the space between the rolls 
being much greater. Besides it helps 
out the front roll, as it is more able 
to extract most of the twist at this 
point, and the frictional contact on the 
front roll is not as great. In all ring 
spinning rooms where there are no 
humidifiers, the spinner should have 
some knowledge about 
TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY, 
but the writer has often found 
overseers in charge of a spin- 
ning room who never knew the differ- 
ence between the two. The Draper 
Company has been very kind 
in furnishing spinners throughout 
the country with valuable tables, 
that are used by most spin- 
ners to advantage, but you will find 
other spinners who do not even un- 
derstand them. Humidity of course, 
means the amount of moisture in the 
atmosphere, while temperature means 
the number of degrees of heat. From 
what has been said, it should be seen 
that the amount of moisture con- 
tained in the air of any spinning 
room is of importance. As a rule, it 
is generally found that a standard hu- 
midity of from 50 to 60 per cent of 
the maximum amount of moisture that 
the atmosphere contains gives the best 
results. The temperature should be 
between 70 to 76 degrees. Coairse 
yams require a lower temperature 
than fine yams. No. 153. 



CLIV. BANDS. 

In ring spinning the construction 
of bands is an important considera- 
tion. The chief point to consider is 
that all bands must be uniform in size 
even if they are not uniform in twist. 
Bands are customarily made on band- 
ing machines which work and stop 
automatically when a certain length 
and a certain amount has been made. 
They are made either from yarn or 
roving or of a combination of both. 
Bands made of roving are much more 
preferable than those made of yarn, 
because a greater number of strands 
are required when made of the latter, 
and for this reason the life of the band 
is greatly reduced; and, too, if the 
band is allowed to rub on any 
part connected with the spin- 
dle base, the strands quickly wear 
and break one by one. For the above 
reason, whether the bands are made 
of roving or yarn, the overseer should 
see that the position of the snout or 
book on the spindle base is not such 
as to rub and wear the band. 
. Many mill managers conceive the 
Idea that any waste material is good 
enough for making bands, and the 
fly, stripping, etc., is run through 
separately and the roving or yarn 
(usually roving) produced is used for 
such purposes. From what we have 
said, it should be seen that poor 
bands are far from being economical, 
because the main requisite of a good 
band is that it will not stretch, and 
for this reason instead of us- 
ing any waste material special 
cotton should be bought. Every prac- 
tical mill man will admit that the 
bands should maintain a regularity in 

SIZE AND TENSION 

and for this reason they should 
be made of good stock with a 
uniform staple. There are, of 
course, many methods of making 
bands, and many spinners can be 
found who will employ nothing but 
yarn to make bands, while others will 
use roving and yarn, and they, too. 
claim this method to be the best. 
However, the writer has employed all 
of the above method® and found that 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



419 



bands made from all rovlug are best 
The very best bands are made from 
Peruvian or Sea Island cotton, and al- 
though, it may seem expensive at first, 
it will be found to be the most eco- 
nomical in the end. 

What is wanted in all spinning 
rooms are good bands, but it must be 
said that very few spinning rooms use 
the best of bandis, and, too, they 
are found to vary in size. If the 
bands are ordered from a manufactur- 
er of banding, order them to your 
liking. The following is the method 
employed by the writer and if put into 
practice it will be found that th© 
breaking strength of the yarn will 
be very uniform. 

Use Peruvian or Sea Island cotton 
and make a 6.60 hank roving on your 
fine or jack frame, not considering the 
twist. Insert 7.1 turns to the inch, 
which will increase the weight of the 
hank to almost four hank roving, put 
up about ten roving at the band- 
ing machine at one time, and it 
will be found that a band will be pro- 
duced that will stretch but very little 
and will retain its tension. The 
reader should easily see the mistake 
made by most mills by employing 
waste material to make banding, be- 
causie if the reader is a practical mill 
man he know.s that waste material will 
not make an even strand or thread, 
so how can an even band be made 
from an uneven strand. The reader 
should picture in his mind what would 
happen if a driving belt was made 
up of different lengths of double and 
single belting. It is obvious that a 
uniform speed could never be attained. 

Th© same then must be said of an 
uneven band, and the speed of the 
sindle is greatly affected. Some 
mills use banding tha;t is made In 

ONE CONTINUOUS CORD 
and supplied to the mills in the 
form of a large ball. Such band- 
ing should never be used, be- 
cause it is almost impossible to 
mak© a good knot, and it is safe to 
say that the bands that are made of 
a length to just band one spindle with 
the loop on one end are much pre- 
ferable, and a better knot can b© 



formed. It is for this very reason thai 
England is slightly hehind in ring 
spinning, and although the reader may 
take exception to the above statement, 
it is true, neverthless, and all ex- 
pert ring spinners who have studied 
conditions in both countrys will tell 
you that it is customary in most all 
European mills to use bands made up 
in one continuous form, and that the 
loop band is a feature of American 
mills only, which enables the latter 
mills to spin very fine yarns on ring 
frames. 

In managing a spinning room, the 
careful spinner should know the con- 
ditions required, for the yarn spun 
for quickness in changing the neces- 
sary relative position of the rolls, for 
the staple ispun, also of the guide 
wires, rings, spindles and bands. He 
should keep posted about what is be- 
ing done in other mills, and try and 
not be beaten, but be sure that the 
mills which are doing perhaps a great 
deal better than you are not using 
much better stock, or if they are noi 
doing as well, be sure that the stock 
used is not poorer than you are using. 

When a superintendent 

DEMANDS MORE WORK 
from a spinner, claiming that 
other mills are doing much be- 
ter, the first thing to do is to demand 
a sample of the stock used in the 
milts mentioned, then if the stock is 
found to be the same, a test should 
be made on a single frame only, and 
the speed, draft and twist on ail 
frames should not be changed until 
the spinner is satisfied that the room 
can be run under such conditions. 

Many writers claim that the mule 
is fast going out of fashion, and to 
T>rove the above atatemfint they point 
to the equipment of modern new mills. 
The writer is willing to admit that 
with the best of combed stock 
filling yarn as fine as 90s, and all 
numbers up to 90s, have and can be 
spun to better advantage on the ring 
frames, but from 90s and above 90is 
the mule is much superior. When 
poor stock is used the mule is su- 
perior to the ring frames for spinning 
yarn over 50 s. 



m 



CO'rtON MILL MANAdSlMl2Mf 



Managing help in a spinning room 
is a very important factor in the suc- 
cessful operation of the room, and the 
spinner should, if he can, employ 
good, moral people who will work and 
do all in their power for the good of 
themselves and the room. But the 
overseer must first live up to this 
himself and his ability to manage help 
all depends on his own actions. One 
good point for a spinner to follow is 
that the busier you keep your section 
hands, th© better condition the room 
will be in, land the better contented 
they will be. No. 154. 



CLV. SPOOLING. 



As is well known by all practical 
mill men, the spooling of yam is a 
process that differs much from the pre- 
ceeding processes. The object of a 
spooler is to assemble a great length 
of yarn from a number of small bob- 
bins onlto a much larger spool. In 
most cases, the yarn comes from the 
ring frames to the spooler, although 
much yarn is also spooled from the 
mule. The latter is found to exist to 
a greater extent in England than in 
America. The spooler does not affect 
the construction of the yarn, but it will 
clean the yarn if the spooler guides 
are properly set. The spooling of yam 
is a process that involves a high per- 
centage of labor cost if not properly 
managed, owing to the labor being 
paid at a certain rate per product, and 
for this reason the chief aim in the 
spooling room should be to lessen the 
element of attendance as much as 
possible. The bobbins received from 
the ring frames should be often exam- 
ined to see if they are properly filled, 
because if this is mot done, the com- 
paratively short length of yarn on (the 
bobbins will necessitate constant piec- 
ing, which not only reduces the pro- 
duction, but Increases the cost in some 
cases to an alarming extent. Textile 
schools and text books give us the 
following method for 

FINDING THE PRODUCTION 
of a spooler. Take 750 revoluitions per 
minute for the standard spindle speed, 
which has been found from actual 



practice to be 90 hanks per spindle in 
ten hours. The number of yarn is 
then divided into the number of hanks. 
When the speed differs from that given 
above, the production is then figured 
by proportion. For example, if the 
above speed was changed to 850, the 
pounds per spindle would be found 
by the following solution: 750:850 
equals 90: X or 90x850 divided by 750 
equals 102 hanks. Assuming the 
number of yarn in this case to be 30s, 
we have 102 divided by 30 equals 3.4 
pounds per spindle. Then the num- 
ber of spindles on all spoolers in op- 
eration are multiplied by the pounds 
found on one spindle, and the total 
production per day or week is obtained 
in this Vi^ay. 

Again, in quoting the above method 
of finding the production of the spool- 
ers, it must be understood that it is 
not the writer's intenion to depreciate 
the value of the textile schools or text 
books, but to discuss the advantages 
of every-day practical methods em- 
ployed in most mills, and at the same 
time, prove to the reader that most all 
theoretical calculations in a cotton mill 
are in most cases incorrect and mis- 
leading. Without a doubt the textile 
schools are a splendid association to 
the practical men withoiit theory, and 
the writer is willing to admit 
that by them our cotton mills 
have been greatly benefited. But for 
one who is making preparations for 
the actual manufacture of cotton yarn 
or cloth, the best schooling is the mill, 
although the two combined are better 
still, for when a man receives a tex- 
tile school training only, and falls into 
a good position through the influence 
of relations, he is a great 

EXPENSE TO THE COMPANY 

at all times, and he himself is always 
standing on dangerous ground. 

The production of a spooler is af- 
fected by the size of the ring 
and also by the size and oan- 
struotion of the bobbin on the ring 
frame, whether the yarn is tied by 
hand or by a knot tier. It is claimed 
that by the use of a knot tier the 
produotion is not only increased, but 
the quality of the yam producea at 



fi6TT0N MILL MANAGEMENT 



42i 



the spooler is improved, due lo the 
knots being tight and having the ends 
short and perfectly trimmed, which 
also aids in increasing the capacity of 
the weave room. Suppose that the fol- 
lowing question was put to a graduate 
of a correspondence or textile school 
who employs the above method in 
finding the production of a spooler. 
Could the reader form an opinion as to 
what would be the answer? If two 
mills having the same number of ring 
and spooler spindles, all other con- 
ditions being the same, produce a dif- 
ference of 3,000 pounds of yarn in a 
Vv^eek, what is the reason? To the 
practical man this is easy, because 
such points are continually coming up 
in mill life, but to the man who has 
only the theory and no practice the 
above question would be to him one 
of perplexity. Again, let us ask a 
graduajte of a correspondence or tex- 
tile school why it is that the cost per 
pound is highest where the least pro- 
duction is obtained? We will answer 
a few defects that will affect the cost 
and production of a spooler that can 
he answered only by men who have 
had 

A PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE, 

because there are so many reasons 
for the above that in some cases the 
proper one is difficult to locaJte, and 
cannot be found simply by mathemat- 
ical calculations. Running a traveller 
that is too light for the number of 
yarn spun will increase the spooling 
cost, because a light traveller will not 
lay the coils as close as the weight 
of the traveller most suitable for the 
yarn spun; consequently, each coil of 
yarn takes up more space and the 
bobbins produced are soft with un- 
even surfaces, and besides the length 
of yara possible to be wound on the 
bobbin is much less. Again, yarn 
produced from a light traveller is 
much weaker than from one to 
suit the yam, because the pull of a 
proper weighted traveller will break 
the yarn at the ring frame, while a 
traveller that is too light will allow 
the weak places in the yarn to pass, 
which results in a larger amount of 
snds breaking on the spoolers. This 



is the reason why many spinners will 
run a much lighter traveller when the 
superintendent orders the twist to be 
taken out in order to save himself. 

A soft bobbin, as a rule, spools bad- 
ly for two reasons: (1) because the 
bobbin is not as perfect cylindrically 
as one more compact; (2) the pull on 
the yarn necessary to unwind the coils 
or turn the bobbin in the bobbin hold- 
er causes the yarn to sink in the sur- 
face of the bobbin, which breaks the 
end down. As soon as the spooler 
tender finds such a bobbin, she can tell 
at a glance from experience that the 
end is hard to locate, so the bobbin 
is pulled off and laid on the creel as 
bad yarn, and besides, in losing pro- 
duction, you are losing good yarn. 

No. 155. 



CLVI. AVOIDING WASTE. 

All bad yarn resulting from lax 
methods in the spinning is, as a rule, 
sold to the rope works at a very low 
cost, and this bad yarn is made up 
afterwards in banding, rope, etc. Of 
course, there is much bad yarn made in 
a spinning room that is inevitable, 
caused by the lifting rods sticking, or 
the builder getting out of order, etc., 
but in most spinning rooms or spool 
rooms you can trace the cause of most 
bad yarn to lax methods in the man- 
agement of the spinning room. It can 
be seen from the above that a light 
traveller does affect the cost and pro- 
duction of the spool room, but not as 
much as a large diameter bobbin and a 
small ring, or a bobbin not filled 
throughout the length of the traverse. 
The above will show, when explained, 
that a great mistake is made when the 
diameter of the empty bobbin is in- 
creased to lessen the pull on the yarn 
at the ring frame, and many superin- 
tendents have of late increased the di- 
ameter of their empty bohbins without 
considering the spooling cost. When 
the diameter of the empty bobbin is in- 
creased there are less layers on the 
bobbins with more weight. It will also 
be proved that the spooler tenders 
make just as many piecings and work 
as hard with a much smaller produc- 
tion. Again, if a seven-eighths inch 



m 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



bobbin is used with a one and one-half 
ing diameter ring for the warp, the 
spooling cost is also increased. 01' 
course, the writer is aware that mosT 
spinners will tell you that it is wrong 
to 

INCREASE THE PULL 

on the yarn on the ring frame. The 
writer is willing to admit all this, if 
conditions in preceding processeii are 
like those found in the ill-managed 
mill found in the second chapter of 
these articles, but if conditions iire 
the same in the well-managed mill, 
the yarn delivered at the ring frame 
will be sufi]:ciently strong to stand the 
pull so as to make a cylindrical com- 
pact bobbin, that will run well on the 
spooler and also reduce the cost. If 
the reader is a mill manager he should 
visit his spooling room, and it is safe 
to say that he will find very few bob- 
bins that are filled throughout the 
length of the traverse, but instead he 
will find some a quarter inch, some 
one-half inch, and some even one inch 
from the shoulder of the bobbin to the 
coils. All mill men know that the 
above defect increases the spooling 
cost, still in most all mills visited by 
the writer, the spooling cost is af- 
fected by the above defects, and the 
writer is astonished that it is allowed 
to continue. 

Almost all spooler tenders are paid 
by the pound; that is, they are gen- 
erally paid so much per 100 pounds, 
and so many pounds of yarn and bob- 
bins are put into a box and evenly 
filled, and are called a certain number 
of pounds, and every time a box of 
yarn is given to the tender, the yarn 
man has a punch, and punches a hole 
in the tender's ticket. At the end of 
the week the number of boxes are to- 
talled into hundreds, and this amount 
is multiplied by the 

PRICE PER HUNDRED, 
which constitutes the tender's wages. 
If such defects reduced the amount 
of the labor, an excuse could then be 
offered that it was done to help out 
the tenders in order to get more help, 
and the best of help. But such is not 
the case, and besides it reduces the 
production in the ring spinning room, 



owing to the extra amount of dofiiug 
that the above defects necessitate. 
Let us study conditions as we find 
them existing in our cotton mills to- 
day. We find in one mill, where the 
tenders are paid less per hundred get- 
ting a bigger wage than those who 
get more per hundred ; they work fewer 
hours and get more pay. Besides, we 
find in the mills where they pay less 
per hundred plenty of help, and good 
help, too, while on the other hand 
the mills that pay more per hundred 
are short of help and they are of a 
much poorer class. 

It is all in the management, and if 
you are a mill manager or overseer 
you must admit that the writer is 
correct in his assertion that such con- 
ditions are found in all poorly man- 
aged mills. Let us picture in our 
mind a spooler tender running 100 
spindles. 

The bobbins filled with yarn receiv- 
ed from the ring room are to be prop- 
erly constructed; that is, the coils are 
laid as close as possible, from one 
shoulder of the bobbin to the other, 
or, in other words, the greatest pos- 
sible length of yarn is wound upon 
the bobbin. Let us now assume that 
the bobbin holders 

ARE ALL EMPTIED 

and the tender begins the day's work. 
She puts the first bobbin in the first 
holder, and with the aid of the knotter 
the end is pieced in an instant, and so 
on until she has all of the hundred 
spindles in operation. The great 
length of yarn on the bobbin will give 
the tender ample time to put a bobbin 
in each holder and piece them and be 
sides have a little time to fix the 
amount of bad yarn that may have 
been found in the previous box. Ob 
the spooler, as on other machines 
when every part is in operation, it is 
making money for the plant. 

On the other hand, let us picture in 
our mind that instead of having well m, 
constructed bobbins, as in the above H, 
case, they are soft and not filled ^ 
properly, which decreases the length 
of the yarn on the bobbin. Picture in 
your mind, as in the above case, that 
the tender begins the day's work and 



eOTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



423 



all the holders are emptied and she, 
too, has a knotter. The short length 
of the yarn on the bobbin will not al- 
low the tender time enough to reach 
the last spindle before the babbin in 
the first holder is emptied. Besides, 
owing to the bobbins being soft and 
not perfectly cylindrical, the yarn will 
break, as was explained, which calls 
for still more piecing, and this takes 
up the time necessary to fix the bad 
yarn. So we have spindles idle at all 
times, good yarn sent to the rope 
works, due to the 

COILS BEING IMPROPERLY LAID 
on the bobbins and the tender working 
harder with less pay. 

When the tenders are unable to sup- 
ply the spooler spindles with yarn, in 
most cases the ring frames must be 
stopped on account of a shortage of 
bobbins. Such a condition exists at 
this writing in a certain mill, and the 
writer has seen as high as 64 sides 
stopped on account of the above de- 
fect. 

All mill managers know that the 
above conditions existing in any cot- 
ton mill are expensive, but even 
this is not equal to the extra cost in 
the spooling room. A certain over- 
seer, by changing travellers and by 
increasing the length of the traverse 
on the ring frame, put 3,000 additional 
pounds through the spoolers, unknown 
to the help. In the above case, the 
spooling cost was, of course, reduced. 
This overseer should have counted the 
number of bobbins in a spooler box be- 
fore and after making the change. 
This would be more convincing to 
those who have a short length of 
yarn on the ring frame Dobbins, as it 
increases the amount of wood to be 
weighed at the spooler instead of 
yarn. It must be admitted by 
all mill men that the piecings and 
knots in the yarn are increased as the 
length of the yam wound on the bob- 
bin is decreased. It will be found, also, 
that where the tenders are unable to 
supply 

THE SPOOLER SPINDLES 
with yarn they are continually asking 
for a resit. The writer has in mind 
a mill that has of late made many 



changes in overseers of .spooling. 

One overseer instead of increasing the 
length of the yarn on the bobbins in- 
creased the speed of the spindles from 
700 to 850 revolutions per minute, with 
the result that he, too, lost his job. 
What he shouid have done before go- 
ing ahead was :o study conditions. He 

should have seen that there was very 
little to gain in speed when the ten- 
ders were unable to supply the spooler 
spindles with the speed at 700 revolu- 
tions per minute. To give the 
reader an idea of the extent 
to which some mistakes are 
made in some cotton mills, the fol- 
lowing story is given. It seems that 
the manager of the mill was dissat- 
isfied with the amount of work pro- 
duced, and he ordered the overseer in 
charge to lag the pulley with leather. 
The manager made a mistake in his 
man, for the overseer knew his bus- 
iness, and instead of lagging the driv- 
ing pulley, he lagged the driven pulley. 
The production was greatly increased, 
which, of course, satisfied the manager, 
who for a time felt proud of the fact 
that such a thought came into his 
mind, but the reader can imagine wi-at 
he thought when he later examined 
the pulleys. No. 156. 



CLVII. SPOOLING. 

The bobbins as they come from the 
warp spinning frames are placed by 
the spooler tender in the bobbin hold- 
er, the end of yarn being passed un- 
der a swinging arm composed of wire. 
The end is then pieced to the 
end on the spool, and inserted in 
the thread guide. The bobbin ais it is 
unwound in the bobbin holder is made 
to revolve at great speed, and for this 
reason, the curved plate on which 
the bobbin is made to revolve is then 
made wider than formerly. Still you 
will find at this writing that many 
mills wihich are crying shortage of 
help, are running their spooler spin- 
dles as high as 900 revolutions per 
minute, with a narrow curved plate 
All mill managers, in order to im- 
prove their spooling department, have 
a choice — either to discard their nar- 
row curved plates or run the spooler 



iU 



06f T6n mill MANAGiHJME^Mf 



spindles slow. When tlie 'Sipooler 
spindles are run over 700 rev- 
olutions per minute with a narrow 
curved plajte, the swinging arms will 
allow the bohbins that are two-thirds 
or more unwound to escape from 
the holder, and for this reason, the 
spooler spindles should not revolve 
over 600 revolutions per min- 
ute. Spooler spindles should not re- 
volve over 700 revolutions per 
minute even if the spoolers are 
equipped with wide curved plates. 
Wihen spooler spindles are run over 
the above stated speed it will be 
found to be more of a loss than a gain, 
for reasoms stated elsewhere. From 
the above it should be obvious to the 
reader that even if the manufacturers 
have a choice to improve the spooling 
in the manner stated, the wide 
curved plates and the spindles run- 
ning 700 revolutions per minute will 
better conditions for the spooler tend- 
er and give a larger production. 

All practical mill men know that the 
spooler tenders will open the thread 
guides, and for this reason, the over- 
seer in charge should examine them 
often. You will find even overseers 
that will open the thread guides 
themselves in order to put through a 
larger production, and at the same 
time, increase the spooler tender's 
wages. 

There is no other defect more de- 
trimental to the 

QUALITY AND APPEARANCE 
of the cloth produced than to 
have the spooler guides opened more 
than one-half over the diameter of 
the yarn being run. The writer gives 
the following rule to set spooler 
thread guides, and although many 
overseers may say that the setting 
is too fine, it will be found that, if 
put into practice, the cleanest and 
finest quality of cloth will be pro- 
duced. It is first necessary to find 
the diameter of the yarn run. Rule: 
To find diameter of cotton yarn, find 
the number of yards per pound in 
the counts run and extract the square 
root of the number and deduct one- 
eighth from the quotient. This gives 
the denominator of a fraction having 



one as its numerator, which indicates 
the diameter of the yarn. Example: 
At what size gauge should the thread 
guides be set when running 80s yarn. 
Solution: 840x30 equals 25,200 yards. 
The square root of 25,200 equals 158x 
.92 equals 145.36. 145.36 divided by 2 
equals 72.68. 145.36 minus 72.68 
equals 72.68 or 1-73 inch gauge. Is 
it not much better to use the above 
method of setting the thread guides 
and prevent bad piecings, lumps, neps, 
etc., than to have them opened too 
much and allow the above defects 
finding their way to the cloth. With 
the above method of setting thread 
guides, if the carder allows the flats 
to be set over 10-1,000 gauge away from 
the cylinder, or run a poor licker-in, 
you then have trouble in your spool- 
ing, and instead of opening the guides 
or allowing the spooler tenders to 
open them, the trouble in the preced- 
ing processes should be remedied. Al' 
practical mill men know that the above 
is the chief defect in all cotton mills 
'■' not given proper attention. The 
v/riter has seen conditions so bad in 
some cotton mills that the defects in 
the yarn referred to above were so 
numerous that they could not be 
counted when standing in front of the 
warper. That the above is true no ex 
perienced mill man can deny. 
PROPER CARE. 
Many mill managers will, instead of 
insisting on giving proper care to 
the thread guides on the spoolers, de- 
mand that the overseer make the 
v;^eavers save all defective places 
in the yarn and hang them on the 
gas pipes to show up other depart- 
ments. The above is a poor way to 
manage a mill, because, in the first 
place, it creates a lot of ex- 
citement, and besides, it creates a 
certain amount of friotion between 
tlie ovenseers of the different de- 
partments. It has often been noticed 
that many a cotton mill remained in 
the old rut, simply because the over- 
seers did not pull together. The 
above common occurrence is, figura- 
tively, what happens in a cotton miL 
where the overseers do not pull to- 
gether. 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



42g 



In all cotton mills, it is of 
greatest importance to have over- 
seers pull together. It is too often 
we hear the remark made that the 
overseers of a certain cotton 
mill are not pulling together, and a 
change in the management Is expect- 
ed at any moment. These stories 
vary in intensity from very mild cases 
to such iserious eruptions that the 
state of affairs becomes almost unbear- 
able to those who come in contact with 
the actual conditions. When isuch 
conditions of affairs exists, it savors 
of much hard feelings, and the good 
work that might be done suffers for 
want of the -really good natured zest 
that should be within every overseer. 

It, therefore, follows that anything 
which interferes with the progress of 
the plant is wrong and out of place, 
and, instead of trying to show up a 
man, the manager should see that the 
parts on all machines are properly 
set. It is always found where such 
a dilemma exists thait the reason is 
simply because the superintendent is 
not a practical mill man. The writer 
has in his mill life seen the overseer 
of weaving and the overseer of the 
cloth room have very heated argu- 
ments many times over existing condi- 
tion, and the superintendent, not being 
a practical mill man, when told 
of the situation, simply answered, 
let them fight it out. 

The writer will, of course, adnii\ 
that in some mills the methods ol 
setting the. 

SPOOLER GUIDES 

given above is an impossibility, 
owing to the conditions in the 
preceding processes being so bad. 
The thing for all mill superin- 
tendents to do is to definitely lay 
out the work to each subordinate, but 
it takes a practical superintendent to 
do this. A superintendent should 
draw everything to the centre of the 
company's welfare, and only when this 
is true will you have proper conditions 
throughout the plant. When knots, 
lumps and other defects in the 
yam are allowed to reach the loom, as 
a rule they are unable to pass through 



the harnesses and reed, owing to the 
chafing of the harnesses and beating 
up of the reed; consequently, these 
defective ends are broken, and the 
defective place, being heavier than 
other parts of the yarn, will swing 
over and get entangled with other 
v/arp ends, and a number of other ends 
are broken, or what is termed a smash 
is the result. A thread guide consists 
of an upper and lower plate, 
and the opening between these two 
plates can be regulated, according to 
the size of the yam being run, em- 
ploying the method already given. 
The primary object of the thread 
guide is, of course, to guide the yarn 
from the bobbin in the bobbin holder 
tc the spool. For this reason the 
practice of removing leaf, dirt, and 
other matter referred to above with the 
thread guide is overlooked by^ many 
overseers. Most overseers of spool- 
ing will defend themselves when their 
guides are found opened too much, 
with the argument that they do not 
believe in the practice, since this 
matter should be attended to at the 
earlier processes. 

There is no doubt that the above 
argument holds good, but it is also 
true, that it is impossible to have 
the work in the earlier processes al- 
ways perfect, and for this reason, the 
spooler guides should be used as a 
piotection against such defects that 
are liable to occur at any time in 
any cotton mill. Again, it isihould be 
seen that when the yarn is full of 
defects, if the spooler guides are 
not properly closed, the work will 
gain much headway in after processes 
before the defects are discovered. 

No. 157. 



CLVIII. EFFECT ON THE CLOTH 

When a large amount of defective 
yarn is on the beams, it must be 
woven, and the result is that the 
cloth produced must be put into sec- 
onds. This is very expensive, es 
pecially in fine goods mills. The 
above is a good point for all mill 
men, and it must be admitted that if 
the guides are set in the manner de 



426 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENI" 



scribied above, the result will be a 
great saving for the mill, and will cause 
Hiore trouble in the spooling depart- 
ment, but it will be found to be a 
telltale of the conditions in the pire- 
ceding processes. To save the initial 
cost, a great mistake is sometimes 
made by many mill men, as when mak- 
ing specifications of spooler guides, 
they equip their spoolers with 
guides so that if the slot becomes 
clogged, the lower jaw cannot be 
tipped slightly to the front, In order 
to expose the edge so that the tender 
may remove any lint with ease. This 
is an important point and one that 
will cause miuoh trouble, ajs large 
bunches will colteot in the slot and 
follow the thread. These bunches 
are flattened at the slasher and are 
given a much larger appearance. 

KNOTS AND BUNCHES 

in the yarn are a great 
drawback to good weaving, and for 
this reason, all spoolers should 
be equipped with guides so that the 
lower jaw or blade can be controlled 
by a hidden spring, which may be 
compressed so as to open the slot 
temporarily for the removal of any 
matter that may collect. 

The only fault that can be found in 
the very latest guides is that the ad- 
justment for changing the width of 
the slot should be made more dif- 
ficult, so that the space of the slot 
could be only affected by the over- 
seer or by anyone n charge that 
would have a certain particular tool 
for effecting the fastening device. It 
is too often we find when visiting 
mills that the overseer when asked 
will tell you that his guides are all 
properly set, and upon examination 
you will find them set differently. 
The overseer will then tell you that 
it was only a short time ago when the 
guides were all properly set and that 
the tenders themselves changed the 
setting so that all bobbins would run 
out without any breaking. Many will 
tell you that a good remedy for such 
a practice is to discharge the spooler 
tender, but this cannot always be 
done, because in the first place, a 



tender may change the setting oi the 
guides and then sever her connec- 
tions with the mill, and in the sec- 
ond place, help is not always 
plentiful enough to carry out such 
a plan. 

The above is a trouble that 
many spooling overseers are experi- 
encing at this writing, and it must 
be said that they are not wholly to 
blame; because even if the overseer 
in charge is continually watching the 
thread guides, this practice is carried 
on to such an extent in some mills 
that as soon as such tenders are 
employed (even in fine mills), the 
first thing they do is to open the 
thread guides, and a day or two will 
pass before this is discovered, be- 
cause no mill manager can expect an 
overseer of spooling to examine the 
spooler guides every day. 

The only remedy for the above de- 
fect and one which would be wel- 
comed by many overseers of spooling, 
is to make the fastening device for 
the adjustment more difficult. 

The spooler guides when properly 
set are also valuable in determining 
the proper amount of t\/ist in the 
yarn, and again, a lot (>i trouble is 
prevented in after processes. All ex- 
perienced overseers of spooling have 
the spooler guides properly set to 
avoid trouble in after processes. They 
will tell you that by having the 
guides properly set, they can tell in 
an instant when a new lot of cotton 
comes in and if the proper number 
of turns are not put in the yarn. 

On the other hand, if the guides are 
not properly set, a large amount of 
soft twisted yam reaches the warp- 
ers, and the trouble is much greater 
because the yam has to unwind a 
much heavier ispool, and at a much 
greater distance. For the reasons 
stated above, it shoiuld be seen that 
much defective work can be prevent- 
ed throughout the mill by using the 
best of 

CARE AND JUDGMENT 
in setting the spooler guides. An- 
other mistake that is made by 
many mill men when equipping 
a mill is in buying all the 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



427 



rnachinery from one machine com- 
pany, simply because they wish to 
ti-ave the same kind of machinery in 
every room. Such a practice is not 
defensihle when better machineis can 
be procured by purchasing them from 
different companies. 

One kind of machinery throughout 
the mill is bought as a rule by those 
more or less new to the cotton mill 
business, and for this reason they 
are apt to be influenced, more or less, 
by the persuasions of personal ap- 
peal. Another defect that is found to 
exist at this writing in many spool 
rooms is In the use of the old wooden 
boxes. Even if these boxes are 
raised they are altogether too low, 
ov'ing to their great depth. The 
above defect can be traced as one 
of the causes for the shortage of help 
in those mills, because the help have 
to stoop so low that they are con- 
tinually asking to go out on account of 
a sore back. Again, spooler tenders 
will, as a rule, flock to the spooling 
room equipped with steel creels and 
boxes. The reason for this is 
because the steel boxes are not 
very deep, and besides the spoolers 
are so constructed that the height of 
the machine can be adjusted to suit the 
tender by means of adjustable legs 
in the frame. This Is 

AN ADVANTAGE 

over other spoolers, because, besidies 
helping the miotions required in spool- 
ing, which are very fatiguing, shorter 
help can be employed with such con- 
structed spoolers than on any other 
kind of work. What should be done In 
those mills which are now using old 
wooden boxes is to cut away about one- 
half of the box, thus decreasing its 
depth one-half, and then raising it as 
high as possible. Put more work upon 
the yarn boy and shorten the spooling 
motion, oir in other words, instead of 
having a box that will hold two or 
three distributing boxes have the 
spooler box so that it will only hold 
ore. The practice found in the mills 
where these old deep wooden boxes 
are used is that the yam boy will 
dump two or three boxes in each 



spooler box, and then he has a layoff 
so to speak. The conditions in a 
spooling room vary much in dif- 
ferent mills. 

For instance, you will find in some 
mills that the spooler tenders must 
fix the bad yarn they receive among 
the good yarn, while in others, a 
spare hand is allowed ito fix the bad 
yarn. This is 

VERY UNFAIR 
to many overseers, because, owing to 
conditions being so unequal, the over- 
seers having the extra hand, will take 
off a large production, as they always 
have plenty of good help. 

Let us reason together and examine 
carefully the above unfair conditions 
existing at this writing in many mills, 
and see the advantages and dis- 
advantages that such unfair condi- 
tions will cause. Such conditions are 
found to exist even in the same plant. 
In the first place, it must be admitted 
by all mill managers, that there Is 
not enough bad yarn made in any 
spooling room to take up the time of 
an extra handi. So we find that in 
those mills where an extra hand Is 
allowed, the spare hand is spool- 
ing more than one-half the time. 
Secondly, it must be admitted that 
the extia boxes run through by the 
extra hand increase the production, 
and these extra boxes are dis- 
tributed among the other tenders, 
thus increasing their wages for less 
work, because in the spooling that 
has no spare hand, the spooler tend- 
ers are called on to fix the bad yarn 
and besides they get no extra boxes. 
Can anything be more unfair than 
the above? You will hear manufac- 
turers inquire from one another, "How 
much do you pay per box or per hun- 
dred pounds for your spooling?" The 
answer will be perhaps from the man- 
ufacturer that has no spare hand In 
his spooling room, and he answers, 
.095 per box. The first manufac- 
turer will then say, (unconscious of 
the trouble he is causing for the over- 
seer), "Why we only pay .09 per box". 

The writer is willing to admit that 
each manufacturer is not aware him- 
self of the conditions existing, be- 



428 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



cause such work is done by his su- 
perintendents. But it should be seen 
from the above that the spooler tend- 
ers receiving only .09 per box, are 
much better paid than those receiv- 
ing .095 per box, owing to the extra 
amount of boxes allowed them at the 
end of each week. No manufacturer 
wants to pay more wages than other 
manufacturers for the same work, and 
for this reason, the manufaotur©r 
quoted above as paying .095 per box 
without a spare hand, will on reach- 
ing the mill send for the overseer of 
spooling, and simply tell him that he 
.has juist learned that they are pay- 
ing more per box than other manu- 
facturers, and that he must come 
down to this price. He is also told 
that he can go to thie mill where they 
only pay .09 per box and be convinced 
himself. The overseer may do this, 
and, he himself, not knowing existing 
conditions must admit on his return, 
that he is payimg more per box. Con- 
sequently, the price per box is re- 
duced, and the result is a continued 
shortage of help. Again, the overseer 
is blamed for the 

SHORTAGE OF HELP, 

because the treasurer or agent con- 
ceives the idea that his overseer is on 
the same basis as the other overseer, 
and in most cases he loses his job. 
A change of overseers in such a man- 
aged plant is often made, not only 
in the spooling room, but in the ring 
spinning and carding room as well. 
The writer, himself, has been a victim 
of such scheming. It must be ad- 
mitted that the help themselves are 
informed of such conditions anu 
will, of course, flock to the spooling 
room where they get the most pay for 
less work, and for this reason, one mill 
has an abundant amount of spooler 
tenders, while other mills which are 
paying more per box are continually 
short of help. When a change has 
been made in the overseer of spool- 
ing, and conditions show no improve- 
ment, the spinner is next changed, 
because where there is a shortage of 
help, you will find dissatisfaction, be- 
cause they know that owing to the 



shortage of help, they are mas- 
ters of the situation, and for (this 
reason they are continually finding 
fault with the work, and consequently 
the spinner is discharged. Then, of 
course, conditions do not improve and 
the carder is next, and so on, which 
proves that the above condition is 
one reason why there are so many 
changes of overseers in some cor- 
perations. 

For the above reason, the writeir 
has seen as ro-ich as thirty frames 
stopped in some mills. Besides you 
will not find a homogeneous service 
where such conditions exist, owing 
to the friction that such conditions 
cause between the overseers and su- 
perintendent. 

What manufacturers should do when 
comparing prices of any department 
is to compare the number of day 
hands and conditions as well. If the 
reader is a practical mill man, he 
can see thait when a number of frames 
are stopped it is a 

WASTE OF MONEY, 

because the fine speeder bobbins are 
soon all filled, and consequently the 
speeders are stopping for bobbins, and 
the back work piles up and the ma- 
chineis in the preceding processes 
must be stopped. As is well known 
the help on all machines preced- 
ing the fly frames are paid by the 
hour, and it is a great expense when 
these machines are stopped. The 
above conditions increase the cost 
in each department throughout the 
mill, because the weavers are continu- 
ally waiting for warps, which greatly 
reduce the production of the weav- 
ing, and the cost per pound is found to 
be also higher, because in the weav- 
ing, as in other departments, the day 
help time is running on. Let us stop 
and reason here and examine the 
above conditions that are found to 
exist in many cotton mills, and 
see what a difference of about seven 
dollans a week will make in the spool- 
ing department. 

From what we have said above, it 
can be seen that the loss to the mill 
is in some cases twenty times greateir 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



429 



tban the wages of tne extra hand. 
The writer does not advocate an extra 
hand, because he brands the above 
practice as dishonest. The overseer of 
spooling should, when there is no 
work for the extra hand, lay that 
hand off for a day or two, until there 
is enough bad yarn to keep that hand 
busy, or if that hand is put on spool- 
ing, the number of boxes which are put 
through by this hand should be credit- 
ed to the extra hand, and the num- 
ber ol hours that this extra hand has 
worked on spooling should be deduct- 
ed from the day pay. In this way, 
the overseers would all be on more 
of an equal footing, although the over- 
seer having the extra hand would, of 
course, still have the advantage, be- 
cause when spooler tenders do not fix 
their own bad yarn, they are more 
able to put through a larger amount 
of boxes, thuis increasing their pay. 

There are many overseers of spooling 
suffering from tne above conditions ai 
this very writing, (especially in the 
Fall River, Mass., mills), and the only 
fair thing to do for these overseers Is 
to take away this extra hand, and put 
all overseers on the same basis by 
] aying the same price per box. Th 
above is not only unfair to many 
overseers, but it is also unfair to 
the stockholders of mills where such 
conditions are found to exist, becausie 
idle machinery in any mill is a waste 
of money. No. 158. 



CLIX. SPOOLING. 

Spooler spindles Tesemble the ring 
frame spindles in construction, that is, 
they consist of a blade that is sup- 
ported by a base in which the spindle 
revolves. The blade carries a whorl, 
and like the ring spinning spindle, is 
driven by a band that passes around 
the whorl and cylinder. The spooler 
spindle is larger than the ring spin- 
ning spindle, and for this reason is 
harder to drive, and this, aided by the 
weight of tne spool, which Is con- 
siderable, makes the consumption of 
power much greater. For this reason 
a heavier band is used, and, as a rule, 
one band drives two spindles. The in- 
side casing differs much from the ring 



spinning spindl3, the reason for this 
being that it is very seldom run over 
700 revolutions per minute. The 
spooler spindle base is constructed 
more to support a heavy spool, the 
speed not being considered. The chief 
aim is to make the spindie very 
rigid and strong, which is accomplish- 
ed by the use of sheet metal plates 
which extend the full length of the 
spooler below the rail. As was stated 
elsewhere, a high speed on any spooler 
is very detrimental to after processes, 
and a slow speed on a spooler tends to- 
wards a stronger and more elastic yarn 
with fewer knots. Fewer knots in the 
yarn mean fewer knots in the warp, 
and fewer knots in the warp tend to 
increase the production of the weav- 
ing, and besides better goods are made. . 
We recommend a spindle speed of 600 
to 700 on all spoolers in print , cloth 
mills, with plenty of 

SPOOLER SPINDLES 

to do the work. Spooler spindles may 
be banded in several ways, but the best 
and most popular one is as stated 
above. 

Some mills band the spindles so that 
one hand will drive twelve spindless, 
but this method is rarely found. The 
chief defects in this method of banding 
are: 1. Every time a band breaks it 
necessitates the stopping of twelve 
spindles, and they may be stopped for 
a considerable length of time, which 
happens often, owing to the section 
hand being busy elsewhere. 2. The 
band only circles about one-quarter of 
the whorl on the majority of the spin- 
dles, and for this reason the bands 
must be much tighter, and changed 
when slightly . slack. 

The only point to be considered lu 
the first method of banding given 
above is to make sure after banding the 
spindle that it revolves in the opposite 
direction to that of the hands of a 
watch. Not considering the above is a 
mistake that is often made when bano- 
ing spooler spindles, and it causes tne 
ends when being wound to pass to the 
fight-hand side of the spool, which 
liolds the ends continually on one side 
)f the slot, thus making the pull on tho 
..arn greater. ^ 



430 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



Owing to the spooler tenders being 
usually paid by piece work, they are 
anxious to put through as many boxes 
as possible, and for this reason they 
generally 

PREFER IHE KNOT TIER 

known as the Barber knotter. 
The knots made by the knotter have 
no loose ends, and besides, the knots 
are not so large. When the ends are 
tied by hand, they are tied as rapidly 
as possible, and for this reason the 
knots are more faulty. There are 
several ways in which a knot tier can 
be used, the most popular one being 
to wear it on the left hand and oper- 
ate it with the thumb. The ends from 
the bobbin and spools are drawn over 
the top of the tier and a quick move- 
ment by the thumb forms the knot in 
a second. 

It is customary for the best spooler 
tenders to gather the ends of five or six 
bobbins and spools before doing any 
piecing, and then the ends are pieced 
quickly one after another. 

It must be said that if the knotters 
are given proper care they are a great 
aid to the weaving, and that a larger 
and better quality of cloth can be pro- 
duced. When knotters are not used, 
the overseer should always demand 
that the spooler tenders make a weav- 
er's knot, and also see that the knots 
are tied as small and neat as possible. 

No. 159. 



CLX. THE TRAVERSE. 

As on the ring frame, the traverse 
on a spooler should be given proper 
attention. This is the chief fault that 
is generally found on spoolers, because 
if the traverse does noif fill the spool 
from shoulder to shoulder, soft places 
at both ends will result. On the other 
hand, if the traverse runs too high, 
with a proper length traverse, a hard 
place is farmed at the top of the spool 
and a soft place at the bottom, or if 
the length of the traverse is 
correct and the traverse runs too low, 
a hard place is formed at the bottom 
of the spool and a soft place at the 
top. Once the traverse is properly set, 
very little trouble is experienced on a 



spooler, if the lifting rods are well 
lubricated and kept free from dirt. 
Defective spools are generally caused 
by the lifting rods sticking, which is 
due to neglect. For the above reasons, 
when winding the yarn from the bob- 
bins to the spools the chief object 
should be to wind the yarn on the spool 
in such a manner that when the 
spool is filled its centre will be larger 
in diameter than either of its ends. 
When spools are so constructed, they 
hold more yarn, and unwind 
better at the warper with 

LESS BREAKAGE. 

A barrel-shaped spool, as it Is 
termed, is attained by means of what 
is known as a mangle gear. Tie 
mangle gear is ' composed of two 
rings joined together by pins that 
mesh with the gear on the end of the 
shaft extending along the centre of 
the frame and directly under the cylin- 
der. 

Cast on the hub of the mangle gear 
is a gear that meshes with a quadrant 
fastened to a shaft that indirectly im- 
parts motion to 

THE LIFTING RODS. 

It can be seen that as the mangle 
gear has its direcition changed or its 
motion continually reversed, the quad- 
rant motion is also reversed and gives 
an alternating up-and-down movement 
to the arms and levers which acts cor- 
respondingly upon the lifting rods. A 
spooler differs from a ring frame in re- 
gard to the rail movement. On a 
spooler, the lifting rods are so arrang- 
ed that when the rods are down on one 
side of the frame they are up on the 
other side, so that one side will tend 
to balance the other, thus greatly 
lessening the amount of power neces- 
sary to move the rail. The question 
has been often put to the writer why 
such an arrangement was not adopted 
to balance the rails on the ring frames. 
No doubt such an arrangement would 
lessen the amount of power necessary 
to drive the ring rail, and such 
change would be welcomed by o'.er- 
seers and manufacturers, because sue i 
an arrangement would prolong 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



431 



the life of the builder. But it 
should be remembered that on a spool- 
er the spools are doffed separately as 
they fill, the spooler not even stop- 
ping, while on the ring frame the bob- 
bins must be doffed together, and at 
the same time both sides of the frame 
must be doffed together also. For this 
reason, the rails on each side of the 
ring frame must be down together. 
The adjustment found at the spooler 
for balancing the rail could not be very 
well employed on the ring frame. The 
chief objection would be the loss In 
production in doffing only one side of 
the frame at a time. The mangle 
gear is eccentric, and from its contrac- 
tion the 

BARREL-SHAPED SPOOL 

is attained. 

A little reasoning on the part of the 
beginner will show that the farther 
away the teeth are arranged on the 
mangle gear the larger the gear, or in 
other words, if the teeth are six 
inchep from the centre of the mangle 
gear, it may be said that the pinion 
is driving a gear 12 inches in di- 
ameter, while on the other hand, if 
the teeth are eight inches from 
the centre of the mangle gear, it 
may be said that the pinion is 
driving a gear 16 inches in diameter. 
Again, if the teeth in the mangle gear 
were arranged circular and the speed 
of the pinion gea.r remained constant, 
the speed of the traverse rail 
would also be constant on both 
up-and-down traverse and at 
every part of the traverse; thus, 
the spool produced would have the 
same diameter throughout the length 
of the traverse. So, in order to give 
this barrel shape to the spool the pins 
that form teeth are arranged so that 
every pin excepting the end ones will 
be at a different distance from the 
cen*-re of the mangle gear. By such 
an arrangement, the traverse rail, and 
ronspquently the thread guides, move 
more slowly while passing the central 
part of the spool than at the ends, 
thus laying more yam on the centre 
of the spool which gives it its forma- 
tion. No. 160. 



CLXI. SPOOLER DEFECTS. 

A few calculatioms on spoolers giv- 
en by text books and textile schools are 
the spindle speed, change gear and pro- 
duction. We have already explained 
the reason for not figuring the pro- 
duction, instead, giving a practical 
accurate method. 

The spindle speed should not be 
figured. It should be found in the 
same manner as finding the spindle 
speed on a ring frame, and the same 
device should be used. The only 
calculation is finding the change 
gear. This is found by pro- 
poition, as the length of the 
traverse on a spooler is in direct pro- 
portion to the size of the gear. If 
a 10-tooth gear gives a 5-inch traverse, 
what gear will give a 4-inch traverse? 

The beginner should see at a glance 
that the gear must be smaller in or- 
der to give a shorter traverse, so 
we have 10x4 divided by 5 equals 
an 8-tooth gear. If we want to find 
the length of traverse, a certain gear 
will give, we simply reverse the 
aibove. If a 10-tooth gear gives a 5- 
inch traverse, what traversie Tvill an 
8-tooth gear give? 5x8 equals 40 divid- 
ed by 10 equals a 4-lnch traverse. 

ONE BAD DEFECT 
that exists in many spooling 
rooms at this writing is in the 
manner of marking spools. You 
will find some mills have the spooler 
tenders mark with chalk all spools 
that they fill, while other mills use 
spools with different colored heads, 
one color always being used tor a 
certain spooler tender, or for a cer- 
tain count. Having spools with heads 
of different colors seems to answer 
the purpose better as far as mixing 
the yarn is concerned. But it often 
happens that when a large order is 
received on a certain number of yarns, 
these spools must be separated, and 
the spooler tender knowing that the 
amount of bad work cannot be located 
will work in a more careless manner, 
her chief object being quantity. 
Chalk gives very poor service, owing 
to it being rubbed off so easily, and 
this causes spools to be found her© 



432 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



and there about the rooms without a 
mark. 

The warper tender will, instead of 
taking the trouble of having the yarn 
sized, put such spools In and 
run them with another yarn which 
differs much in diameter. Again, if 
a spooler tender makes a bad spool, 
she will not chalk such spools, but 
instead, will come in to her work 
earlier in the morning and distribute 
such spools about the room, so that 
her bad work can never be traced 
back to her. The above is a practice 
that is 

WORKED TO THE LIMIT 
in some mills. Again, when chalk 
is used, it is very unhandy 
for the tender to hunt up 
the chalk eveiy time a spool 
fills. The only and best way 
to overcome the above defect, and one 
which will save a lot of trouble, is to 
give each spooler tender her own box, 
and also a colored box. At 
the end of each day's work, 
the boxes should be run Into a 
small room until morning, or have 
a cover on each box that can be 
locked over night. In this way, each 
tender is forced to put all full spools 
in their proper place, and thus is un- 
able to rid heraelf of her bad work 
by coming in earlier in the morning. 
Again, in this way, the number of the 
yarn can be changed on the box sim- 
ply by tacking a ticket or marking the 
number of the yam on the box. 

The chief defect found in the man- 
agement of most all spooling rooms is 
dirty spindles. The writer has seen 
spindles so dirty and dry that they 
could he heard squeaking here 
and there about the spoolers. 
The writer iis willing to admit that it 
is almost impossible to prevent the 
yarn and waste from collecting on the 
spindles, because the yarn will, from 
one cause or another, ride under the 
lower head of the spool and be 
wound around the spindle until the 
end breaks or is discovered by the 
spooler tender. Spooler tenders, as 
a rule, do not bother with the yarn 
that collects on the spindles, and for 
this reason, the overseer should give 



this matter his closest attention, and 
have 

SPINDLES CLEANED 

from time to time, at least 
every week. Spoolers, like oth- 
er machines, are known by the 
gauge, and not by the length, and 
on the spooler, as on other machines, 
it is a poor practice to adopt too nar- 
row a gauge because it bothers the 
spooler tender more or less, and be- 
sides, it makes it impossible to run 
a large spool when changing to coars- 
er yarn. The best way is to make the 
specifications so as to have a gauge 
of 4| inches, which is the most com- 
mon one. The most misundersitood 
defect on a spooler is the vibration 
that is found to exist on the spooler 
spindles. 

The writer has in mind, a superin- 
tendent who bought a full siet of new 
spooler spindles in order to reduce 
the vibration on the spindles. The 
only way that the vibration on spool- 
er spindles will ever be stopped will 
be accomplished when the arbor for 
the spooler spool in the spooler is so 
constructed that the arbor will re- 
volve with the spool. This vibration 
found to exist on spooler spindles is 
a defect which sets most of us thinking, 
with the result that we have a better 
fitting bobbin on our ring frames than 
ever before. 

It was discovered long ago, that ow- 
ing to the spools revolving on the 
arbor in the warper creel, the In- 
side surface in contact with the ar- 
bor was badly worn on some spools, 
and at the same time, was very un- 
even, while on all other spools, a slight 
wear is found to exist. This, is the 
cause of the vibration on the spooler 
spindles. What the superintendent 
quoted above should have done, and it 
would have been much cheaper, was 
to have bought new bobbins instead of 
new spindles. All practical overseers 
of spooling do not notice 

SPINDLE VIBRATION, 

because they know full well that 
the defect is in the spool, and not in 
the spindle. As stated, when it was 
discovered that a slif ht we£<)r on a 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



43a 



spool would cause such vibration, the 
most of us turned our attention to 
the ring spinning bobbins, and it was 
soon discovered here also, that in 
order to stop the vibration of the ring 
frame bobbin, the recess at the top 
of the bobbin must at all times fit 
the top of the spindle blade snugly. 
The cheapest way to overcome spin- 
dle vibration is to have a standard spin- 
dle, and all spools that vibrate should 
be tried on this standard spindle to 
ascertain whether the trouble is in 
the spool or in the spindle. How- 
ever, as stated above, the trouble is 
seldom found to exist in the spindle, 
unless found very dirty, but as the 
jause may be in the spindle, it Is a 
good practice to try all spools that 
?ive trouble. This will preclude 
the possibility of throwing away good 
spools. 

The above trouble is seldom, if ever, 
experienced in cases where the yarn 
is wound onto spools from cops. The 
reason for this is that, owing to the 
spool unwinding the coils from the 
cops only, there is very little tension 
on the yarn, and the position of the 
spool on the spindle is not so liable 
to be changed at every revolution. It 
should be seen that vibration is caused 
by the bobbin or speed not fitting the 
spindte properly, and in having Its 
position changed at every revolu- 
tion by the pull of the yarn that al- 
ways exists on one side of the spool 
or bobbin when the tension on the 
end is great. 

WHIBN OOPS ARE USED 
on the spooler, instead of plac- 
ing thie cops 5n the bob- 
bin holder, they are placed on spin- 
dles having a perpendicular position, 
and the yarn is carried through a 
guide, which resembles the thread 
guide on the ring spinning frame. As 
stated, owing to the lack of tension in 
this method of spooling, the coils on 
the spools are not laid as close as 
they should be, and consequently, the 
amount of yarn wound on the spools 
in this system is much less than when 
wound from bobbins in the holders. 
In order to lay the coils on the spool 
closer, more tension is put on th© 



yarn by adjusting the thread guide 
OTi the traverse rail to occupy an an- 
gular position to that of the traverse 
rail. The above can easily be done, 
as the thread guide is setscrewed to 
the traverse rail, and is thus capable 
of being given any desired position. 

It is just as handy for the spooler 
tender to insert the end in the slot 
when the guide occupies an angular 
position to that of the shaft, and it 
will be found that the spools will take 
a longer time to fill. When the spool- 
er spools are soft, in some cases, 
enough yarn cannot be run on the 
spools to run the intended number 
ol raps on the beam, and for this rea- 
son, a larger spool is ordered. Larger 
spools are, of course, much heavier, 
and with the extra amount of yarn, 
the pull must be greater in order to 
unwind the yarn from the spool, and 
again, more trouble is experienced, 
because, owing to the coils not being 
closely laid, the pull on the yarn 
causes the end to sink in the surface 
of the spool instead of turning the 
latter. Consequently, the end breaks 
and in most cases it is hard to locate 
on account of having sunk in the sur- 
face of the spool. These spools are 
taken out, and in order to locate the 
end, a coil or two is broken on the sur^ 
face of the spool, and then laid under 
the end of the section beam shaft, 
and the ends are passed over the shaft 
and allowed to wind thereon until 
the sunken end is located. 

The above will happen in all spool- 
er systems, but the cause is 
LACK OP TENSION 
on the yarn. The guides being 
opened too much will cause the above 
trouble. Another method that can be 
employed to create tension on the 
yarn when cops are used, is to have 
the yarn run over a friction flannel 
situated between the cops and the 
spools. It will be found that the best 
results will be obtained by regulating 
the tension by the position of the 
thread guide in either systems. When 
starting a new spooler, see that all 
parts are freely oiled, and make sure 
that the lifting rods are free, then 
having the pinion gear fa its 



434 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



proper position, find the differ- 
ence between the number of 
teeth on the stud gear and th© num- 
ber of teeth on the segment, and set 
the stud gear from the end of the seg- 
ment one-half the difference between 
the number of teeth on the segment 
and on the istud gear. Example: if 
the segment contains 30 teeth ana the 
stud gear 20, then when the 
mangle gear and stud gear occupy 
the proper position or at the 
point of reversing, have the gear 
on the stud 30 minus 20 equals 
10 divided by 2 equals 5 teeth from 
the end of the segment. Then bring 
the bottom traverse rail on one side 
to occupy a position one-sixteenth of 
an inch above the bottom heads, and 
the top traverse should be the same 
distance below the top heads of the 
spools on the other side. At this 
point, if the traverse rail is too high, 
both at the top and bottom points at 
which it reverses, this can be adjust- 
ed by dropping the rods until the 
traverse rail assumes its correct posi- 
tion. 

Now before setting, the othei 
side of the rail just set should be 
brought at the other end of the spool, 
and if found to be correct, the rail on 
the other side will occupy the posi- 
tion when the first rail was set and 
by setting it at the same distance from 
the head of the spools, they should 
have the same relative position. When 
the parts of a spooler are properly 
set, the studs in the lever slots should 
be at the same point and the traverse 
rail perfectly horizontal. No. 161. 



CLXII. WARPING. 

By most mill men, warping in a 
cotton mill is not considered an im- 
portant feature of the ordinary meth- 
od of cotton-warp preparation, and 
tnat is where a great mistake is made. 
The writer will prove that with 
clean even yarn careless warping 
makes the finished cloth unmerchant- 
able in many mills. Warping in a 
print cloth mill is known as beam 
v^'arping, the class being dealt with 
at present. There are, however, sev- 
eral classes of warping, that are divid- 



ed according to the manner in which 
the yarn is treated, which will be 
explained later. 

The object of the warper is to un- 
wind the yarn from a large number of 
spools so as to form a sheet which 
is placed on a beam. As stated above, 
if no attention is given to the warp- 
ing, even if the yam is clean and 
even, the cloth can be given a bad 
unclean appearance by not knowing 
how to warp, or by careless warping 

To prove the above, let us suppose 
that the spooler tenders are not filling 
the spools evenly. It is obvious that 
the spools having the shortest lengtb 
of yarn when unwound in the warper 
creel will unwind the yarn closer to 
the barrel of the spool. All 

PRACTICAL MILL MEN 
know that the spools on a warper are 
all pieced together, and that on alJ 
ispools the yarn nearest the barrel is 
full of knots. So it can be seen 
that when a spool is not properly 
filled on the spooler a number 
of knots are unwound. Very oflten 
when the yarn is unwound so low an 
the spool it gives the cloth a 
bad apipeiarance. Even one thread 
gives bad results, which are multi- 
plied by the number of spools not 
properly filled at the spooler. A 
warper tender can not be held respon- 
sible for such work, and for this rea- 
son they take little notice of the 
spools when the yarn comes from 
the spooler, unless, of course, the 
spools are so small as to run out be- 
fore the beam is full; however, this 
seldoms happens, unless the number 
of raps on the beam are increased for 
a new style of cloth. The overseer 
of spooling should insist that the 
spools on the spooler be doffed at a 
uniform size, so that when the spools 
are unwound they will all be of one 
length, and the knots found near the 
barrel of the spools are not unwound 
when the yam is even, and the few 
knots that will find their way 
to the beam will be from the spools 
where the yarn is very heavy and of 
a shorter length, which is impossible 
to avoid in any cotton mill. When 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



480 



the beam on a warper is filled it 
should be doffed and before the spools, 
in the warper creel are changed, which 
i5 termed doflang, the warper should 
be run so as to run off the majority 
of knots made by the spooler tenders 
on the first piecing; however, we do 
not advise one to 

RUN THE WARPER 

a.ny more than to the amount of two 
layers on the :spools in the warper 
creel. By doang so at every doff it 
prevents the spooler knots from ac- 
cumulating between the point when 
doffing and the barrel of the spool. 
Then the spools should be doffed and 
the warper should again be run long 
enough so as to run all the knots 
made at doffing time down on the 
empty beam before the projection on 
the grooved barrel is set. 

It will be found in almost all cot- 
ton mills that instead of employing 
the above method, that as soon as 
the beam is doffed the warper tender 
will while the beam is being doffed, 
doff the empty spools also, so that 
in this way the spooler knots remain 
on the spools, and the amount of 
knots either increases in the cloth 
or on the spools, however, it is safe 
to isay that these knots do eventually 
find their way to the cloth. Let the 
mill man istudy the above, and he will 
finally admit that even with very 
clean yam, the above method will 
give the cloth a bad appearance, that 
is, as a rule, blamed on the preceding 
processes. Again, you will find that 
some mills making the 

FINEST OP YARNS, 

allow the ceiling, hangers, and pul- 
leys to be cleaned while the warpers 
are in motion. They will even allow 
the warper tenders to use blowers 
that scatter the fly all over the 
spools. Brushing down, as it is termed 
ill a print cloth mill, and blowing, is 
certainly carried on to the limit when 
the warpers are in operation in most 
cotton mills, and as stated, the spin- 
ner or carder is blamed for the un- 
clean condition of the yarn. 

No. 162. 



CLXIII. OPERATION. 

The construction and operation 
of a warper is so simple, that for this 
reason very few mill men know that 
by neglecting its operations the yarn 
can at this stage be made defective. 
Any practical man knows where the 
fly has collected by examining the 
thread when the strand is pulled from 
the cloth in the cloth room. He 
knows that if the fly was collected on 
the roving the fly will be twisted 
with the fibres in the cross-section of 
the strand and that it is impossible to 
slip the fly over the thread. On the 
other hand, if the fly has collected on 
the thread after the strand has passed 
the drawing rolls on the spinnin 
frame, the fly will be found to be 
twisted around the thread, but 
can be slipped over the thread. 
When the fly has collected on the 
thread at either the ^poolers or warp- 
ers, it will be found to have a flattened 
appearance owing to having passed 
the squeeze rolls in a humid condi- 
tion and starched and dried in that 
condition. Here is where the prac- 
tical superintendent counts and saves 
the mill many dollars, because the 
practical man can not only point out 
where these defects in the yarn are 
made, but he also knows the cause 
and the remedy, while other superin- 
tendents do not even know the differ- 
ence between a bunch of fly or yarn 
and a knot, it must he admitted that 
as the spooler spools are run down tf> 
a certain place at each set, if 
the spooler 

KNOTS ARE NOT REMOVED, 
as suggested above, they must 
remain on the spools or find 
their way to the cloth. In order 
to explain the above more clearly, 
let us assume that we are starting 
a warper, that has 600 spools in the 
creel. When the warper is doffed 
and the spools are pieced again at 
the spooler we have 600 knots on the 
600 spools, not counting the piecings 
during the construction of each spool 
Now let us again assume that when 
the beam is full these 600 knots 
are still on the spools, which happens 



436 



CDtTON MILL MANAGEM^Nt 



often when the yarn is on the light 
side, and, ol course, a greater length 
IS on the spools. Again, assuming 
that a third beam is made, and the 
knots are all left on the spools, we 
have then 1,800 knots on the spools. 
We will again assume that we re- 
ceive an order for a longer length of 
cloth, and instead of putting eight 
raps on the beam, we change the 
number of raps to nine. It can be seen 
thai the above 1,800 knots would una 
T.UBir way 10 tne cloth, and that h: 
just what happens in mills that in- 
crease the number of raps often. 
Every overseer of spooling will agree 
that the writer places the number of 
knots above at a minimum, because 
the writer hab reeled many spools ajid 
found as high as twenty knots from 
the point on the spool when the beam 
was full to the empty barrel of the 
spool. 

It is safe to say that there are more 
than three knots left on every spool 
from the point where 

THE BEAM FILLS 
and the empty barrel of the spool. 
The writer in all his mill experience 
has seen only twelve mills (fine 
guods mills) where the beam was first 
doffed, and a certain portion of yarn 
run on the empty beam to reduce 
the spooler knots on the spools. The 
writer is willing to admit that such a 
practice would not pay in all print 
cloth mills, because even if the cloth 
was free from knots, the mills would 
v/nly receive the same market price 
per yard for the cloth, and the only 
advantage gained by a mill employing 
the warping method suggested above, 
woulu oe in receiving a larger amount 
of orders. 

But for fine goods mills, the above is 
very important, and it surely does pay 
to ruin a layer or two on the empty 
beam before the measuring motion is 
set in those mills where a high qual- 
ity of yarn is expected. Every mill 
manager will agree that most orders 
m all mills are lost through dirtv 
cloth. 

Some mill managers have pointed 
out lO the writer the unnecessary ex- 



pense resulting from throwing away 
this amount of yarn at each set. But 
let one question be asked those mill 
men who conceive such an idea, "What 
makes you sell hundreds of pounds of 
good yam in balls to the rope works, 
wnat keeps so many rope works in 
operation; is it not due to the warper 
tenders balancing the beams in our 
cotton mills?" The above must be ad- 
mitted, because it only takes a visit 
to most spool rooms to find barrels 
full of balls made of good yarn. These 
same mill managers will tell you thar 

IT IS THE SLIPPAGE 
or the measuring roll on the warpe* 
that causes a certain amount of siij 
page more on one warper than ar 
other, and that they are about to havt 
all the measuring rolls p-ainted sc 
that they will all draw the yarn the 
same, and then the beams will empty 
more evenly at the slasher. 

The above idea is wrong, because 
It should be seen that when the meas- 
uring roll on a warper fails to draw 
the required length of yarn, the 
beam produced will lack the necessary 
length. Again, it should be seen that 
if some of the beams are too long 
it is not on account of the meas- 
uring roll not heing painted, as some 
mill men believe. The amount of 
yarn on beams is made to vary mostly 
by dishonest warper tenders who will 
run a large portion of yam at each 
set before lowering the projection in 
the groove. No. 163. 



CLXIV. WARPING WASTE. 

Some mill men may point out that 
tliere is no gain tor a warper tender 
in running a portion of yarn on the 
beams at every set, because they 
would be paid for the amount of yarn 
if the measuring motion was set at 
once. The writer knows of mills 
where the warper tenders know how 
many more pounds they can add on 
the beams as the work comes in 
lighter, and they know enough not to 
I un an extra length when the work 
is coming in heavy. This is the rea- 
son that even overseers of spool- 
ing do not understand why it is that 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



4S7 



more waste is made from one week 
to another. Even if the warper beams 

ARE NOT BALANCED 

by the warper tenders, the weight of 
yarn will be increased when the work 
comes in very heavy. But it can be 
seen from the above that the aim of 
most warper tenders is to have the 
beams always as heavy as possible, 
because that means less creeling, and 



six pounds too heavy, and in this case 
the warper tender is careful not to add 
any extra yarn on the beam. On the 
other hand, if the beam weighs 368 
pounds, the same length of yarn is on 
the beam, but not the weight, and 
this means a reduction of wages for 
the warper tender for the same 
amount of creeling. So, as stated, they 




Fig. 52. Mangle Gear and Its Connections On the Spooler. 



in this way many warper tenders will 
tell you that they save a creeling 
every two weeks by balancing the 
beams. In order to make the above 
clear, let ns assume that the warper 
beam weighs 380 pounds and it is sup- 
posed to be 2Ss yarn; by referring to 
the beam constants the reader will 
find that the above makes the beam 



will, as soon as the work comes in 
light, run a portion of yarn on the 
beam before setting the measuring 
motion. The above trouble is sel- 
dom located, because the beams are 
so nicely balanced at all times that 
the carder and ispinner think that it is 
their good judgment of the stock that 
makes conditions so good. Very lit- 



438 



COTTO]\ MILL MANAGEMENT 



tie attenition is paid to the hundreds of 
pounds of good yarn that are given 
away weekly, which is quite 

A LARGE ITEM, 
because the yarn at this stage of 
manufacture is very expensive. You 
will find when visiting most mills that 
when you find a beam ten pounds 
from the standard weight, the over- 
seer will tell you that the warper 
tender ran the beam a little over. 
All mill men will admit that the above 
happens in some mills at times, but 
very seldom, and the writer is willing 
to admit that in most mills the beams 
are nicely kept. But it must be ad- 
mitted that from the above cause 
you will find the beams in some mills 
jumping ten pounds from one set to 
anothOT, which is an impossibility if 
the measuring motion is properly set 
iu the proper time. 

In those mills, you will find the 
cloth varying from 20 to 40 
points, and the beams varying from 
360 to 420. The reader is asked to ac- 
cept the above as true, although it 
may seem to the reader an impossibil- 
ity thBit some mill managers will al- 
low such conditions to exist in their 
mills. 

The writer saw the yarn sized 
in the mill where the weight of the 
beams are quoted above, and the yam 
sized from 22s -to 34s. As stated 
above, when a beam is found to vary 
much from other beams in the above 
poorly managed mills, the overseer in- 
stead of admitting that 

CONDITIONS ARE BAD. 
will tell you that the warper tend- 
er allowed the beam to run over, but 
he does not tell you how often in a 
week that the beams are allowed to 
do this. In other mills where you 
find such conditions, the overseers in 
charge dare not tell you about them, 
or are not allowed to change them, 
as in the ill-managed mill referred 
to in a previous chapter of these ar- 
ticles. 

In the management of warpers, the 
most attention should be given to the 
creels. The writer has seen condi- 
tions so bad in the warper creels that 



not a skewer revolved. The chief aim 
to have good warping is to have the 
creel so arranged that the different 
ends will be unwound without snarl- 
ing, that there will be the least pos- 
sible strain on the yarn, and that the 
pull on the yarn will be as straight 
as possible. The yarn is prevented 
from snarling in the creel by the gooa 
7;orkings of the drop roll. If this 
roll is not free to follow the yarn 
as it slackens, the yarn will snarl 
in the creel and most of these defect- 
ive places will remain in the same form 
until woven in the cloth, which give'? 
the cloth the same appearance as 
knotty yam. As a rule, snarled yarn 
is very seldom experienced in mills 
v/here the same number of yarn is 
run continually. Snarled yarn is gen- 
erally experienced where a radical 
change is made in the number of thp 
yarn or when the size of the spools 
is changed. 

The drop roll Is supported by the 
yam alone, and is properly balanced 
for the number of yarn or spools 
when set up. When a 

VERY LIGHT YARN 
is used or v/hen the spools are mad*^ 
smaller if the weight is not some- 
v/bat relieved, the roll will drop too 
fast and when brought to rest, the 
spools will continue to revolve, thus 
causing considerable length of yam 
to be unwound, and the result is 
snarled yarn. The above is the same 
as when the drop roll is not free to 
drop and follow the yarn. Snarled 
yarn, if not taken care of in some 
manner, will break when the warper 
is again started, if the yarn lacks 
the necessary number of turns to the 
inch, and most snarled places will fol- 
low the yarn when the latter contains 
an extra amount of twist. Again, it 
can be seen that yarn becomes de- 
fective in the warper by neglecting its 
operation. On some warpers instead 
ot a drop roll, the slack yarn is taken 
care of by what is called a rise roll 
The rise roll is supported and made 
to rise by means of a rack, gear, and 
V, eights. 

The operation is as follows: The 
weights hanging on the chain 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



439 



are wound around a small bar- 
rel or pulley, whicli gives this 
barrel a tendency to revolve in 
the same direction as the pull on 
the chain, giving the rise roll a 
tendency to rise at all times, as 
it would do if it was not for the ten- 
sion on the yarn. When the slasher 
is stopped the weights will cause the 
rise roil to follow the yarn, and when 
the warper is started again, the ten- 
sion should be sufficient to raise the 
weight or weights. 

The 

LAST METHOD IS PREFERRED, 
because the weight on the roll can be 
quickly regulated by either putting 
more weights on the chain or taking 
them off, while in the first meth- 
od, some means must be resorted to, 
to lighten the weight of the roll, or 
the roll itself must be changed to 
either -decrease or increase the ten- 
sion on the yarn. The yarn is sup- 
ported on each side of the drop or 
rise roll and It can be seen that when 
the roll either rises or drops twelve 
inches, twenty-four inches of slack 
yarn can be taken care of. 
From the above, It should be seen that 
the yarn is made to occupy a vertical 
position when the roll is either low or 
high on each side of the drop or rise 
roll. Now if the reader is a mill man., 
he should here picture in his mind 
the amount of strain that must be on 
the yarn to either lower or raise this 
roll if the roll is too heavy or if 
too many weights are on the chain. It 
must be admitted that there are many 
mills at this writing that can be 
found where the majority of break- 
age of ends can be laid to either a 
heavy roll or too much weight on the 
chain, or the metal or glass steps 
not being properly inserted or missing 
in the creels. No. 164. 



CLXV. CARE OF MACHINES. 

When the ' warping is very bad in 
most mills, the blame is always laid 
to either poor stock or the yarn not 
having the necessary turns to the 
inch. The overseer of warping will 



tell you that he knows that the trouble 
is not in the warpers, because they 
ran very good the week before, and 
for this reason 

NO MATTER HOW BAD 

the warpers are running the tension 
on the yarn is never considered or 
the creels ever examined. 

There is one chief fault that can 
be found with most overseers in cot- 
ton mills, and that is, that instead of 
making sure first that the machines 
under their care are in proper order, 
they will at once find fault with the 
work received from the preceding 
processes. My advice to any person 
having charge of machinery, is to 
study the object and principle of the 
machines of which they have charge 
ViThen there is trouble before trying 
to blame the other fellow. Try and 
see things clearly. For instance, when 
much breakage is found on the warp- 
ers if the overseer in charge will stop 
and study how the different parts of 
a warper can get out of order or wear 
to such an extent as to cause tlie 
breakage, instead of finding fault 
with the construction of the yam, the 
trouble in most cases will be more 
quickly remedied, with the result that 
he will have more comfort. The idea 
that because the work ran good last 
week is an indication that the warp- 
ers are in good condition is wrong, 
both in practice and theory. Warp- 
ers in very poor condition will run 
fairly well when good stock is in proc- 
ess, and the 

DEFECTS WILL ONLY SHOW 

when the stock is poor. The writer 
while writing on the above subject 
for a local newspaper in the city In 
which he lives, was invited to one of 
the local mills by a superintendent of 
a mill where the warping was very 
bad. The writer was told by the su- 
perintendent that he had alreadj 
changed the carder, spinner, and 
spooling overseers, and that the 
new men made no difference. The 
American Wool and Cotton RepokT" 
EK has recently pointed out in a con- 
troversy with a superintendent of one 



440 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



oif the largest plants in the country, 
that changing the men in charge ol 
worn out machinery, or machinery not 
having the different parts properly 
adjusted, will not remedy diflBculties, 
if the overseers in charge are not al- 
lowed to change conditions, or no sup- 
plies given to remedy the latter. The 
writer instead of examining the yarn, 
examined the creels, and found the 
skewers of most ispools to be worn 
to such an extent that the majority 
of the spools rubbed on the strips 
that support the steps for the skew- 
er. In other tiers, the steps were 
found to have fallen from (the frame 
worK of the creel, and instead of the 
skewer revolving as it should have 
done, the spool revolved on 
the skewer, thus creating a great 
amount of unnecessary strain on the 
yarn besides wearing the spools, which 
causes them to vibrate on the spooler 
spindles. If the thread keeps break- 
ing upon the warps, it will possibly 
stop the machine 100 times before the 
beam is full. If there are twenty of 
those kinds of threads in the creel, it 
will 

MULTIPLY THE TROUBLE 

in proportion and this lessens 
the production of the warper, besides 
making imperfect cloth. The writer 
examined the creels first, simply be- 
cause he knew that the chief 
aim in good warping is to have the 
creel so arranged and all parts so ad- 
justed that the different ends will 
be unwound with the least possible 
strain. Even if I knew that the yarn 
in process was not properly construct- 
ed, I would examine the creels and 
other parts of the warper, and then 
when all parts are properly adjusted, 
and with proper tension on the yarn, 
the construction of the latter 
should b© given attention. The spools 
•hat break back the most should be re- 
moved from the creel by the warper 
tenders, and given to the overseer, 
who should reel the yarn, size it, and 
then place it on the breaking machine 
in order to find its strength. When 
the writer found th© creels in the con- 
dition istated above, he advised the 



.superintendent, to have all the creels 
taken apart in tiers, then lay all the 
tiers on the floor and a straight edge 
placed at the top of the tiers and also 
at the bottom, and if they are found 
to be uneven when the steps are in 
line with the straight edge, they 
should be planed or sawed even. Then 
metal or glass steps should be insert- 
ed in the strips that support the spools, 
and by this method the least pos- 
sible resistance to the turning of the 
spools is obtained. When the creel 
is set up again, it should be made to 
occupy a 

PERFECTLY VERTICAL POSITION 
by the use of a spirit level. By this 
method if the tiers and steps were 
perfectly lined to the straight edge, 
when the creel is made to occupy a 
perfectly vertical position, all the skew- 
ers will occupy a perfectly perpendic- 
ular position, and the spools will run 
between the strips, and not rub on the 
latter, as found in almost all cotton 
mills; besides the skewers will revolve 
in the steps instead of the spools re- 
volving on the skewers, thus saving 
the spools and preventing vibration 
on the spooler spindles, and thus re- 
moving much strain from the yarn. 
After a warper creel has been proper- 
ly adjusted, the skewers should be 
examined and if found to be slightly 
worn, they should be thrown into the 
nre room. Skewers are very cheap, 
and when they are slightly worn, they 
cause the spool to move laterally, 
which causes the spool to rub on the 
tier strip, thus increasing the strain 
on the yarn. A spool will run in the 
above position for a time, until the 
skewer is worn badly and then it will 
for a time turn at intervals, and more 
strain is on the yarn. Eventually, the 
skewer wears to such an extent, that 
it is at a standstill, and the spool 
must revolve on it, and there is of 
course, still more strain on the yarn. 
Most readers after reviewing an ar- 
ticle will generally tell you that 

THEY ARE TIRED 
of reading such stuff in the papers. 
But let me ask the reader why it Is 
that the American Wool and Cotton 



COTTON MILL MANAGi2MENT 



441 



Repokter is continually pointing out 
defects that exist in most cotton 
mills, and that are very costly in most 
cases, and nothing is done after read- 
ing such articles even after the proper 
remedy has heen given? If the read- 
er is a mill manager, let him examine 
the defects that have already been 
pointed out by the American Wool 
AND Cotton Repobtek, and he will 
rind them to exist in most all mills. 
Let me ask again of th© mill man- 
agers how long ago it is sine© they 
leveled the warper creels, or since they 
had all the skewers examined and the 
worn out ones taken out of the creels? 
1 dare say that very few mill men 
could answer the above question to 
their credit. The most trouble found 
at this writing in one of the largest 
plants in Fall River, Mass., is the 
large amount of breakage of ends 
In the warper. We never hear of 
warpers being leveled, or readjusted, 
still all mill men must admit that 
there Is more wear on the warper 
skewers than on any other piece of 
mechanism. This, of course, is due to 
the weight of the spool when full, 
which is of considerable weight, (es- 
pecially in very coarse mills), and be- 
sides, the skewers are seldom if ever 
oiled. Again, owing to the warper 
creel occupying such a large amount 
of floor space, the least disturbance 
of its foundation disturbs the position 
of the tiers and consequently of the 
spools. You will find some mills which 
will not even buy skewers, and many 
overseers will cut up the sticks used 
in the springs of the warp drawing ma- 
chine for skewers. No. 165. 



CLXVI. WARPER TROUBLES. 

When a large amount of breakage 
of ends is giving trouDle at the warp- 
ers and the creels are found to be in 
good condition, the tension or strain 
on the yarn should next receive atten- 
tion, 'ihe amount of tension that 
should be on the yarn can best be 
gauged by watching the drop or rise 
roll when the warper stops. If there 
are too many weights on the chain, 
the rise roll will rise quickly. 



When the warper is stopped for any 
cause, the momentum of the spools 
causes considerable yarn to be un- 
wound, and this slack in the yarn al- 
lows the warper to be started ahead of 
the spools, with the result that many 
ends will break, owing to the sudden 
pull on the yarn necessary to again 
start the spools. If the drop roll is 
too heavy, we have the same effect. 
Many overseers will no doubt 
take little notice of the above, and 
at the same time, perhaps their 
warper tenders are finding fault with 
the amount of breakage on the warp- 
ers. For the benefit of the overseer 
of warping who conceives the idea that 
the tension on warpers is always right, 
Idt us ask how it is that under the 
best of conditions, if you stand at the 
end of a line of warpers, it is seldom 
you will find them all in operation, 
even when none are doffing? No mill 
man can deny the above. 
If the warper 

WILL STOP OFTEN 

when the yarn is properly constructed, 
what can be expected when the yarn 
comes in poor? Let us ask again why 
it is that an attachment known as a 
cone drive is provided on some warp- 
ers by means of which the beam may 
be driven at a slower speed as the 
spools become nearly empty, as some 
overseers of warping seem to believe, 
if the tension is right at all times? 
When a spool is filled with yarn it 
is larger in diameter when the 
beam is smaller in diameter, and 
although the spools are heav- 
eir when filled, the necessary 
pull to unwind the yarn is not 
as great as when the spool is nearly 
empty, owing to the reduced leverage. 
On the other hand, when the spool is 
smallest, the diameter of the beam is 
largest, and here we have two 
extremes, namely, the extra pull 
on the yarn caiised by the di- 
ameter of the spool being small, 
and the extra pull on the yarn by the 
largest diameter of the beam driving 
the smallest diameter of the spool, thus 
causing the spool when nearly emp>ty 
to make a much gi eater number of 
revolutions per minute. 



442 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



In order to illustrate the dlfferencs 
in the speed of the spool (not using 
the cone drive) when the beam winds 
on the first layer of yarn, and when it 
winds on the last layer, and at the 
same time to show how important it 
is to watch the tension on the warp- 
ers, the following example is given: 

Let us assume that when the beam 
Is empty, or winding on the first layer 



niit that the above dimensions are not 
exaggerated, as it is well known that 
the actual difference is greater. From 
the above it should be seen that when 
warpers are not equipped with the cone 
drive attachment the tension should be 
watched at all times, because it is to 
overcome the above defect that the 
cone drive has been introduced. Of 
course it must be understood 




Fig. 53. Rear View of a Warper. 



of yarn its diameter is 12 inches, 
and v/hen full, 24 inches, and the spool 
when full is three inches in diameter, 
and when nearly empty one and one- 
half inches. We have when the spools 
are full and the 

BEAM WINDING 

on the first layer of ends: 12x12 divided 
by 3 equals 48 revolutions of spools. 
When the beam is nearly full and the 
spools nearly empty we have: 12x24 di- 
vided by 1.5 equals 192 revolutions of 
spools. All practical mill men will ad- 



that no miitter how much attention 
is given to the tension it oannot be 
regulated so as to give the same re- 
sults as when using the cone drive. 
The amount of breakage of ends 
can be reduced to a large degree by 
having the drop or rise roll so ad- 
justed that when the warper is stop- 
ped the roll will be lowered or raised 
gradually so as to bring the spools to 
a stop without unwinding an unnec- 
essary amount of yarn. 

The necessary tension will then be 
obtained when the warper is stopped, 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



443 



so that the spools will start at the 
same time as the beam. When warp- 
ers are run under such conditions, the 
best results are obtained, and a 
larger production with a better qual- 
ity of cloth is the result. But 
it must be said, with regret, that 
the above conditions are seldom found 
in the warping department of most 
mills, and if the reader is a mill man- 
ager and a bit skeptical about what has 
been said, let him stand at the end of 
a line of warpers and see how often 
they are all running together. 
When a warper stops, let him ex- 
amine the amount of slack that is gen- 
erally found on the yarn, and it will 
be seen that in most cases the condi- 
tions are as stated above. How often 
do we find the warper tender coming 
to the overseer and telling him that 
conditions are so bad that she is un- 
able to 

START THE WARPER, 
owing to so many ends breaking every 
time an attempt is made? All practical 
men know that the above incident hap- 
pens often, and what is done about it? 
The warper tenders are frequently told 
that the work is coming in a little 
light, or the stock is very pooi-, 
and she is asked to struggle 
along under such conditions until the 
work is again heavy or until the poor 
stock runs out. No attempt is made 
to remedy conditions. The overseen- 
may not even examine the work or the 
warpers, simply because he has a fixed 
idea that the trouble is in the pre- 
ceding pi'ocesses or in the stock. 
There are overseers who will, upon 
receiving complaints from warp- 
er tenders, find some means of 
relieving the tension, even if the cause 
is due to defects in the preceding proc- 
esses, or in the stock. By so doing 
the conditions are improved at once, 
and the warper tender takes off a larg- 
er and better production with less la- 
bor. The above is the very reason why 
some mills have an abundance of warp- 
er te^nders seeking work, while other 
mills have warpers stopped for heln, the 
price per pound and class of work be- 
ing the same. The ends from the 
spools are threaded through a drop 



wire, which is either held upright or 
in some cases entirely suspended by 
the thread. In case an end or more 
breaks, the drop wire that it supports 
falls, and, by suitable mechanism, the 
machine is stopped. There are two 
methods used to stop the machine 
when any ends break. One is me- 
chanical and stops the machine by 
means of the drop wires coming in 
contacit with an oscillating finger that 
knocks off the shipper and shifts the 
belt to the loose pulley. The other 
also uses drop wires, but the stop mo- 
tion is operated by electricity. 

No. 166. 



CLXVII. MEASURING ROLLS. 

After passing through the drop 
wires of the stop-motion, the yarn 
next passes through the expansion 
comb, which is simply to uniformly 
distribute the sheet of yarn, and then 
over the measuring roll. This roll is 
sometimes the chief cause of an un- 
equal length of yarn. 

A slight difference in the diameter 
of the measuring roll will make a vast 
difference in the total length of the 
yam, owing, in most cases, to the fact 
that the measuring roll revolves four 
times for each yard. By referring to 
the constant table for beams, it will 
be found that eight raps of 3,000 yards 
will make a total of 24,000 yards. 
So it should be seen that a very slight 
variation of only one two-hund'redth 
of an inch will make a great deal of 
difference in the total length of the 
yarn. However, it must be admitted 
that the above defect is seldom found 
to exist, the writer having only 
found two mills where there was a dif- 
ference amounting to anything. 

If the reader is a mill superintendent 
it might pay him to caliper the meas- 
uring rolls on his warpers if the 
amount of waste made between the 
warpers and slashers is large. 

The overseer of warping should see 
that the grooves cut on the barrel are 
always in good condiition. Again, it 
should be seen that when 

CHANGING THE TENSION 
on the yarn tjie total length of i^ 



444 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



will be aft'eoted. When the measur- 
ing rolls are found to vary slightly in 
diameter, they should be made uni- 
form by adding one or more coats of 
paint to the rolls having the smaller di- 
ameter. 

The chief point to watch on a warp- 
er in order to reduce the friction is to 
see that the measuring rolls run free 
at all times, because lack of oil, end 
play of the roll, or if the roll is slightly 
sprung, the total length of the yarn 
will be affected. The measuring mo- 
tion on all warpers can be reduced so 
that from 1,000 to 3,500 yards can be 
run on a beam. 

Some mills run eight raps of 3,000 
yards on a beam, while others run 
seven raps of 3,500 yards, others hav- 
ing different lengths, depending mostly 
on the length of the cuts, and also the 
size of the spools. Many rules 
are given to find the actual production 
of a warper. One found in our tex- 
tile schools is to first find the 
figured production and then deduct 
twenty-five to thirty-five per cent from 
the production figured on the basis 
that the warpers are run constantly. 
They tell us that such an allowance 
must be made, as warpers are usually 
stopped from 1.25 to 1.50 hours for 
creeling at every set of spools run off. 

As with the spoolers, it must be ad- 
mitted that the production on a warp- 
er cannot be correctly figured, because 
all figured rules must wind up with 
estimates. The only way to find the 
weight of yarn upon any beam is to 
first weigh the beam and mark the 
weight in the beam head with chalk, 
and if the beams are not taken from 
one mill to another, this weight should 
be left on them, but if the 

BEAMS ARE TRANSFERRED, 
and as in most cases, left exposed to all 
kinds of weather, the empty beam 
should be reweighted, and the new 
weight marked on the beam head. 
When the full beam is weighed, 
the actual weight of the empty beam 
Is deducted from tha;t of the full beam, 
and, as stated elsewhere, to find the 
actual weight of the yarn, the waste 
made between the warpers and slashers 
should *^e deducted from the produc- 



tion found on the sJate, which 
can be found by the rule previously 
given. When beams are exposed, es- 
pecially in rainy weather, the increase 
in weight is surprising, and the above 
has often been the cause of making 
yarn of a proper size lighter, which 
causes so much trouble in any mill, 
especially if 'the stock is poor. It is 
useless to figure the production of any 
warper by the length of the yarn de- 
livered in a minute. Besides, the above 
estimate will vary in different mills, 
owing to the quality of the yarn and 
the number of warpers being run by 
each tender. Again, you will find some 
warper tenders who can doff a set of 
spools in only one hour, sometimes 
less, while it will take other tenders 
in some cases over two hours. Why is 
it that most warper tenders do not use 
knot tiers? Some mill managers 
will tell you that they are use- 
less, because all the knots are 
wound on the empty beam, and aa 
this part of the yarn goes into wasxe, 
the construction or quality of the 
knots are not considered. Although 
the above is true, let us ask the mill 
men how many piecings a warper ten- 
der makes from the commencement 
to the ending of the beam. 

It must be admitted, as on the spool- 
er, that warper tenders, as well as 
spooler tenders, will make defective 
knots, and for this reason they, too, 
should use the knotter. Ft is admitted 
by most manufacturers that the knot- 
ter has not only increased their pro- 
duction of spooling with a better qual- 
ity of yarn, but it has also increased 
the production of weaving, besides im- 
proving the quality of the cloth. That 
the knotter has accomplished the 
above no one can deny; then why not 
use this wonderful little machine at 
the warpers and again Improve con- 
ditions? No. 167. 



CLXVIll. BEAMS. 

When warps are sold by the pound, 
which is the usual method, if the 
beams are too light, the purchaser is 
paying more than the contract calls 
for, and for this reason orders are 
often cancelled, On the other hand, 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



445 



if the beams are on the heavy side, the 
mill is losing pounds of yarn that are 
very costly at this stage of manufac- 
ture. The warpers are the most 
aeglected machines in a cotton mill, 
and their neglect does aftect the yarn. 
If their parts are not properly adjustea, 
it is expensive, because even if the 
beams are not sold, they are on the 
heavy side and the filling must 
be made correspondingly light, as be- 
fore stated. The beam on which the 
yarn is wound consists usually of a 
iiarrel made of wood, while the heads 
are made of cast iron. Recently, there 
has been placed on the market a beam 
of all wood which has proved a com- 
plete failure. The metal heads are 
best, owing to the enormous weight of 
yarn that is usually placed on the 
beam, which proves too much for the 
wor>den heads. A beam head should be 
tightened when taken out at the slash- 
er, because it is often found that 
the head on a beam works loose 
vvhile being filled at the warper, allow- 
ing a portion of yarn to get between 
the head and body of beams, causing 
what is termed hitch backs at the 
slasher. 

As stated, warping is divided into 
several dilTerent classes according to 
thie manner in which the yarn is 
treated, and for th© benefit of those 
who have worked in print clblh mills 
only, the difference will be explained. 
Too often we find good men in print 
cloth mills offered good positions in 
fine goods mills who refuse them, 
simply because they are told that 
the yarn is treated in so many differ- 
ent ways in different fine goods mills, 
that the idea that they will not make 
good frightens them. What we have 
said about warpers applies to all kinds; 
that is, about the creel, tension, 
etc. The reason why the yarn is 
treated in several ways is simply be- 
cause the warp yarn is not used for 
the same class of finished goods. 

This is why a different system of 
making warp is often used, which 
is known as chain warping. Again, 
where warps are required with only a 
few ends, or for any special purposes, 
a. ball warper is used, but it should 



bfe understood that it is practically the 
same as a beam warping, except that 
it has 

A LEASING DEVICE 

and winds the yarn on wooden or 
paper cylinders instead of beams. 
This is readily understood, and any 
man who is successful on warpers in 
a print cloth mill, will do well in a 
fine goods mill. A large number of 
ends collected together form a chain, 
and like yarn, it may be either single 
or ply. 

The ends of which the chain consist 
must, of course, be of the same length, 
but the chains may be made of dif- 
ferent lengths. This method is fa- 
vored by mills producing warps for 
sale, as it offers, without damage, 
transportation facilities that are not 
possible in the beam-warping system. 
Another reason is, that it is far' more 
convenient and les'S expensive when 
transported, and also the most con- 
venient form In which to bfeach, dye, 
and otherwise treat the yarn. Some 
mills instead of using the balling de- 
vice, put up the chain in bags, or 
they link the chains, but these meth- 
ors do not give the same transporta- 
tion facilities as when put up in the 
form of a ball, and for this reason 
it is the most common method of 
putting up chains. When, after warp- 
ing, the chain is linked, it is arranged 
to resemble the links of any ordinary 
chain. When balled, the chain is 
coiled into a round or cylindricaj 
form, by means of a guide fork, re- 
turn wheel and trumpet, from which 
it is wound on a wooden core. The 
word chain is misunderstood by some 
people, they conceive the idea that 
the term applies only to that form of 
chain that is linked and not balled 
This is erroneous, as the term may be 
applied to either form. Again, it 
should be understood, that although 
the chains are generally made 

OF WARP YARN, 

filling yarn is sometimes put up in 
chains also, and for this reason tne 
term is not sufficiently comprehensive. 
Chains like beams aro made in va- 



446 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



rious lengths, according to the pur- 
pose for which they are intended. 

For this reason, when a man 
changes from a print cloth to a fine 
goods mill, his first requisite is to 
obtain a knowledge of the uses of 
chains and of later processes neces- 
sary to convert them into the most 
suitable form for use. This is neces- 
sary in order to have a knowledge 
of the reasons for making chains in 
different ways, which increases the 
possibility of constructing suitable 
chains intelligently. The man from the 
print cloth mill should understand 
that the chain is the same as the 
^arp, and th© chief particulars re- 
quired are the counts of the yarn., the 
total length of the chain and the num- 
ber of ends in the chain. The cal- 
culations are the same as those for 
the warp. No. 168. 



CLXIX. MAKING CHAINS, 

Chains like warps are marked to 
indicate the length, and the only dif- 
ference is that, the warps are marked 
in the slasher by a coloring matter, 
which makes a slight impression at 
the end of each cut, while with chains 
the operator ties a loose band around 
or through the chain which serves as 

A CUT MARK 
The reason for this is that owing to 
the chain warp being dyed, bleach- 
ed, etc., it would not be advisable to 
mark the cuts with colors. The loose 
bands that are used for cut marks, 
pass through the bleaching and other 
processes, and are not removed until 
they reach the beaming process, 
and a fresh mark is made either by 
coloring or otherwise to indicate the 
cut mark for the weaver. Short chain 
warps do not pass through the slash- 
er, but instead, are dressed or beam- 
ed to a loom beam after having been 
put through the process for which they 
were intended. 

Any intelligent person having a 
good knowledge of warping in a print 
cloth mill, should in a short time be- 
come proficient in this system. Long 
chains are not marked, because they 
are afterwards beamed to a section 
beam, and then run through a slasher. 



and the cuts are marked automatical- 
ly. A long chain of filling yarn is not 
marked, because the chain is after- 
v/ard quilled to shuttle bobbins, 
and for this reason it should be seen 
that marks of any kind would be un- 
desirable. One point that must be 
considered when figuring the cuts or 
leases, is the loss of yarn, or in othei' 
words, the unevemness found in tJie 
length of yarn in most print cloth 
mills. The yarn in 

A FINE GOODS MILL, 
is worth in most cases twice as much 
as that made in print cloth mills, and 
a slight variation in the length of 
the chains would change what might 
be a profit into a loss. Too little at- 
tention is given to the measuring of 
rolls in most print cloth mills, and 
this carelessness would never do in a 
fine goods mill. 

For this reason a good point is to 
constantly watch the tension, diame- 
ter, and conditions of the measuring 
rolls. It has been pointed out that 
the variation of tension will affect the 
length of the yarn produced at the 
warper, and for this reason when 
changing from one style of yam to 
another, the tension should be adjust- 
ed to suit the weight of the spools, 
and also of the yarn. When the rolls 
are painted, they should all be made 
to have the same exact diameter, and 
should be examined often to see that 
they run perfectly true. 

As a rule, the measuring roll on a 
warper is 21 inches in diame- 
ter or nine inches in circumference, 
with gearing arranged so that 
3,000 yards of yarn pass the 
measuring roll when the barrel makes 
one complete revolution. 

On the end of the measuring roll 
shaft is a single threaded worm driv- 
ing a worm gear of 60 teeth. On the 
other end of the shaft carrying the 
60-worm gear is a spur gear of 20 
teeth, which, by means of 

A CARRIER GEAR, 
drives a gear of 100 teeth that drives 
a shaft with a single worm which 
drives a gear of 40 teeth on the barrel. 
Assuming the measuring roll to be ^ 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



447 



inches in circumference, as It should 
be at all times with the above gearing, 
we have, 1x60x100x40 divided by 1x20 
xl equals 12,000x9 divided by 36 equals 
C,000 yards. 

As a rule, the barrel has 10 spiral 
grooves in which the projection rests, 
and from the above calculations, it 
can be seen that with ten complete 
turns of the barrel we have 10x3,000 
yards equals 30,000 yards, which would 
be measured if only one-half the 
grooves, 5x3,000 yards equals 15,000 
yards, would pass the measuring roll. 
Short chains as a rule are only of a 
limited length, sufllcient to fill one loom 
beam, which is generally less than 1,- 
000 yards, and sometimes slightly 
greater than this, while the 
long chain system is used for mak- 
ing chains of much greater length as 
stated, sometimes as long as 12,000 
yards or even more. Th© writer 
gives the following rule that will be 
found, beneficial to overseers in 
charge of the warping department. 
With such a rule, you can tell by the 
diameter of the full beam whether 
the yarn is coming in heavy or light, 
or if the warper tenders are running 
on extra lengths of yarn, or if the 
paint is wearing off the rolls. j.o 
takes about 60 cubic inches to hold 
a pound of yam. Rule for finding the 
number of pounds of yarn on a beam: 
Multiply the sum of the diameters of 
the barrel and full beam by the dif- 
ference of their diameters, then mul- 
tiply by .7854, and then multiply by 
the length between the beam heads, 
giving the cubic inches of 

YARN ON THE BEAM 
when full. Example: If circumference 
of barrel is 9 inches, diameter of full 
beam 24 inches, and 541 inches be- 
tween the heads we have 9 plus 24x 
15x.7854x544 equals 21090.935 divided 
by 60 equals 351 pounds of yarn on the 
beam. When a beam is full and 
ridges exist, this indicates a wrong 
division of the ends in the comb, and 
should be attended to at once, because 
if the ridges are of a considerable size 
it will cause the yarn to snap at the 
slasher when the end is on the high- 
est part of the ridge. No, 169. 



CLXX. BALL WARPING. 

Whien the beam is soft on the sides, 
this indicates that the comb has not 
been adjusted to suit the width of 
the beam. As stated, a balling warp- 
er is the ordinary section-beam warp- 
er used in the regular cotton-warp 
preparation system for making sec- 
tion beams and so constructed that 
it can be used in both systems. When 
a warper is intended to only maPie 
balls, a balling attachment is placed 
ill front of it, which consists of a 
guide fork, pulley, trumpet, and 
wooden core. On a balling warper the 
yarn instead of winding down on a 
iieam, passes from the front roll 
to a guide fork that guides the yarn 
on what is known as a return pulley 
situated at quite a distance 
from the front of the warper. The 
yarn passes over the return pulley 
and through a trumpet which guides 
the yarn on the wooden core laterally 
back and forth, forming the ball. Be 
fore continuing any farther on ball 
warping it is necessary for those who 
have not worked in fine goods mills 
to understand 

SOMETHING ABOUT LEASES. 

By the explanations already given 
about warpers, it is understood that the 
ends pass through the aifferent 
parts of the warper onto the beam, 
and at the same time, maintain 
their position with relation to one 
another until they arrive at the loom, 
where they can be woven off without 
entanglement. It is much difl'erent 
with chain warpers, which are formed 
by collecting a large number of ends 
together, making what may be termed 
a loose rope tied at intervals through- 
out its length. 

When a chain is very short, leases 
are always taken at each end of the 
complete chain, the distance between 
intervals depending on the length of 
the chain. For instance, if a chain is 
made 10,000 yards long, a lease should 
be taken at every 500 yartls as a pre- 
cautionary measure in case that an ac- 
cident may happen at any time during 
its passage through the converting of 
beaming process, with the result that 



448 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



the ends will become entangled and 
broken to such an extent, that the 
warp must be out where such trouble 
occurs and a fresh start made at the 
next lease. 

The above is just what happens 
when long chains are tied at every 
1,000 yards, and thus by saving only 
a few minutes labor, many pounds of 
costly yarn are spoiled, which amounts 
to quitie an item at this sitage of man- 
ufacture, especially in a fine goods 



mill differ from those of a print cloth 
mill to such an extent that the vast 
difference is only realized when the 
systems of both mills are examined 
from top to bottom. This vast dif- 
ference has been the cause of good 
men refusing good positions, simply 
because they did not expect to make 
good, and although such reading may 
be a little tiring to the people of a fine 
goods mill, it must be admitted that 
such iniformation is necessary 'and 





Fig. 55. Ball Warper. 



mill. Although the knowledge of 
different leases is of 

NO GREAT IMPORTANCE 
and well understood by most all per- 
sons working in a fine goods mill, their 
differences are explained here, because 
the writer is aware that it will be in- 
teresting, and instructive as well, to 
those who never had the pleasure of 
visiting a fine goods mill or to those 
who have spent their mill life in a 
print cloth mill. It has been the writ- 
er's aim from the beginning of these 
articles, to give the readers of the 
American Wool and Cotton Reportek 
as many original practical points about 
a cotton mill as possible. But the sys- 
tems and operations of a fine goods 



valuable to any person contemplating 
a change, and the writer's aim is to 
encourage such people so they will 
take a chance, and by so doing per- 
haps better themselves. 

In order to explain chain warp- 
ing without confusing the reader, the 
kinds of leases and their object must 
be explained. The difference between 

A THREAD LEASE, 
pin lease, open lease, bunch-knot 
lease, bout lease, lease bands, and 
water bands, must be understood by 
all persons having charge of any de- 
partment in any fine goods mill. 
Thread leases are used at the chain 
warping so that the ends will remain 
in the same position with relation to 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



449 



one anotlier that tixey occupy in the 
loom. A thread lease is taken by 
raising every alternate end which 
forms an opening through tho warp, 
one-half of the warp forming the top 
of the shed and the other half the bot- 
tom. 

The above can be best understood 
by print cloth people, by considering 
the object of the lease rods on a plain 
loom, where it is customary to pass 
one series of alternate ends over, and 
the other series undier the lease rods 
behind the harnesses of the loom. 
The object of this on a plain loom is 
CO effectually separate the ends of 
yarn in readiness for passing through 
the harnesses and reed, even if any 
two or more ends are held together 
through improper sizing, etc. The 
thread lease is taken instead at the 
chain warper when the shed is opened, 
when what is termed a lease band is 
passed through this opening and the 
warp is then closed and opened again 
by reversing the position of the ends 
and forming another shed. Another 
band is then passed through the sec- 
ond shed and the ends of the two lease 
bands are tied. The reason for this 
should b© seen, because the lease 
bands when tied provide a means of 
maintaining the lease throughout the 
succeeding processes, and at the same 
time, 

THE WARP ENDS 

are iseparated into two equal portions. 
A band lease is a cord or band that 
is used for taking and maintaining the 
lease which consists of a number ol 
ends of yarn, usually from ten to twen- 
ty-ply. These bands are made usually 
from the tail ends of the beams at 
the slasher, cut up in different 
lengths to suit the number of 
ends in the chain, and are as a 
rule made of a different number of 
ends. This is done so that in case 
of dispute the warp can be 
identified by the number of plys in 
the lease, and in this way, the warps 
made from a certain mill, or a certain 
beamer that is in any way defective, 
can easily be traced back. A water 
band is used simply to prevent en- 



tanglement in boiling the warp pre- 
paratory to the converting process. 
They are made of a larger number of 
ends than the lease bands, and are 
made into loops when tied around all 
the ends of the warp. A thread lease 
differs from a pin lease, because with 
a pin lease the warp instead of being 
separated at every alternate end is 
separated into alternate groups ot 
any desired small number of ends that 
must be lifted by a harness or har- 
nesses. For instance, the ends in 
the warp are separated so as to 
form a shed with 6 ends down, the 
next 6 ends up, the third group of 
6 ends down, and the fourth group ot 
6 ends up, and so on throughout the 
width of the warp, when a lease band 
is then passed through the shed. 
Then by 

REVERSING THE POSITION 
of the ends another shed is formed 
/ind another band is passed "^h rough 
this shed and the ends of the two 
bands tied. The chief use of pin 
lease is to form a coarse division of 
the ends to make their separation 
easier at the beaming procesis, because 
it takes much less time to separate the 
warp in groups either small or large 
than to separate each individual end. 
A pin lease is used to advantage in 
the dyeing and bleaching processes, 
a,s it makes it easier to split the warp 
into sections to make up the assortment 
of threads forming different patterns 
in the warp. No. 170. 



CLXXI. THE OPEN LEASE. 

An open lease is used where two 
consecutive thread leases are taken 
when in a reverse position to one an- 
other, which leaves the warp open be- 
tween them. When the ends are 
divided by hand into groups 
equivalent in size to several of 
the groups formed by a pin 
lease, it is called a bout lease. Some- 
times chains are ordered split, and 
must be divided into two equal 
parts, which is termed a large bout, 
and the two parts of the chain are 
kept separate by lease bands. When 
a warp is cut off, what is known as 



460 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



bunoh-lmot leases, are formed at tlie 
ends of each warp, by taking a hand 
lease, dividing the warp into 4 or 6 
approximately equal sections together. 
From what has been said, it can be 
seen that the only difference between 

THE WARPING DEPARTMENT 
in a coarse and fine mill is that in 
the coarse mill the ends formmg 
the beam pass from the warper in a 
level, even sheet, maintaining their 
position with relation to one another 
until they arrive at the loom, whence 
they can be woven off without en- 
tanglement, while in the fine goods 
mill, or where colored yarns are pro- 
duced, chain warps are formed by col- 
lecting the ends into a loose rope, or 
yarn, grouped at intervals, which is 
accomplished by inserting leases as 
was explained. Not forgetting that 
we are studying ball warping, it 
should now be understood that the 
thread lease is the kind usually taken 
on the ball warper, for which it is 
customary to use a reed. 

A reed is used to make leasing 
easy. This reed is so constructed, that 
alternate ends pass through eyes in 
the steel wires which form the reed, 
while the other ends pass between 
the wires of the reed. When it is 
necessary to take a lease, the reed is 
raised and the ends in the eyes of 
the wire in the reed are also raised, 
while lowering the latter depresses 
these endis. 

On the other hand, the ends between 
the dents are not acted upon by the 
miovement of the reed, thus a shed 
is formed. As stated, the yam on a 
balling warper is maintained in an 
even ho-rizonital siheet until it reaches 
the front roll. Prom the front roll it 
passes to a guide fork that serves to 
condense the yarn into a chain, and 
then it passes over a pulley called 

THE RETURN WHEEL, 
because the yam must be returned to 
the balling attachment which is situat- 
ed where the beam is found in the or- 
dinary warping system. The return 
pulley is revolved freely by the yam 
passing over it, and serves merely as 
a guide for the chain in Its passage 



to the balling attachment. The re- 
turn pulley is mounted on a stand 
fastened to the floor. From the return 




Fig. 



56. Enlarged view of 
Stand For Ball Warper. 



Floor 



pulley the yarn passes through a trump- 
et which properly lays the chain in 



eOTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



451 



spiral coils on the core. The balling 
attachment consists of two sampsons 
secured together by means of bars 
fastened at each side. The two Samp- 
sons are tapered at their upper part 
and each has a slot that serves as 
a support and guide for the shaft upon, 
which the wooden core is mounted. 

The core or ball is made to re- 
volve by two rolls on which the core 
and ball rests, which are connected 
by gearing so as to revolve at the 
same circumferential speed. 

The trumpet through which the 
chain passes, is given a traverse mo- 
tion in order to produce the cj'^lin- 
drical form of ball desired. When only 
one ball is formed at a time, the width 
of the traverse is generally almost 
equal to the length of the core. 

The trumpet is given a traverse mo- 
tion by means of a heavy steel screw 
or shaft that has a continuoius double 
thread deeply cut into its surface, and 
by one thread being right hand and 
the other left hand, the 

TRAVERSE IS OBTAINED 

by means of a pin that fits into the 
two threads, and as the pin is cast 
with the bracket which supports the 
trumpet it follows the pin. 

As on all other machines having 
a traverse motion for the laying of 
the strand, the speed of the screw- 
shaft can be regulated so as to give 
a closed or an open spiral wind of the 
chain on the core. As on the warp- 
er previously explained, the temsion 
must be given much attention, so that 
the tension for winding the yam will 
be practically the same throughout 
the formation of the ball. 

This is accomplished by means of 
a friction pulley, partly around which 
passes a friction strap that is secured 
to a stud on one side of the pulley, 
and at the other end to a weighted 
lever, by which the tension can be 
regulated. The principle of this de- 
vice is to counterbalance the decrease 
in the amount of power required to 
overcome the friction. The counter- 
balance is accomplished by a strap 
which acts upon the small diameter of 
the scroll, so that when a ball is first 



started, a greater force is required to 
turn the friction pulley. As the ball 
fills it raises a casting, and the effec- 
tive diameter of tiie scroll increases 
so that the leverage of the strap is 
increased and less force is required 
to turn the friction pulley. In this 
w^ay the consumption of power is 
equalized from the commencing and 
ending of the formation of the 
ball. When the tension is less at the 
start than at the finish of the ball, 
the ends of the latter will bulge out, 
and when the tension is less at the 
finish than at the beginning, a soft 
ball is formed. No. 171. 



CLXXII. WARPING AND RETURN 
PULLEYS. 

To most people employed in the 
warping department of a fine goods 
mill, the reason for the use of a re- 
turn pulley is little understood by 
tliem. The writer has even heard 
overseers of this department remark 
that this device could be made obso- 
lete. There is no doubt but that a de- 
vice could be arranged to take the place 
of the return pulley, but it would be 
doubtful if it would work as well, 
because such a device would have to 
be in the form of a binder. a:nd it 
is safe to say that its efficiency would 
not be as great. For the convenience 
of illustration to give the reader an 
understanding as to why the return 
pulley is situated at such a distance 
from the balling attachment, we will 
assume for the present, that the re- 
turn pulley is placed at only 25 
inches from the core, and that 
the maximum width of the core is 
50 inches. With such an arrange- 
ment, it should be seen that the speed 
of the spools would vary, because as 
the distance in the central part of 
the core to the return pulley is only 
25 inches and over 30 inches at 
each end of the core, it is obvious that 
the spools w^ould be made to revolve 
faster as the trumpet approaches each 
end of the core, and that the speed 
decreases as the trumpet approaches 
the central part of the core. It is 



452 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



needless to say that sucti an arrange- 
ment would result in 

VERY BAD SPOOLING 
because It is for the above reason 
tJ3.at an attachment is provided for 
on heam warpers so as to equalize the 
speed of the spools. Again, it should 
be seen that with such an arrange- 
ment the speed of the spools would 
be changed at every traverse. 

The above is given to shiow that 
moving the return ■ pulley nearer to 
th© balling attachment is wrong, and 
Is the very reason for poor warp- 
ing in some fine goods mills. Some 
o\erseers will tell you that they g^t 
better warping by having the return 
pulley as close to the balling attach- 
ment as possible, and they point out 
that by reducing the distance from the 
front roll to the return pulley, 
the yarn will carry better, and conse- 
quently with less breakage. This is 
erroneous, because the amount ot dis- 
tance that the return pulley is moved, 
will more than destroy the above ad- 
vantage by the variation of the speed 
of the spools that a slight movement 
of the return pulley will cause, which 
causes much breakage in the creel. 

For the above reason, the return 
pulley is situated far enough to des- 
troy almost the variation of the spools 
caused by the angular position of the 
chain. There is no fixed distance', be- 
cause the distance depends upon the 
width of the core or ball to be formed. 
A good rule to gauge thie distance, is 
tc watoh the spools when they are 
nearly empty, as the variation in speed 
at each traverse will be noticed more 
at this point. It must be understood 
that no cone attachment is provided 
on the warper explained above. It is 
customary 

ON MOST BALL WARPERS 
to have an arrangement to register the 
number of yards of chain passing 
through the warper by means of a 
finger, sometimes two fingers, that in- 
dicates the number of yards on a 
dial, which is called a lease clock. 
Wlhen this measuring arrangement is 
used, an arrangement to stop the 
warper automatically when the de- 



sired length of chain has been warped 
is also provided for, and by means of 
a bell, the warper tender is notified. 
However, you will find in many mills 
that instead of having these two ar- 
rangements which work in combina- 
tion with .one another, the barrel is 
m.arked in divisions of one, two and 
five and the tender has to watch these 
marks continually at each warper, 
which is very Inconvenient. 

The above is one of the chief faults 
with most mill managers, they look 
at the initial cost too much. It seems 
that they do not realize that such ar- 
rangements quickly pay for them- 
selves. Imagine a tender running 
three warpers, and when she is tieing 
on one warper, she has to leave her 
work to come and watch the barrel, 
and although the writer is willing to 
admit, that most of these warper tend- 
ers can gauge the time very closely 
from experience, still it must be ad- 
mitted that the warning of a bell en- 
ables the tenders to turn off a greater 
production with less care, besides they 
are not so liable to run an extra 
length of yarn which happens often 
v,'hen 

LEASE CLOCKS 

are not provided. It also happens of- 
ten that the tender is unable to give 
the exact amount of short cuts run 
on a ball. Although cut lengths are 
generally about 50 yards, they are 
sometimes made (for samples) very 
short. The lease is inserted at reg- 
ular intervals, although the chain may 
be 12,000 yards long. For this reason 
it should he seen that when a cut 
is allowed to be run over that a 
great amount of yarn is sometimes 
made useless, and besides by having 
only the marks on the barrel to judge 
the distance to the next cut, the 
amount for the present is unknown. 

On the other hand with a lease clock 
the amount of yarn passing through 
is indicated to the yard. The change 
can easily be made, as the clock is 
driven from the shaft of the measur- 
ing roll, by the single worm previous- 
ly explained. This worm drives a 
worm-gear of 48 teeth, and on the 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



4g3 



same stud there is a spur gear of 16 
teeth, driving one l?;nown as the cut 
gear. On the same shaft with the cut 
gear is another which drives a gear of 
64 teeth. On this stud a 16-tooth gear 
drives a change gear called the lease 
change gear. By this gear the dif- 
ferent lengths between the leases are 
obtained when 

LONG CHAINS 

are run. On the same sleeve with the 
cut gear is a collar in which a notch 
is cut to allow a curved arm to drop 
into it when a cut has passed the 
measuring roll. When this drops into 
the notch on the collar, it causes a 
hammer to strike a small gong, which 
indicates to the warper tender that 
a cut has passed the measuring roll. 
The leases are marked in the same 
manner as on the beam warper, thar 
is, on the same stud with the lease 
change gear is a barrel carrying 
coarse spiral threads as on the bar- 
rel on the measuring roll found at 
the beam warper, between which 
rests also a projection. 

This barrel instead of having only 
one place at the end of the barrel for 
the projection to drop when the beam 
is full, has a groove cut length- 
wise along its surface, sufficiently wide 
and deep enough to allow the projec- 
tion to drop into it. So it can be 
seen, that - like the cuit change gear 
altering the length of the cuts, dif- 
ferent sizes of the lease gear give 
different lengths between the leases. 
The number of teeth in the change 
gear is such that the barrel will make 
one complete revolution, while the 
number of yards intended between 
lease bands is passing through the ma- 
chine, and at the same time, the bar- 
rel will have revolved so as to be in 
the right position for the projection to 
drop into the groove, which causes a 
bell to ring. The reader is now 
asked to stop and think, and consider 
how some mill managers stand in their 
own lighit, by not having such an ar- 
rangement. 

It can be seen from the above, that 
the warper tender knows when the 
gong rings tbat a cut has been com- 



pleted, and when the bell rings, that 
a lease has been completed, while on 
the other hand, a warper tender is 

ASKED TO REMEMBER 
all this by unreasonable managers, 
and if a mistake is made, which, ot 
course, happens often, the tender in 
most cases is- discharged, with the re- 
sult that new hands are found in such 
managed warping departments, and 
thie quality of the work is sure to 
suffer through poor management. 

No. 172. 



CLXXIII. WARPING CALCULA- 
TIONS. 

The lengths of cuts and leases are 
found by the following rules. The firsi 
thing to do is to find the constant for 
the cut change gear which is ob- 
tained as are all constants fac- 
tors, that is, call change gear one. 
Referring to the gearing already given, 
and assuming the measuring roll to be 
12 inches in circumference we have 
48x1x12 divided by 1x16x36 (inches in 
one yard) equal 1 constant factor. As- 
suming the cut gear to be 50, the con- 
stant being a factor, we have 50 di- 
vided by 1 equals 50 yards cut, or 50 
yards times 1 equals 50 change gear. 

Next find the lease change gear con- 
slant by leaving out the change gear 
and calling it one as in the above ex- 
ample. 48x50x64x1x12 divided by Ix 
16x16x16x36 equals 12.5 constant fac- 
tor. 

Assumiing the change gear to be 
60 teeth, we have 12.5x60 equals 750 
yard lease, or a 750-lease divided by 
12.5 equals 60 change gear. It can 
be seen by those that are able to 
figure that length of yarn on a beam 
in a print cloth mill, that the calcu- 
lations are similar, and just as easy, 
and that there is nothing to fear. 

The only difference is that a suit- 
able arrangement of the projections on 
the collar and barrel are connected 
with the stop-motion, and in this way, 
the warper is stopped at the 

END OP A CUT 
and of a lease and also at the end of 
a complete chain as on the beam warp- 
er when the beam is full. Many mill 



4S4 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT? 



men, in order to economize floor space, 
have the chain carried from the front 
roll on the warper to the ceiling of 
the room, and pass it over the return 
pulley that is fastened, to the ceiling, 
and then bring it down to the trump- 
et on the balling attachment. This 
is a very poor arrangement. In the 
first place, it is very inconvenient 
to pasis the chain over the return pul- 
ley, and in the second place, when a 
very wide ball is being formed and 
the speed of the spools is greatly 
affected at each traverse, the return 
pulley caimot be moved without gl\- 
ing ithe isheet an angular position, that 
would bother the operator more oi' 
less, besides it is seldom when such a 
space is available on any ceiling. The 
variation in isipeed of the spools or: 
a ball warper bothers moist when only 
oneiball is being made, when it usual- 
ly occupies the width of the core. No 
definite information can be given 
for making balls, as balls are sold the 
same as cloth; that is, the number of 
ends or the length and weight of a 
balled chain, is determined by the pur- 
chaser. When more than one ball is 
made at one time, the traverse 
screw must be changed to one that 
will suit the width of the balls. Three 
balls are often made at one time, 
but to do BO a 

TRAVERSE-GUIDE SHAFT 

with either two or three guides must 
be used, as the case requires, and 
the traverse shaft in each case must 
have the same number of sets of 
threads, so that each guide will be 
operated by these separate sets. 
When a very great number of 
ends are required, or when the 
chains must be balled and linked, the 
machine most commonly used for 
making such chains is known as the 
Denn warper. On the Denn warper, bo- 
sides a larger number of ends being 
possible, the chain can be made up of 
any reasonable desired length. Tho 
Denn warper is made with creels to 
hold from 1,000 to 4,000 spools, 
and although this is claimed by 
many writers to be an advantage, it 
is safe to say that it does not pay to 



have them with more than 2,500 ends. 
The reason for this is obvious, for, 
when a warper contains 4,000 spools, 
every time one end breaks 4,000 
spools are stopped. 

Although it must be admitted that 
the first cost is greatly reduced by 
adopting the largest creels, it will be 
found a small matter when com- 
pared with the total cost of the pro- 
duction that is felt weekly. What 
has already been said about the creels 
of the beam warper applies to the 
Denn warper as well. 

The chief difference is in the con- 
struction of the creels, which ow- 
ing to the necessity of providing for 
siTch a large number of spools quite, 
a few separate creels are used, the 
amount depending on the 

NUMBER OF ENDS. 

I'hey are all similar in construction 
and in tiers like the beam warper 
creel, and adjusted at the required 
distance so as to allow the largest 
spools to be inserted between the 
tiers. 

In order to reduce the friction im- 
mediately in front of the face of the 
creel from which the yarn is delivered, 
in case the mechanical stop-motion is 
used, are a series of vertical iron rods 
instead of metal or glass rods on the 
outside strips. In case the electrical 
stop-motion is used, the iron rods are 
not used, but the stop-motion wires 
occupy about the same position as the 
iron rods. In order to give the warp- 
er tender a convenient passageway be- 
tween the creels to tie in the new 
spools or to piece up broken ends, the 
creels are set at such a distance apart 
that if they are not properly stayed, 
the majority of the spools will run 
against the strips, and the result of 
such a defect has already been ex- 
plained. 

A Denn warper Is also generally 
equipped -nath an eye board, which 
serves as a guide to bring the ends 
into proper position, and at the same 
time, holds them in the same relative 
position to one another as the spools 
in the creels. With such a board, in 
case of a broken end, it facilitates the 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



46S 



fir ding of the spool from which the 
end has been broken. The rows of 
holes in the eye board are numbered 
to correspond with the rows in the 
creels, and in this way the tender can 

TELL AT A GLANCE 
in what row in the creel the broken 
end is. 

When a linker is applied to a warp- 
er for the purpose of making links in 
the chain, the linker may be single or 
double. The difference between a 
single and double linker head is that 
a single linker miakes a link of three 
thicknesses of the chain, while the 
double linker makes the chain five 
thicknesses. It should be understood 
bjere that the single link chains are 
reduced one-third in length, while the 
double linked chains are reduced 
one-fifth. For this reason the 
single linkers are seldom used, 
besides the superiority of the double 
linker over the single linker is never 
questioned. No description of the 
linker is given, because although sim- 
ple in its construction and operation, 
it would require too much space that 
would be of no benefit to the reader, 
and the only way to learn how to 
operate a linner Is by practice. 

No. 173. 



CLXXIV. BALL WARPING, 

On a Denn warper, in case it is de- 
sired to ball the chain instead of 
linking it, the yarn is carried down- 
ward at an angle under the warper, 
then through a guide, and around a 
letum wheel to the balling attach- 
ment at the front of the warper. The 
balling attachment on a Denn warp- 
er is similar to that used on the or- 
dinary type of balling warper, and 
is usually situated about midway be- 
tween the upright standards of the 
machine; that is, when only one ball- 
ing attachment is applied. Denn 
warpers 

ARE ALWAYS EQUIPPED 
with lease clocks, and automatic stop- 
motion. This is because, as a rule, 
the chains must be made of 
a certain length, and also of a speci- 
fied number of cuts, so it is of ad- 



vantage to have the machine stop 
automatically, because in addition to 
notifying the warper tender, it stops 
the warper in the proper place, for 
inserting lease or cut bands. The 
measuring motion on the Denn warper 
differs very much from the warpers 
previously explained, although the 
principle is the same and figured in 
the same way. 

The chief difference is that there 
are three cut change gears, and that 
instead of a notch collar and arm to 
strike a gong, a pin is used that 
presses a wire for a part revolution 
and then releases it suddenly. The 
number of outs required between 
lease bands, is obtained by placing a 
pin in different holes of a disk, in- 
stead of a projection running on a 
barrel. Again, on a Denn warper the 
alarm is given at the end of each cut 
by a bell ins'^ad of a gong, and the 
alarm at the end of each lease Is 
given by a gong instead of a bell. 
From the above, it can be seen tnai 
any person not acquainted with both 
systems would be confusied at the 
start. This has been the chief aim 
of the writer; that is, to give valuable 
information, and at the same time 
prove to the reader that it is all easy 
if you give a part of your attention 
to machine calculations. But 1 re- 
gret to say that among 

THE COTTON WARPERS 

there are few that even read a textil^e 
paper, and that is where a great mis- 
take is made, because the writer 
knows this from experience, as I be- 
gan to make good since my first clip- 
pings of valuable information 
obtained from the pages of the Ameb- 
TCAN Wool and Cotton Repobteb 
some twenty years ago. Not forget- 
ting that we are studying the measur 
ing motion on the Denn warpers, the 
worm instead of being on the end of 
the measuring roll is on a cross shaft 
which drives a worm gear of 78 teeth 
that has on the same shaft a gear 
of 27 teeth and drives, through a car- 
rier gear, another gear of 78 teeth, 
which is fastened to the shaft that car- 
ries the collar and pin for striking 



456 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



the bell at the end of each cut. All 
three gears referred to above are all 
change gears that must be "Altered 
for the lengths between cut marks, 
between lease bands, and for the en- 
tire chain. The circumference of the 
measuring roll is usually 24 inches. 



otJier end of this side shaft has 26 
teeth and meshes with the gear of 26 
teeth on the cross shaft. In calculat- 
ing 

THE CUT LENGTHS, 
first find constant by the above train 
of gears given. 




Fig. 57. Quilling Machine. 



and carries a bevel gear that drives 
by means Oif another bevel gear a side 
shaft carrying another bevel gear 
mounted on the sam© cross shaft on 
which is the single worm. The bevel 
gear at the end of the measuring roll 
has 54 teeth, the bevel gear meshing 
with It has 18 teeth, the gear at th© 



Considering one of the 78 teeth 
gears as a change gear we 
have: 24x18x26x1x78 divided by 54x 
26x1x27x36 equals .6419 constant fac- 
tor. .6419x78 equals 50.068 or 50 
yards. The reader's attention is called 
to the fact, that owing to the number 
of change gears, two coaistants must 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



467 



je obtained; for instance, if what is 
ailed the cut pinion gear is changed 
instead of either 78 teeth gears, the 
constant must be a dividend. Using 
the same gears and leaving out the 
cut pinion gear we have 24xl8x26x78x 
T6 divided by 54x26x1x1x36 equals 1,- 
352 constant dividend; 1,352 divided 
by 27 equals 50.078 yards or 50 yards 
per cut. The above calculation should 
clearly be seen, as one 78 gear is on 
the same shaft as the collar and pin, 
so that any change in the train of gears 
acts correspondingly on the pin that 
sounds the alarm at the end of each 
cut. 

The disk for marking leases is 
mounted on a short stud and has 
rachet teeth on its outer edge, and 
in its inner part in a circle a series of 
holes are arranged. Around the hub 
of the disk is wound a cord that Is 
passed over a pulley, and carries a 
weight on the other end, which gives 
the disk a tendency to revolve in 
the opposite direction to that moved 
by the pin. At the same time that 
the cut alarm is sounded, another pin, 
which is on the same collar with the 
pin that strikes the cut bell, moves the 
disk a distance of one tooth. 

The disk is prevented from turning 
by a pawl held in contact with the 
teeth on the disk by means of a spring 
and holds the 

DISK IN POSITION 

after it has been moved one tooth by 
the pin on the collar. The pawl is 
operated by a long arm that is mount- 
ed on the same stud with the disk, 
and hangs downward close to the 
face of the latter, and is operated by a 
pin in the disk. The disk as a rule 
contains 31 holes all numbered, and 
in case there should be 20 cuts be- 
tween leases, this pin that operates 
the arm is placed in hole number 20. 
So from what has been said it will 
be seen that When the striking pin 
on the collar has made 20 revolutions 
it will have moved the disk 20 teeth 
vv^hich brings the pin in the 20th hole 
in contact with the hanging arm. 
The pin presses the arm and the arm 
nresses the pawl entirely out of con- 



tact with the ratchet teeth on the 
disk. As soon as the pawl is pressed 
out of contact with the ratchet teeth, 
there is nothing to prevent the disk 
from revolving in the opposite direc- 
tion to that operated by the pin in 
consequence of the pull from the 
weight on the cord. The disk con- 
tinues its backward movement until 
another pin on the disk strikes the 
arm amd removes it from the projec- 
tion on the pawl, which allows the 
pawl again to come in contact with 
one of the teeth of the disk, which 
prevents it from turning any further 
in this direction. In this way the 
disk is stopped in the proper position 
for starting another chain. When the 
disk makes its backward movement 
it allows the cord 

TO BE UNWOUND 

and another pin situated between 
two ratchet teeth, to come in contact 
vath one end of a lever when the op- 
posite end of this lever strikes a gong. 
From what has been said it can be 
seen that there is very little difference 
between the two systems and that 
making chains on the Denn warpers is 
as easy if not easier than on any other 
type and the chief factors to remem- 
ber when changing from one system 
to another is that gong and bell rings 
opposite in each system. Another 
thing to remember is that on Denn 
warpers all changes are made by the 
two 78-tooth gears and that having 
27 teeth two constants are 
necessary, while in other instances 
the entire three gears must be 
changed and neither constant can be 
used. As on the warpers in a print 
cloth mill, very little figuring is re- 
quired, and the only calculation of 
any importance besides what has al- 
ready been given is in finding the 
weight of the chain. 

This is found by dividing the prod- 
uct of the total length, in yards, the 
total number of ends in the chain, ana 
the ply of the yam by the product 
of the number of yards in a hank and 
the counts of the single yam that con- 
stitute the ply yarn. Example: 
What is the weight of a chain 12,000 



458 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



j-ards long that contains 3,000 ends of 
2-ply 20s? 12,000x3,000x2 divided by 
20x840 equals 4,285.71 pounds, total 
weight of the chain. No. 174. 



CLXXV. WALCOTT WARPERS. 

Another type of warpers that differs 
from the Denn warpers, is known as 
Wialcatt warpers. On this type of 
warpers the sheet of ends is brought 
downwards from the creel, so that 
the warping will be as clos'e to the 
floor as possible. This is done because 
the sheet must be passed upwards 
over a guide roll, and by the sheet be- 
ing warped as short a distance aa 
possible from the floor, it makes 
it possible to have the height of the 
guide roll low enough so that by the aid 
of a low staging it will not be out 
of the reach of any ordinary person. 
The chief advantage of the above ar- 
rangement is that it affords ready ac- 
cess to the broken ends. The passage 
of the yam from the creel is about 
the same as on the Denn warper, the 
yarn passes through an eye board 
also, and over a measuring roll, under 
a guide roll, and through two lease 
reeds that are mounted on stands 
fastened to the frame of the warper. 
From the reeds, the sheet of ends 
is conducted over another guide roll 
to another large roll known as the 
draft roll. 

The objeict of this roll is to equalize 
the pull on every end and for this 
reason it is covered with cloth, and 
the ends are made to encircle almost 
its circumference by means of 
two other rolls placed in a 
suitable position between the 
draft roll and the guide roll over 
which the sheet passes. With such 
an arrangement, a steady and even 
pull is on every end, so that all the 
ends shall, as nearly as possible, be of 
one length in the completed chain. 
The guide roll over which the sheet 
passes from the draft roll has the 
same surface speed as the draft roll, 
although very much smaller in diam- 
eter. 

At this point on leaving this roll, 
the yarn is changed from an evenly 



laid sheet, to the form of a loose rape, 
and carried around a guide pulley to 
a condenser known as calendier rolls. 
The top roll is made suflaoiently heavy 
to condense the chain and at 
the same time draw it between the 
two rolls. The self-weighted roll is 
driven by frictional contact with the 
bottom roll, and is raised by a chain 
attached on each side of it. From 
the 

CONDENSER ROLLS, 
the chain is then passed to 
any receptacle, such as a bag, 
box, linker or balling attachment. 
The calculations, the method of in- 
serting leases, and the types of leases 
are so nearly alike on this type of 
warpers that what has been said on 
Denn warpers can be applied here. 
The Walcott chain warper of 1,200 
spools- occupies a space of only six- 
teen by thirty-two feet, and eight and 
cne-half feet high. When a stop mo- 
tion is added, it occupies a space 
two feet longer. It is claimed for this 
warper that one machine will do more 
and better work than three upright 
warpers. While a Walcott warper 
could, of course, be constructed for 
more ends, the builder of this warper 
advocates only 1,200 spools, while the • 
writer advocates 1,500. Still, the v/riter 
is willing to admit that there is no 
economy in running over 1,200 ends 
from one creel, for reasons previous- 
ly explained. The next process in 
which the yarn is treated- depends on 
whether it is used for warp or filling, 
and whether the chain is short 
or long. Again, it should be 
understood that the use of leases is 
to prevent any unnecessary entangle- 
ment of the yarn during the convert- 
ing processes, such as, dye- 
ing, bleaching, or other treatment, and 
also to decrease the risk of damage 
In transportation. For a short chain 
the next process is dressing, or beam- 
ing, to the loom beam; for the long 
chain the next process is dressing, or 
beaming, then to the section beam, 
and if intended for filling yarn, the 
next process is quilling. 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



459 



Erom what has been said, it should 
be seen that it is usually necessary 
to manipulate in various ways th© 
yarn farming the chain before it is 
used for the purpose intended. The 
next process in which the warp yarn 
is treated is known as beaming. The 
objeot of beaming is to rebeam or re- 
wind the colored or bleached chains 
Eifter they are returned from the dye 
house. To most manufacturers famil- 
iar with the manufacture of colored 
goods, beaming is the most difficult 
and unsatisfactory process in all man- 
ufacturing, owing to the endless num- 
ber of broken and isnarled chains, 
slack threads and itwisted selvages, 
which are continually turning up in 
the beaming room, however careful 
the dye house is managed. 

No. 175. 



CLXXVI. CHAIN DYEING. 

All manufacturers of colored 
goods should employ a method 
by which the excessive dam- 
age done to the yarn in the chains 
in the dye house might be avoided, and 
thus render the beaming and fol- 
lowing processes less difficult. 

In some colored mills, man- 
agers consider only the 

INITIAL COST 
and for this reason, instead 
of purchasing machines by which 
the snarling and breaking of the 
chains in the dye house can be 
prevented, they will allow their men 
to struggle along under unsatisfactory 
conditions. Methods employed in some 
dye houses save at least one- 
half the whole cost of beaming, not 
coni&iderlng the gain in the weaving 
rooms, from the greatly improved 
preparation and the absence of knots 
and snarls. There is no doubt but 
that many mill managers not having 
such machines will take exceptions 
to the above statements, but 
why is it that in some colored 
mills on the same style of goods, 
the weavers are able to run more 
looms than in another? 

If it is not in the preceding process- 
es, why not find out where the trouble 



is, and not allow colored warps to 
reach the loom full of snarls and 
bunches? Several years ago the idea 
was conceived of winding around 
each chain from end to end a- 
cord of suitable strength to hold the 
yarn together and prevent snarling 
and breaking in the dye house, and 
by mechanical methods unwind the 
cord from the chain. To-day, such 
a machine is on the market. 

The above device is better known 
as the winding and unwinding proc- 
ess, and is found in use in the prin- 
cipal mills which use 

COLORED WARPS. 
By its use at least one-half the whole 
cost of beaming is saved. The 
method most commonly used 
for short-chain warps is known 
as the overhead process, sometimes 
called Yorkshire dressing, owing to 
it being so widely used in Yorkshire 
County, England. The chain from the 
balls that are placed on the floor 
are passed upwards between two rolls, 
usually of wood, then over a slotted 
block of wood, when the ends are 
separated and arranged in the 
same position as when warped, which 
is governed by the leases. 

As the yarn opens out, it passes to 
a frame work that consists of two 
stands that support wooden bars, 
usually oval and made very smooth 
so as to prevent damaging or cutting, 
the yam. This framework is sit- 
uated at a distance of several feet 
from the warp to give the yarn ample 
time to separate. 

The object of the bans, is to sepa- 
rate the sheets when more than one^ 
chain is run, so that the various ends 
will occupy the isame relative posi- 
tions as when it was warped. In this 
wiay each sheet passes over its res- 
pective bar, downwards around a roll 
to the loom beam. In 

THE BEAMING OPERATION, 
the distance allowed the yarn 
to open out is not sufficient 
for some ends that have be- 
come slightly entangled by the dye- 
ing or bleaching processes, so for this 
reason, the beamer should stand be- 



460 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



tween the two sections of thie ma- 
cMne and constantly pasis a brush 
over the surface of the warp, between 
the reed and the beam. In this way 
the brush destroys any entanglement 
that may ©■xist. A beamer must at all 
times operate a reed that is supported 
by the sheet of ends and it should be 
moved gradually with and against the 
direction of the yarn so as to open 
up the sheet effectually without break- 
ing the ends. If a pin contains 6 
ends, as was explained, 6 ends are 
paissed through each dent of the reed, 
and if there are 8 ends to a pin, 8 ends 
s>.re passed through each dent. 



The object of the reed is to 
open the chain into a Ifevel sheet of 
ends, thus allowing it to move like the 
reed in the Yorkshire system. The ex- 
pansion comb regulates the width of 
thei sheet. The object of the tension 
drum is to give the chain neces- 
sary tension so that the yarn 
can be opened properly and 
wound on the beam more com- 
pactly, and at the same time, take 
out the isnarls, and also remedy the 
slack threads that may exist in the 
yarn. The operation in both systems 
is about the same, and any person 
who can operate a machine in one sys- 




Fig. 58. Winding Process for Chain Warp. 



With one beaming machine 
used for long chains, a ball is 
placed on the floor betwee^n the two 
sections, namely the drums and the 
section beam, and one end is passed 
up over a guide pulley, which is gen- 
erally supported from the ceiling, then 
downwards to the lower drum known 
as the lower tension drum, up between 
two of the guide rolls situated be- 
tween the two section drums and free 
to revolve, around the upper tension 
drum, down between two other 
guide rolls to the lower tension drum 
again, upwards around the up- 
per tension drum, and from here, 
it passes downward to a return wood- 
en roll supported by two stands fast- 
ened to the floor; then it passes back 
around a pulley situated over the 

TWO TENSION DRUMS 
to the front through a swing 
ing reed and through an expansion 
comb to the section beam. 



tem can operate the other in an hour 
or two of practice. From what has 
been said, the reader should notice the 
chief difference in the two systems, 
that is, the overhead process of beam- 
ing is a dry dressing, while the Bnt- 
vnstle type of beaming is the same 
as in the print cloth mills, only, of 
course, the yam is colored. The sec- 
tion beams from the beaming machine 
are placed in a slasher and there 
sized and placed on a loom beam, as 
in a print cloth mill, and afterwards 
drawn through harnesses and reed 
when the warp is then ready to be 
placed in the loom for weaving. For 
filling yarn the last process for long 
chains is known as quilling, when the 
yarn is wound on filling bobbins, or 
quills. 

The object of quilling, is to transfer 
the yarn forming a long chain in a 
suitable form to be inserted in the 
shuttle at the loom. A quilling ma- 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



461 



chine consisits of two main siections, 
one section resembling the beam part 
of an Entwistle beaming machine 
which supports the section machine, 
while the other section is a sub- 
stantial framework, supporting a num- 
ber of tiers of spindles. A quilling 
machine, like all other machines, can 
be ordered according to specificatioins, 
that is, the number of spindle rails 
and the number of spindles to a 
raiJ can be determined by the pur- 
chaser; however, the number of spin- 
dle rails usually found on a quilling 



found on any machine, equipped with 

REVOLVING SPINDLES. 

The spindle consists of the or- 
dinary blade type with a whorl 
rigidly attached to it. Next above 
the whorl is a small pad composed of 
woolen felt, on which rests a cap 
carrying a small cone. The bob- 
bin fits on the cone, and a pin in the 
cap fits a notch into the bohbin. The 
spindles are driven by means of cylin- 
ders and bands, ais on any spinning 
machine, but one point that should be 




Fig. 59. Unwinding Process fop Chain W,arp. 



machine is ninie, and the number of 
spindles to a rail is generally 42. The 
yarn is drawn from the beam by three 
metal rolls, and mad© to pass 
through a movable reed as on 
the beaming machine, and for the 
same purpose, and the tender must 
continually move this reed to and fro 
as on the beaming machine. This 
reed is situated directly behind th© 
three rolls that draw the yarn for- 
ward and like the reed at the beam- 
ing machine is supported by the sheet 
of ends. 

The quilling spindle is the 
most peculiarly constructed spindle 



understood about quilling is that the 
spindle is positively driven but not 
the bobbin. The bobbin is driven by 
the cap supported by the woolen felt, 
and is thus driven hy frictional con- 
tact that must exist continually be 
tween the cap caa-rying the cone that 
fits the bobbin, and the whorl of the 
spindle. The principle of quilling is 
to have sufficient friction exist- 
ing between the cap and the whorl to 
drive the bobbin, so that the bobbins 
can retard when the coils of yam 
are being wound on the large diam 
eter of the traverse without strain- 
ing or breaking the yarn, and increase 



462 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



in speed when the yarn is on the 
smallest diameter of the traverse. 
In order to save a large amount 
of breakage of ends, the con- 
ditions of the spindles are contin- 
ually watched by the tenders, be- 
cause they know that the least amount 
of dirt or yarn allowed to exist be- 
tween the cap and the whorl, and 
if the friction between the whorl 
and cap does not work to a nicety, 
a great amount of yarn breakage is 
caused. 

On the other hand, if the ispindles 
are well cared for, there is very little 
trouble in quilling; that is, if the 
winding and unwinding method is em- 
ployed in the dye house. 

Good quilling depends on the mechan- 
ical efficiency tnat exists between the 
whorl and cap. If the ispindles are 
not kept clean, trouible is sure to re- 
sult, although some people seem to 
think that ithe speed of the spindle 
does not affect the tension. 
Some quiller spindles have been in 
such condition that the spindles were 
squeaking, not from the want of oil, 
but by allowing dirt and yarn to col- 
lect around the whorl of the spindle. 

When the yarn is allowed to accumu- 
late between the whorl and the spin- 
dle rail, the speed of the spindle is 
affected, while on the other hand 
when the yarn is allowed ito collect 
between the cap and the whorl, the 
coils of yarn will work up under the 
cap and bind it to the spindle. This 
destroys the necessary friction that 
should exist between 

THE CAP 

and the whorl; consequently, if the 
drive is not positive, or if the yarn 
is light on %ae bobbin, breakage of 
yarn by excessive tension is ithe re- 
sult. When the yam is allowed to 
collect between the cap and the bob- 
bin, it will accumulate to such an ex- 
tent as to cause the slot in the bobbin 
to jump the pin, which results in 
gnarled yarn every time it happens, 
and in most cases such defects are 
laid to the dyeing process. When the 
yarn is allowed to accumulate be- 
tween the whorl and the spindle rail 



to such an extent as to cause the spin- 
dle to lag behind the surface speed 
of the cylinder, the result is the pro- 
duction of a soft bohbin. When a 
weaver receives such bobbins, they 
are easily discovered, and therefore, 
they do not put such bobbins into the 
loom at all, but throw them out into 
the waste or bad filling box. 

On a quilling machine, the 
spindles must not only have free- 
dom to rotate, but the bands 
must be kept to about the same 
tension. Of course, at times a quilling 
spindle may work to advantage withi 
a slack band. However, the best re- 
sults are obtained by driving all the 
spindles to the one speed if possible, 
and have the friction between the 
whorl and cap so that it will just 
create enough tension so as to make 
a hard nose on the bobbin and also 
a compact bobbin. The most trouble 
in a colored mill weave room to-day 
is brought about where the bobbins 
are sofit, and yet the yarn contains 
the required amount of twist, and 
so far as the yarn em the bobbin is 
concerned, it is just as strong as the 
average yarn. It must be, or it could 
not withstand the preceding processes 
to which it was subject. But 
as has been said before, mill 
help should be taught to think 
as well as work. The following is the 
reason for such a statement. You will 
find in many colored weave rooms, 
when the weaver complains to the 
overseer about soft filling bobbins, 
the overseer himself will admit that 
there is not enough twist into the 
yarn, and he allows the weaver to 
throw these soft bobbins into the bad 
filling box. This is where a little think- 
ing on the part of the overseer will 
save a lot of money for a plant, simply 
by informing the help of the following 
points: he should tell the weaver that 
a quilling machine at times will wind 
soft bobbins, no matter how many 
turns to the inch the yarn contains, 
and on the other hand, a perfect quill- 
ing spindle will make a fairly hard 
bohbin from soft twisted yarn. The 
weavers should be taught that the 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



463 



quiller has nothing to do with the 
construction of the thread, and that 
the turns to the inch that exist in 
the yarn on a bobbin cannot be judged 
by its compactness after being quilled. 
But this is done only in a few 
weave rooms, and the weavers, and 
even overseers, seem to con- 
ceive the idea that the quilling is to 
blame for the construction of the 
thread, which is an impossibility, ex- 
cept when the cap is not allowed 
enough frieedom to correspond with 
the 

PROPER TENSION, 
when, of course, the yarn U 
strained and made weak. An over- 
seer of weaving should not 
only explain to the . weavers how 
the yarn on a soft bobbin contains 
the required amount of twist, but they 
should be taught also that quilled 
yarn at this stage of manufacture is 
more expensive than any other yam. 

No. 176. 



CLXXVII. QUILLING. 

A hard bobbin from a quill- 
ing machine is more liable to 
give trouble in the weaving room than 
a soft bobbin, and the weav- 
er should be told of this fact. But 
as in a print cloth mill, if the bobbin 
is hard and breaks two or three times 
during unwinding in the shuttle, no 
fault is found, while on the other 
hand, if the yarn breaks through a 
full shuttle spindle or from the shut- 
tle slightly rebounding, if the cop is 
found a little soft, it is thrown into 
the waste box. 

The best way for an overseer to con- 
vince a weaver who is continually 
throwing soft bobbins into the bad 
filling box. fs to weave a few of these 
soft bobbins himself and prove to the 
v/eaver that the yarn on a soft bob- 
bin is just as good, and sometimes 
better than th© yarn on a hard bobbin. 

Regarding the statement that a 
quiller spindle when it lags behind the 
surface speed of the cylinder, through 
a slack band or dirty spindle, will 
make a soft bobbin, there are many 
persons in charge of quillers who will 



not agree. Most quillers will ar- 
gue that the speed of the spindle 
should not be considered, because the 
friction between the whorl and the 
cap regulates the speed of the bob- 
bin, and if the spindle does not retard 
to such an extent that its speed 
will be less than that of the bobbin, 
the construction of the bobbin will 
not be affected. If this is true, wny 
LP it that most 

QUILLER BOBBINS 

are more compact at the finish of 
the bobbin than at the beginning? 
The reason is that owing to 
th© bobbin being so light at the be- 
ginning, there is not as much pres- 
sure between the bottom of the whorl 
and the cap, and consequently, the 
cap has more freedom to slip over 
the surface of the woolen felt, which, 
of course, decreases the tension, and 
the bobbin is not so compact at this 
point. Although this is looked 
upon as a disadvantage in ■ quilling, 
it must be said that it is not noticed 
in the weaving, simply because it re- 
quires more tension on the yarn to 
unwind the coils at the bottom of the 
bobbin in the shuttle, so for this rea- 
son, shelling off the filling is little 
if ever experienced. Now if the 
weight of the bobbin affects the fric- 
tion between the whorl and the cap, 
and there can be no argument on that 
point, and if the spindle revolves at 
a high speed, it must be admitted that 
it will have more of a tendency to 
revolve the bobbin at a greater speed, 
thus increasing the tension. 

For the convenience of illustration 
to prove that the speed of the spin- 
dle does affect the tension, let us as- 
sume that the speed of the bobbin is 
the same as that of the spindle when 
the guide wire is at the smallest part 
of the traverse, when, of course, the 
bobbins must revolve the fastest at 
this point. 

Assuming that when the vertical 
rods make their quick upper move- 
ment, the bands slip when the 
guide wire is at the smallest part 
of the traverse on the top of the bob- 
bin, it is obvious that the ends would 



464 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



slacken and no tension on the latter 
would exist. On the otliier hand, if 
the spindle is made to revolve at a 
greater speed than that of the bobbin, 
the tension is increased to a certain 
extent. Although the difference is 
slight, it will cauise a soft bobbin, 
which is the cause for the best of 
the yarn to be thrown into the bad 
filling box. The art of quilling is all 
in the spindles, and for this reason 
they should be kept in good condition. 



a filling wind. As on the filling 
ring frame the guide bars instead of 
the rail, are raised a little higher at 
each traverse, which builds the yarn 
a little highetr up on the bobbins at 
every traverse, so that it can be un- 
wound from the nose when in the 
shuttle. The movement of the guide 
bars is the same as the movement of 
the rail on a filling ring frame, that 
is, the builder motion gives the guide 
bars a quick motion for one traverse 




Fig. 60. Winding Chains in tlie Dye house. 



The yarn on a quilling machine is 
guided on the bobbins by guide wires 
attached to inclined bars, directly in 
front of the bobbins. 

The inclined bars are supported by 
vertical rods operated by a builder 
motion that gives them a vertical re- 
ciprocating motion corresponding to 
the length of traverse required in 
winding the yarn on the bobbins. The 
builder motion is almost the same as 
that on a ring spinning frame for 



and a slow motion to the other. The 
object of this is the same as on the 
ring frame, to bind the previously 
wound coils of yarn to the quill so that 
the coils will be locked. 

There is also much argument among 
mill men as to what way the guide 
bars should be given 

THE QUICK MOTION. 

There should be no argument on tnis 
point on a quiller, because it should 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



465 



be clear that the guide bars will equal- 
ize the teinsion by having the guide 
bars make their quick movement 
unward. It should be seen that if 
the guide bars have their quick move- 
ment downward, the tension on 
the yarn will be very great, which is 
sure to result in the breakage of 
ends, becausie it is obvious that the 
tension on the yarn is greater as the 
yam approaches the largest diameter 
of the traverse, and if the guide bars 



brought forward. Warping and quill- 
ing machinery (requires careful atten- 
tion, and the aim in these departments, 
as in all others, should be to obtain 
quality first and then quantity. 

One point that should be re- 
membered in the management of these 
departments is that more and bet- 
ter work can be obtained by not hav- 
ing excessive speeds. Any person in 




Fig. 61". Machines for Unwinding the Chains. 



are given their quick motion down- 
ward we have two extremes. On the 
other hand, if the guide bars are given 
their slow motion downward, the 
speed of the bobbins is gradually 
checked, and thus the tension is more 
equalized. Again, when the guide 
bars are given a quick upward move- 
ment, it irelieves the tension some- 
what, which enables the bobbins to 
increse their speed. This is desired 
to enable them to take up all the yarn 



charge of these departments can ob- 
tain high speeds on any machine, but 
just as soon as 

THE PROPER WORKING SPEED 

is exceeded, the quality of the prod- 
uct deteriorates, and the man who 
makes good- is the man who knows 
the proper working speeds. To all 
cotton mill managers the word twist 
means the number of turns to the 
inch in the yarn. But in American 



466 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



textile manufaoturing in general, the 
word twist applies to a ply yarn com- 
posed of two or more differently color- 
ed yams. So before the twisting op- 
eration is explained, it is necessary 
to have some knowledge about the 
classification of yarn. The isubject of 
yarn opens up a very wide field, be- 
cause not only do the series of ma- 
chines or proceisses for preparing 
yarns vary according to the material 
that liis to be operated on, but different 
series of machines. However, a brief 
description of the various kinds of 
yarn will now be given. Single 
drawn yam is known as carded and 
combed yarn, which was previously 
explained. 

They are named according to the 
different series of machines the stock 
passes through, while other yarns de- 
rive their name according to the ma- 
terial from which the yarns are man- 
ufactured. When yarns are classed 

ACCORDING TO MATERIAL, 
they are divided into three divisions, 
namely, vegetable, animal and min- 
eral substances. As the above three 
divisions are often twisted together, 
the following general classification iis 
given: 1. The material and various 
classes of material and the numbers 
miade from each, taking into consid- 
eration also the various qualities, 
growths, also varieties of the material 
and its suitability for constructing va- 
rious yarns. 2. The method of their 
preparation, which varies often even 
in yarns made of the same material. 
3. The material used to give the 
thread a certain appearance. 4. 
Forms in which the yarn is put up 
for the market or for a succeeding 
process which has been explained 
5. The general use of the yarn for 
different purposes. Cotton yarns are 
those made from an indigenous prod- 
uct of all intertropical regions, and 
consiste ef fine cellular hair attached 
to the seeds of plants belonging to 
the genus gossypium, natural order 
Malvaceae. These plants which sup- 
ply the raw material for our great- 
est industry, and for the clothing of 
all nations, are ranked among the 



most valuable of nature's productions. 
In American 

TEXTILE MANUFACTURING 
and commerce, the fibre from these 
plants is known simply as cotton, and 
although it is known as cotton in Eng- 
lish-tspeaking countries, by some peo- 
ple it is known as cotton wool; in 
French, cotton; in German, banwoUe; 
Spanish, algodon, and in Italian, co- 
tone. When a yarn is said to be made 
from one-inch of American cotton, it- 
means that the average staple is one 
inch long, and produced from the 
many varieties of cotton grown in the 
United States of America. The writer 
has found very few carders in his 
travels who understood the difference 
in cotton by its name. 

We often bear the remark that 
Egyptian cotton is much harder to 
work than any other cotton, especial- 
ly in the combing. Why is this so? 
It is simply because the staple is 
grown in Egypt, in a different climate, 
and for this reason, the cotton should 
be left opened for at least a week be- 
fore using. 

Egyptian cotton, when examined in 
the natural state, can be readily dis- 
tinguished from most other cotton by 
its brownish color. Egyptian yams 
are generally made of low numbers, es- 
pecially for hosiery purposes, because 
the fibres are very strong for their 
isize, and very smooth, from which 
a solid strong thread can be made. 

Although most of Egyptian cotton 
is used for hosiery purposes, it is 
often spun over 100s for isateen istrips 
and other designs in the shirting and 
other trades, and for this reason only, 
a bale or two is generally used at 
a time, and owing to it being used 
separately, it is utilized as soon as the 
bale is opened, and for this reason, 
it is hard to work. 

SEA ISLAND COTTON 
works better, because it is grown 
on the islands off the coasit of South 
Carolina, and Georgia, and also on 
the main land in districts near 
the ocean, especially around Florida. 
Sea Island yarns are, as a rule, made 
very fine, in some cases as high as 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



467 



400s, although, like Egyptian yams, 
they are sometimeis spuin for special 
purposeis into low and medium num- 
bers. Sea Island cotton is spun with 
worsited in many worsted mills with- 
out difficulty, owing to the length of 
its staple, which in some cases is as 
long as 24 inches. Peeler yams have 
a very white appearance, and are pro- 
duced from a long staple cotton, and 
can he spun as high as 100s. Allen- 
seed yarns- resemble peeler yarns 
and are both grown around the Miss- 
issippi river. No carder or spinner 
should have any trouble in determin- 
ing where the cotton is grown, be- 
cause this can generally be traced by 
the tags on the bales, and if possible, 
the staple grown in one state, and 
the cotton from another should be 
mixed together. 

Peruvian cotton yarns are seldom 
spun, and although, there are many 
varieties, the rough Peruvian is chief- 
ly used, and spun with wool for the 
production of merino or similar yams. 
Peruvian cotton is just as suitable for 
a blend with wool as the Sea Island 
cotton is for a blend with worsted. 

No. 177. 



CLXXVIII. COTTON YARNS. 

Peruvian yarns are seldom spun 
over 20s, although the staple of the 
cotton is long enough to enable fine 
numbers to be spun; but this is sel- 
dom done, because the fine yarn 
would be rough, which is never de- 
sired in cotton mjanufacturing. Surat 
yarns are made from East Indian cot- 
ton, and ajs this cotton is never used 
in America, no description need be 
given. Ohinese and Japanese yamis 
are the same as Surat yarns, only a 
little cleaner and Whiter. They are 
never used in America. When a yam 
is spoken of as a waste yarn, it means 
that the waste produced, such as fiy, 
strippings, etc., is respun, only the 
number of operations being reduced 
as compared with the ordinary list 
of processes. Waste yarns are always 
spun into low counts. When the ma- 
terial is respun, a roll now on the 
market, known as a fancy and die- 



scribed in these articles, should be 
attached to a card between the flats 
and doffer. Cotton yarns are spoken 
of as fine, medium or coarse, but mis- 
understood for the simple reason that 
in a fine goods mill, 40s would be 
considered a coarse or medium yarn, 
while in a bag or blanket mill, it 
would be considered very fine yarn. 
Often in a mill considered to be running 
coarse numbers, the finest yarn is 
only 36s, and the superintendent will 
say that they run fine work. The rea- 
son for this probably is because they 
formerly worked in a bag or olanket 
mill where the yarn is found generally 
very coarse. Still, it looks bad for a 
superintendent to make such a state- 
ment, and for this reason, 

MILL MANAGERS 
should know a more general definition 
of these terms. Yarns below 30s are 
considered coarse, 30.3 to 60s medium, 
and from 60s upward, as fine yams. 
Managers shoula also understand the 
classification of yarns according to 
the purpose for which they are intend- 
ed. For instance, if a purchaser orders 
a weaving yarn, it is understood ithat 
it is to be woven into fabrics. Of 
course, there are two distinct classes 
of yarns for weaving purposes, name- 
ly, the warp and filling, and to most 
all readers, it is well known that the 
warp is used lengthwise in the fabric 
and the filling crosswise. Still there 
are many overseers in knitting mills 
who could not explain the purpose of 
weaving yarn. The same can be said 
about overseers in cotton cloth man- 
ufacturing mills, only, of cours'e, they 
know that the yarn is to be knitted 
by its name, but they know nothing 
about how knitting yam should be 
constructed. It is for this reason that 
the different definitions and classifi- 
cations of both material and construc- 
tion of the yarn are explained. It is 
often that a mill man is taken from 
a cotton cloth mill to a knitting mill, 
and the same is true in ease a mill 
man is taken from a knitting mill to 
a cotton cloth mill, and as a rule, 
they are lame in both cases, simply be- 
cause the construction and purpose for 



46S 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



which, the yarn is intended, is not un- 
derstood by them. Now as to the dif- 
ference between 

KNITTING YARN 
and weaving yarn. Knitting yarns 
made from cotton are almost always 
mule sipun with less twiist, and are 
usually made from longer staple cot- 
ton than would be used for the same 
numbers of weaving yarns. Knitting 
yarn must be as free as possible from 
all impurities, and to do this it must 
b© well carded and combed. In fact, 
the above is what, as a rule, aistin- 
guishes knitting yarns from other 
yarns by Its fineness, cleanness, slack 
twist and at the same time full, round 
and even appearance. 

Cotton knitting yarns are produced 
for a great variety of purposes, and 
consequently are made in a wide range 
of numbers, dn both carded and comb- 
ed yarns, from 5s to 30s, although as 
in a cotton mill, weaving yarns of 
finer or coarser numbers than above 
are made in many cases. Knittin 
yarns, like weaving yarns, are almost 
always supplied in single yarns, but 
as in a cotton mill, certain kinds 
of goods often call for two-ply and 
sometimes three-ply yarns, which are 
used for reinforcing the threads of 
knitted garments where th© extra 
wear comes. On the other hand, warp 
yarn for fabrics is usually spun from 
longer staple cotton which contains 
more turns to the inch than the filling 
yarn, and must be made as strong 
as possible so as to stand the strain 
and chafing of the harnesses in the 
weaving. The staple for the warp 
yarn can be rather harsh without af- 
fecting the 

FEEL OF THE CLOTH 
much on some weaves, but with the 
filling yarn, this is different, and al- 
though the filling yarn does not re- 
quire as strong staple, ithe wise man- 
ager will use a soft pliable cotton for 
Ms filling, which will give the cloth 
a smooth face, a move that keeps many 
mills running, while others using a 
poorer grade of cotton are stopped. 
It is not necessary to use high-priced 
cotton for the filling, as all the 



waste should be used, up again in 
the filling, simply because the wasite 
is very smooth. Double roving has 
been advocated for the above rea- 
son, pointing out that the yarn 
made from double roving does not re- 
quire the same amount of twist to 
the inch as yarns made from single 
roving. Buy a harsh strong cotton 
for the warp, and a soft pliable cot- 
ton for the filling, and it will be found 
that when a yard or two of cloth is 
sent to the purchaser as a sample, 
especially sateen cloth, made from the 
above stock a large order will gen- 
erally follow. 

Why is it that the smoothest faced 
cloth is made from warp and filling 
yarn spun on a mule? 

This is common in Englanc, al- 
though the ring frame is being more 
widely used now for warp. The up- 
to-date mill manager tries to get un- 
der the buyer's skin by contructing 
a piece of cloth that will have 

A GOOD APPEARANCE 
and a smooth face as well. All prac- 
tical men know that a wrong sizing 
preparation will make the cloth un- 
merchantable in many cases, and 
surely we must admit that the twist 
in any imill is as important as the 
dressing. As amle in cotton cloth 
mills very little ply yarn is found, 
but when ply yarns are used, it is to 
strengthen the selvages, and for leno 
threads, lapper threads, centre sel- 
vages, and for other special effects in 
the fabric. It is often that weav- 
ing yarn is plied five times, and in 
some cases, more than five for special 
leno and lappet weaving. A man com- 
ing from a knitting mill to take charge 
of a cotton mill must understand the 
contruction of the yarn for the pur- 
pose intended, and the same with the 
man from the knitting mill. 
The difference is great but easily 
learned, because the calculations are 
the same in a knitting mill as in a cot- 
ton mill, but before the amount of 
twist is inserted in the yarn it 
must first be known for what 
purpose the yam is intended. The 
most twisting is found in carpet mills, 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



469 



and the yarn produced is called carpet 
yarn. It is spun first on ring frames, 
and afterwards twisted into ply yarns 
either 2^ply, 3-ply, 4-ply or 5-ply. As 
this yam must be dyed, it is reeled 
into 72-inch skeins, cross-reel. Car- 
pet yams are about 

THE CHEAPEST YARNS 
made, and a low quality of cotton is 
used in their manufacture. The 
most common number that is made in 
carpet yams is number 8s. The most 
peculiar ply-yarns are known as up- 
holstering yarns, and in making 
the ply strand is very slacky twist- 
ed with a few turns to the foot, 
instead of a few turns to the inch as 
in the ordinary ply yams. No. 178. 



CLXXIX. LINEN. 



Most of the fibres spun into yarn 
resembling cotton yarn are gen- 
erally known as flax, and are pro- 
cured from fibres obtained from an in- 
ner layer of bast in the stem of the 
Pax plant. The cultivation and prepa- 
ration of the linen fibre, and its treat- 
ment until it reaches the market as 
a commercial product, are dealt with 
under the name flax. The term flax 
yams would be more accurate, but the 
term linen has always been so com- 
monly known and used that it is gen- 
erally accepted. Heckling is the first 
preparatory process that consists not 
only in combing out, disentangling 
and laying smooth and parallel the 
separate fibres, but also iserves to split 
up and separate into their ultimate 
filaments the strands of fibre Which, 
up to this point, have been aggluti- 
nated together. The heckling process 
was until recent times done by hajid, 
and it was one of 

FUNDAMENTAL IMPORTANCE, 
requiring the exercise of much dexter- 
ity and judgment. 

The broken, iravelled, and snort 
fibres which separate out in the 
heckling process form tow, an article 
of much inferior value to the spinner, 
and one that has fooled and is 
fooling many people buying linen at 
the present time. The proportion of 



tow made in the process of heckling 
varies according to the skill and 
knowledge of the heckler. It can be 
seen that the linen thread is made 
either from line flax tow, the line 
flax, of course, being the best fibre, 
which varies from 12 to 30 inches in 
length. 

Linen yarns can best be distinguish- 
ed by the fact that line yarns are very 
much finer in number than tow yams, 
and have a smoother and more even 
construction. Hemp yarns are con- 
structed from the fibres obtained from 
the bast portion of the stem of the 
hemp plant grown in India and in 
some parts of the United States. 
Hemip yams are chiefly used for can- 
vas, coarse bagging and other cloth 
that requires great strength. 

Many people are confused by taking 
Manila hemp, out of which the bag- 
ging for cotton bales is made for the 
real hemp fibre. There is much dif- 
ference in the two fibres, as one is a 
leaf fibre, while the true hemp is a 
stem fibre. Jute yams are also made 
from the bast of a plant. 

Jute, like the 

LINEN AND HEMP YARNS, 

are classified according to whether 
they are line yams or tow yams. 
Ramie yarns are also produced from 
fibres obtained from the bast of the 
stem of a certain Asiatic plant, which 
is also grown in other countries in- 
cluding the United States. 

Ramie or China grass is a plant of 
the nettle family, and is grown prin- 
cipally in China, although it can be 
grown in any semi-tropical country. 
The process by which the ribbons are 
obtained is simple. The Chinese 
first soak the stalk, which grows 
about three-eighths Inches in diam- 
eter and from 24 to 60 inches long, in 
a running stream for a couple of days 
to remove the outer bark. Then, by 
a knife held on the thumb, the stalk is 
stripped of the fibre which comes off 
in the shape of ribbons. It is then 
dried and afterwards compressed into 
bales about the size of cotton bales 
and weighing from 600 to 800 pounds. 
The plants yield about six crops year- 



470 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



ly, the s-econd and third crop being 
considered the best. Th-ese ribbons, 
landed in New Yorlt, cost from six to 
ten cents per pound, depending on 
the crops. 

The yarns made from ramie differ 
from those made of linen or cotton, 
in that they possess a far better de- 
gree of lustre when dyed or bleached, 
although they are inclined to be a 
little more hairy than linen. The 
specific gravity of Ramie is less than 
that of linen, and hence for the same 
size in diameter of yarn, there is about 
one-third more yardage and at the 
same time, the strength is nearly the 
equal of linen. Weight for weight, 
ramie is stronger than linen. 

The principal uses for ramie yarns 
in this country up to the present time 
have been for gas mantle yarns, and 
the millinery trade. However, due to 
its superiority over linen and cotton 
for many purposes, varied uses are 
now being developed. 

All the above yarns are made from 
vegetable fibres, and their classifica- 
tion is simply and easily made by 
burning a portion of the thread, and 
when it is made of a true vegetable 
fibre it will flame. Next to cotton, 
wool is the most important of all tex- 
tile fibres used by mankind. Wool is 
a modified form of hair, distinguished 
by its slender, soft, and wavy or curly 
sitructure, and by the highly imbrica- 
ted or serrated surface of its fila- 
ments. 

Most cotton workens conceive the 
idea that woolen and worsted yarns 
are made of different material, but both 
are wool yarns. It is the custom to 
divide them into these two clasisifica- 
tions for commercial purposes. Their 
clasisification is also isimple and easily 
made, because in a woolen yam the 
Individual fibres aire mixed and 
cro'sised in various directions, so that 
the surface of the yarn is made rough, 
although uniform in appearance. It 
also lacks lustre. In worsted yarns 

THE INDIVIDUAL FIBRES 

lie smoothly and in the direction of 
the thread and are parallel to one 
another. 



The surface of the thread presents 
a smooth and uhiform appearance, and 
•generally has a well-defined lustre. 

Though the sheep is by far the most 
important producer of wool, he is by 
no means the only animal which yields 
wool employed for industrial purposes. 

The alpaca and other allied fibres 
obtained from the alpaca and its con- 
geners in South America, the mohair 
yielded by the Angora goat, and the 
soft woolly hair of the camel are all 
wools of much industrial importance. 
Very few people know, even wool puo-- 
chasers, that the most costly wool i^ 
not yielded by the sheep. The most 
costly wool in the world is that yield- 
ed by the cashmere goat of the Him- 
alayan mountains. At what point, in- 
deed, it can be said that an animal 
fibre ceases to be hair and becomes 
wool It is impossible to determine, 
because in every characteristic, the 
one class by imperceptible grada- 
tions merges into the other, so that 
a continuous chain can be formed 
fTom the finest and softest merino to 
the rigid bristles of the wild boar. 
For this reason, no distinction is 
made between woolen and worsted 
yarns, merely because of the length o' 
the wool fibre used in itheir construc- 
tion, although a somewhat longer 
fibre is generally used in the man- 
ufacture of worsted yarns. No. 179. 



CXXC. BLENDING ANO USES OF 
YARNS. 

Wool yarns, like cotton yarns, are as 
a rule divided according to the use to 
which the'y are to be put, such as cloth- 
ing wools, braid, lustre, etc., also ac- 
cording to the breed of the sheep. 

PURE WOOLEN 
yarn means a yarn composed of all 
Avool or worsted. Shoddy yarns are all 
wool, but are made from a mixture in 
the raw stock, the shoddy being ob- 
tained from soft woolen rags. 

Mungo resembles shoddy, but it is 
inferior to shoddy, owing to the hard 
milling it undergoes. The term ex- 
tract means fibres obtained from rags 
or goods composed of vegetable and 
Animal fibres. Yarns are generally 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



471 



mixed at the twisters, although they 
ire often mixed in the ring frame, and 
sometimes when the cotton staple is 
lon.i? enough it is carded and combed 
tvith wool to be spun into worsted 
yarns. This is done, of course, to 
cheapen the cost of production, and it 
is with regret that I must say a pure 
woolen yarn is hard to find. Take, for 
instance, the finest of worsted mills 
and you will find cotton blended with 
the yarn in process. This is why the 
term mixture of yams is used, which 
means that tAVo yarns made from mix- 
tures of different colored wool and also 
from mixtures of wool and cotton, wool 
and shoddy, wool and mungo, wool and 
extract, or wool, cotton and silk, which 
is generally twisted on universal wind- 
ers. 

Cotton is also carded and spun with 
shoddy, not so much to cheapen the 
cost of manufacture, for cotton is gen- 
erally as expensive as some shoddies, 
the reason why it is intryduced here 
being to 

GIVE STRENGTH 
or spinning qualities to the stock. All 
persons acauainted with the shoddy 
business know that as a rule the ma- 
jority of the staple is very short and 
UT\able to stand the drawing-in spin- 
liing, and as it would make the cost 
of the yarn too high to put in enough 
wool to give that required strength, 
cotton is put in for this purpose. 

The Avriter wishes to be understood 
when he says that pure woolen yarns 
are hard to find. He does not mean 
that al? wool yarns are not manu- 
factured, because It only takes a visit 
to the woolen mills in Lawrence, Mass., 
and also the woolen mills in Olneyville, 
Providence, R. I., to see some of the 
finest worsted yarns produced in the 
woven so tnat when it dries it will 
will only find about one yarn in a 
hundred ii>n the market that is com- 
posed of pure wool. The best way to 
determine whether a garment or cloth 
is composed of all wool is to burn 
some of the fibres in each style <'f 
yarn, and if a slight flame is noticed, 
it is not. coranosed of all wool. 

ANOTHER TBiST 
for a buyer is to have a solution of 5 
per cent caustic soda, and boil a small 



piece of the cloth five mdnutes. What- 
ever is left is cotton or other vegetable 
fibres. The above is the best method 
to determine the percentage of vege- 
table fibre^s in a fabric. As wool will 
dissolve In the above solution, the per- 
centage of shoddy cannot be deter- 
mined except by experience and judg- 
ment. In the first place, a fabric or 
yarn with shoddy in it is easily detect- 
ed by its feel. Besides, if a small por- 
tion of yarn is dissected, any shoddy 
which exists can be discovered by its 
short staples. Cloth made of all new 
wool is softer feeling than one con- 
taining shoddy, for the latter has lost 
that new, soft, springy feel peculiar to 
wool, besides when the yarn is dissect- 
ed the fibres are found very long. 
When a yarn is composed of 90 to 
97 per cent cotton, it is known as a 
Vigogne yarn. 

First-class woolen yarns are produc- 
ed by spinning the yarn directly from 
the spool produced at the card, and 
the range or numbers of this class of 
yarns is from i to 12-run. The French 
system of drawing differs' from the 
English system, because in the French 

NO TWIST 

is given the slivers. It is a rubbing 
process and the yarn is spun on mules. 
It is not necessary that only long- 
stapled wool be used for the produc- 
tion of French-spun yarn, as in this 
system comparatively short fibres can 
be worked. Uncombed worsted yams 
mean the samo as the carded yarn in 
the cotton system; that is, the yarns 
are prepared by a sequence of process- 
es from which the combing process is 
omitted. 

As In carded cotton yarn, they are 
more uneven and irregular in con- 
struction than the true worsted yarns, 
and they resemble a spindle drawn 
yarn. Silk yams are classified accord- 
ing to the method of preparation. 
Thrown silk yam is produced by proc- 
esses of reeding and throwing, while 



472 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



spun silk yarns are spun from waste 
raw silk. 

SILK YARNS 
are chiefly used for weaving, organzine 
being used for warp, while a verj 
coarse cotton or worsted yarn is used 
for the filling. 

When all silk tram is used for the 
filling, the term organzine means to 
the silk worker the same as warp 
to the cotton worker, while the term 
tram means weft, or filling. There 
are a few mineral yarns, asbestos yarns 
being the principal one. Asbestos fi- 
bres are often found two inches in 
\ength and have usually a coarse and 
white appearance. 

The chief value of fabric made from 
asbestos yarn is that it is incombus- 
tible and can stand intense heat. As- 
bestos is found in the United States, 
Canada and other 'countries. Scoured 
yarn means that the wool of which the 
yarn is composed has been subjected 
to a preliminary scouring to remove 
the dirt and the natural grease 
MERCERIZED YARNS 
are those which have been treated 
while under tension with a caustic 
soda solution. This gives a silky lus- 
i-re to the thread. Printed yarns are 
those that have passed the effect of 
the printing process and received short 
dabs or long blotches of color impress- 
ed on the threads at intervals. 

Polished or glazed yarns have pass- 
ed through a process of applying a 
dressing material and then by a brush- 
ing process a high, glossy polish is 
attained. Gassed yarns have been 
passed rapidly through a gas plane 
thus causing the projecting fibres to 
be singed. This is done because the 
fuzzy construction of the yarn is a 
disadvantage for many purchases. 
Gassed yams are not damaged by such 
r. process, because the passage of the 
thread is so rapid that the heat burns 
only the loose ends. 

PREPARED YARNS 
are those which have been put through 
a dressing process. Conditioning yam 
is a process of damping or steaming 
the yarn to cause the strands of twist 
put in the thread to become fixed so 
that when the yarn is unwound it will 



not snarl. This happens when the yarn 
IS dry, if no device is attached to the 
loom to prevent it, especially when 
the yarn is excessively twisted in any 
counts, it is. sometimes made wet and 
shrink and crimp the cloth. Again, 
when the filling is damp, it enables 
ihe picks to be driven closer to one 
another. Mock twist yarns are spun 
from two different colored rovings 
All types of novelty jarns could 
nardly be given. Most manufacturers 
sell them by number instead of by 
naa.e. To give the reader an idea as 
tc what are classed novelty yarns he 
is asked to stop and think how a 
broken gear on a spinning frame will 
cut the yarn at intervals. This woulc) 
be clashed as a 

NOVELTY YARN 

if such a construction was intended. 
Some novelty yarns are uniformly un- 
even yarns; that is, they have thick 
and thin places alternating regularly. 
Novelty yarns are often twisted toge*i»- 
er, and sometimes a common yarn is 
twisted with a novelty yarn. 

Common yarns are twisted with nov- 
elty yams known as bunch yams, 
which are composed of small bunches 
called slubs. Slubs are bunches of un- 
twisted yarn, and for this reason the 
kind of yarn is twisted with very fine 
common yam. This allows the yarn 
to taper off to a thin thread, and at 
the sianie time hold the loose fibres 
together. 

Up to the present time, it is safe to 
say that there have been over 15,000 
styles of novelty yarns made. It must 
be understood that the different de- 
signs result chiefly from different col- 
ored yarns and combination of miate- 
rials that are constructed singly or 
twisted together. Novelty yarns, as a 
rule, are used in extremely small quan- 
tities and made relatively heavy. 
Yarns are plied together chiefly to give 
greater strength and resistance to fric- 
tion than is found in single yarns. 
There is 

MUCH ARGUMENT 

about the claim that ply yarns are 
stronger than single yarns of the same 
diameter. Some writers claim that the 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



473 



twist in the single yarn has vi^ry little 
or nothing to do with the strength 
of the double yarn. Continuing they 
claim that the above is very easily 
demonstrated by the fact that spin- 
dle bands made from roving are as 
strong as if made from yarn. Although 
the writer is willing to admit that the 
difference in the breaking strength is 
not very great in case a long staple 
cotton is used, it must be admitted 
that, since a ply yarn consists of two 
strands, it is not so liable to be pulled 
apart if subjected to any process that 
may fray its surface, or by a strain 
brought on the yarn. The above sub- 
ject can be compared with that of 
double roving, because it must be ad- 
mitted that a ply yarn has double the 
doublings, if the single strand of the 
double yarn has been prepa,red by the 
same sequence of processes. 
When the staple is very short, the 

PLY YARN 

is much stronger than the single yarn 
of the same relative diameter. Again, 
any overseer of twisting will so ar- 
range the work that the strands will 
be twisted in the opposite direction to 
that in which they are spun. This will 
again largely reduce the tendency to- 
ward the separation of the fibres in 
the other threads if more than two-ply. 
From the above it can be seen that a 
ply yarn composed of two or more sin- 
gle yarns has more strength than one 
single yarn of the same weight. For 
the above reason ply yarns are used 
extensively as extra threads in the 
weaving, chiefly for warp, where the 
yarn is called on to stand much strain. 
For instance, they are often used for 
seh^ages, since the ends at this point 
must also withstand a lateral pull to- 
ward the centre of the cloth. Again, 
in some mills where the ply and single 
yarn are woven from one beam, a great 
amount of strain is continually on the 
ply yarn. This is, of course, under- 
stood by most all weavers, because it 
is well known that a coarser thread 
will contract more. The writer is will- 
ing to admit that the above method is 
wrong, still you will find that in some 
mills the above method gives very 
little trouble. 



In the knitting industry ply yarns 
are required for different purposes such 
as give the garment a special appear- 
ance or feel, and to be used in such 
parts of the fabric as heels of socks, 
where the imost wear occurs. Ply 
yarns are also used for lace making, 
in which it is essential to have a fine, 
strong, even thread. For the same 
reason, sewing thread is plied, also 
crochet, mending, machine, covering, 
seaming and other yarns. Twisting is 
done on machines of various types, the 
type depending on the condition of the 
yarn when it is twisted and also the 
method employed to insert the twist 
For instance, in some mills, for rea- 
sons stated elsewhere, the yam is 
twisted in two conditions, dry and wet, 
and the machines are so named, dry 
and wet twisters. Ply yarns are twist- 
ed on various types of machines, 
known as the flve r twister, ring foyister 
and twin jgr. The flyer twister resem- 
bles a speeder flyer and spindle, only, 
of course, is much smaller. The ring 
twister resembles the ring frame, hav- 
ing spindles, rings and travelers, and 
the principle is the same. A twiner 
is on the same principle as the mule, 
on which the ply yam is constructed 
into cops for the shuttle. Besides, there 
are dift'eient combinations of processes, 
and varieties of forms from or to 
which the yarn is twisted. No. 180. 



CXXCI. TWISTING. 

For instance, you must have suit 
able arrangements when twisting 
from cops or spinning bobbins direct- 
ly to the twister bobbin at one proc- 
ess. Twisting from spinning cops on 
to a twiner cop, spooling to double- 
headed spools, twisting directly from 
these to the twister bobbin, winding 
two or more threads on a parallel tube 
at a doubler-winding machine and 
twisting directly on to the twister 
bobbin, all call for a different organ- 
ization. The 

OBJECT OF TWISTING 
is to form the ply yarn by inserting a 
sufficient amount of twist in the re- 
ouired direction, but it should be un- 
derstood here that aitnoagh the twist 



474 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



calculation for twisters is the same a& 
the ring-spinning frame, no drafting 
takes place on the twisters. 

As on the ring spinning frames, 
there are two general styles of rings. 



such an extent, that the shape ot the 
rail must be changed. The traveler 
and ring for dry twisting is on the 
same principle as the ring and travel- 
ler on a spinning frame, while on thp 




Fig. 62. Section Through Wet Twister, Showing Water Pan. 



one being used for the dry twist, and 
the other for the wet twist. On the 
ring frames, the flanges are the same 
v/hether single or double ring, while on 
the twisters, the two styles differ to 



wet twisters the ring is forced into 
the hole cut out of the rail, so that 
one side of the ring will form the low- 
er flange, and the other side of the 
ring the upper flange. With such an 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



475 



arrangement, it <;an be seen that the 
rail bears on the 

CENTRAL SURFACE 
of the outside of the ring. The trav- 
eller is so shaped and long enough to 
fit and run on both flanges at the 
same time. One good point about wet 
twisters with the rail, ring and trav- 
eller described above is that instead 
of turning the rings, the rails are 
made reversible, and may be turned 
over when badly worn. From the 
above, it does seem that this could 
easily be done on ring-spinning 
frames. 

When a heavy and a large bobbin 
is in use on the twister, a brake is 
applied that can be operated by the 
knee. By such a brake, the attendant 
presses the face of the brake, and 
this in turn forces an arm which has 
a friction pad. As soon as it is 
brought into contact with the spindle, 
ii is quickly stopped. The builder is 
PC much like the builders on the ring 
frames, that what was said above can 
be applied here. The reader must, of 
course, use judgment concerning the 
difference in the taper or any other 
points when constructing a bobbin 
that may be disturbed by the increas- 
ed diameter of the thread. Having a 
device to raise the top rolls on a 
twister is a great advantage. It saves 
many roller laps, which means a sav- 
ing of waste and also good yarn. In 
case an end of the 

TWISTED YARN 
between the rolls breaks, and the top 
roll is not raised, the yarn laps around 
one of the rolls until cut off and 
pieced up by the tender. These laps 
should be avoided as much as possi- 
ble, because twisted yarn around a 
roll is difficult to remove, and besides 
it cuts and marks the rolls. 

For this reason, stop-motions are in 
most cases applied to prevent any 
more yarn being drawn rrom the 
creel after an end breaks at the front 
of the twister. Twisters equipped with 
this so called stop-motion can be run 
at a greater speed, which means a 
larger production, with less waste and 
better quality. The stop-motion is a 



simple one; it consists of a metal plate 
supported by the journal of the top 
roll. Attached to this arm is a small 
tongue that is fed in between the 
rolls when the end breaks. A long 
curved wire extends from the arm out- 
wards, and passes downwards, carry- 
ing at its end an eye for the yarn to 
pass through. A small lip that comes 
into contact with the bottom roll pre- 
vents the tongue from being fed 
through the rolls. The tension of the 
yarn prevents the small tongue from 
being fed. When the end breaks, the 
weight of the curved wire causes the 
tongue to come into contact with the 
top roll and raises it, which prevents 
the rolls drawing any more yarn. 

The arm is usually extended at its 
rear portion, so that when it shows 
abova 

THE ROLLS, 

the tender knows that an end is bro- 
ken. Of course, when such a device 
is applied to wet twisters, the mate- 
rial of which the device is composea 
must resist rust. Again, the wire and 
arm must be adjusted to suit the ten- 
sion for a wet twisting traveller. It 
must be understood, also, the con- 
trivance for wetting the yarn imme- 
diately before it is twisted must also 
be of suitable material to resist rust 
The chief object of wetting the yarn 
is so that the single yarn forming the 
ply thread will lay closer. It is claim- 
ed that wetting the yarn produces a 
more solid, smooth, and slightly 
stronger thread. It only lakes a glance 
at each thread made in the various 
systems, to realize the amount of dif- 
ference. The short fibres project from 
the thread when ply yarns are dry 
twisted, while when wet twisted, the 
fibres are laid more closely, which 
prevents any short fibres fro'm pro- 
jecting from the surface of the ply 
yarn. 
There are 

THREE KINDS 

of wet twisting, namely, American; 
English and Scotch. In the American 
system, the number of ends necessary 
to form the ply thread are passed 
through a guide wire, and then under 



476 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



a glass rod in a trough of water to tlie 
rolls. A glass rod is used also in the 
English system, but a handle Is at- 
tached, and the glass can be raised for 
dry twisting; the passage of the yam 



rolls can be raised from the trougu 
for dry twisting. 

An important point for any person 
having charge of twisters is to he 




Fig. 63. Section Through Wet Twister With Glass Rod Lifted Out of Pan. 



is the same. In the Scotch system, the 
bottom roll comes in contact with the 
water in the trough, and the rolls are 
mounted on arms adjusted to a hori- 
zontal rod, by means of which the 



sure and have the correct constant for 
each kind of twister, because al- 
though the diameter of cylinders sel- 
dom varies on ring frames, it is dif- 
ferent with twisters. Not only does the 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



477 



diameter of the cylinders vary, but 
also the diameter of 

THE WHORLS, 

and this, of course, calls for different 
gearing. 

The amount of twist to be inserted 
in a ply yarn is usually determined by 
the buyer, when ordering, and the 
amount of twist is gauged by what is 
known as a multiplier. A multipler 
means a constant, which, when multi- 
plied by the square root of the counts 
of the single yarn, gives the number 
of turns per inch. This number is gov- 
erned by the purchaser's experience, 
and for this reason, there is much va- 
riation, and this is the cause for so 
much dissatisfaction in the ply-yarn 
trade. A good rule to follow is to use 
a small number for soft yarn, and a 
large number for sewing tnread, har- 
ness yarn, etc. To give an idea how a 
buyer can tell how many turns should 
be put into the yarn of a certain num- 
ber, let us assume in this case that 
the buyer uses six for a multiplier, 
and the number of yarns is 80s. 80 
divided by 2 equals 40. The square 
root of 40 equals 6.33 times 6 equals 
37.98, or practically 38 turns per inch, 
that should be in 80s yarn. All manu- 
facturers of ply yarns should ascer- 
tain from the buyer when he orders, 
^i^-hether 

The multiplier 

is to be considered as multiplying the 
square root of the counts of the single 
yarn, which forms the ply thread, or 
of a single yarn that would be equiva- 
lent to the completed ply yarn. It can 
be seen from the above example that 
the multiplier used for a single yarn 
that would be equivalent to the com- 
pleted yam would be much larger. 

The production of a twister is gen- 
erally figured by the diameter and 
speed of the front roll, and this, of 
course, only gives a theoretical pro- 
duction. Like obtaining the production 
on other machines by the speed and 
diameter of the front roll, .an allow- 
ance must be made to compensate for 
the amount of time lost in stopping 
the frame for doffing and various oth- 



er purposes. This makes the above 
method only approximately correct. 
The shortest way to obtain the closest 
production on twisters is to subtract 
the amount of waste made on spool- 
ing and twisting from the spooling 
production, provided, of course, thai 
the 

PROPER METHOD 

ol finding the production on the spool- 
ers is employed, as was explained. 
Sometimes the production per spindle 
is demanded, which is obtained by the 
following rule: 

Assuming that a twister turnt 
out 480 pounds per week off 240 spin- 
dles when two strands of 20s are 
twisted together, what would be the 
number of pounds turned off each 
spindle? 480 divided by 240 equals 2 
pounds. The above rule is simple, and 
used when the machines have no 
clocks, but when clocks are used, the 
following rule is generally employed: 
Divide the number of hanks per spin- 
dle by the resultant count. The above 
would give 20 hanks per spindle, 20s 
divided by 2 equals 10. 20 divided by 
10 equals 2 pounds per spindle. The 
above is simply given to show what 
useless figuring is sometimes done in 
a mill. What is the use of figuring 
the production of any machine, and 
carrying the example to three decimal 
places, as is frequently done in textile 
schools and text books, when at the 
same time you ask the student to al- 
low 5 to 20 per cent to compensate 
for the amount of time lost in stop- 
ping the frame for various purposes? 
We must admit that it is not only 
time wasted, but misleading, because 
you will find many graduates who will 
use only such methods. Besides the 
variation in the strand amounts to 
more than a whole number in most 
cases, so what is the use of using so 
maLy decimal places, when the pro- 
duction can easily be found with the 
above short and more accurate 
methods? 

There are few flyer twisters, and as 
this method of twisting is mostly 
used only for linen, hemp, and jute 
yarns, no description is given. The 



478 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



chief point in the management of 
twisters is to watch and see that the 

CORRECT NUMBER 

of ends is being passed by the rolls 
to form the ply yarn. This is impor- 
tant, and is the cause of much trou- 
ble, especially in thread mills. The 
more times the yarn is plied, the eas- 
ier the defective places will get by. 
For instance, in case of only two-ply, 
if one end has broken, the other end 
will also break in the front of the 
rolls, because in the ordinary method 
of twisting, with the twist in the re- 
\erse direction to that in which the 
yarn is spun, it is impossible 
for one end to run without the other, 
as the reverse twist untwists the sin- 
gle yarn, which causes the fibres in 
the strand to separate, and the end 
is sure to break. It can be seen that 
in case of a ply higher than two, it 
is possible for one of the single ends 
to break, while the others pass for- 
ward to the bobbin with one end miss- 
ing. As stated, the 

STOP MOTIONS 

are valuable for the prevention of 
such defects in the yarn, and the qual- 
ity of the yarn or thread is always of 
a better grade when they are used. 
When an end breaks and laps 
around the rolls, it is as a rule qaickly 
discovered by the tender, even if the 
machines are not equipped with stop 
motions, but as it may sometimes 
break in the creel, it may run a long 
time before it is discovered. When it 
is discovered by the tender, she will 
take a chance and let it go, because 
she knows that combed or 
dyed yarns of which ply yarns are 
composed, are very expensive, and 
knows the consequence of making too 
much waste, so for this reason, 
she will let it go. The numer- 
ous twister tenders letting such de- 
fects go has been often the cause of 
thread companies losing large orders. 
Another point about twisters is to 
keep the bands as tight as possible, 
in order to avoid trouble with the 
purchaser, because a slack band on a 
twister shows up badly. No. 181. 



CXXCII. SIZING THE WARP. 

Cotton manufacturing owes a great 
deal of its success to the correct meth- 
od of sizing warps. The object of siz- 
ing the yarn is to harden its outer 
surface and give it strength enough to 
pass through the operation of weav- 
ing without breakages. The warp ends 
undergo so much chafing while pass- 
ing the harnesses that if the threads 
are not properly coated, there will be 
trouble. 

In some mills, little attention is giv- 
en to the sizing. A certain amount of 
sizing material is weighed and dump- 
ed into so many gallons of water and 
boiled. Regardless of the size or grade 
of the yarn, the kind of size is nevei 
changed. 

Sizing warps requires experience 
and judgment to prevent trouble. Cot- 
ton yarns require a well prepared so- 
lution before being put into the loom, 
and the method and proportion of the 
sizing depends upon the class of 
cloth to be woven. The process of siz- 
ing to some extent lays the fibres 
along the surface of the warp yarn. 
This reduces the amount of fly at the 
loom, and the decrease friction that 
would result if the fibres projected 
from the surface of the yarn. 

The above is a point that must be 
considered in most cases, and one 
that is the basis of much trouble in 
the finished cloth. For instance, if the 
thread is sized too hard, the cloth will 
have a harsh feeling. Instead of rem- 
edying the defect in the sizing, the 
ring spinner is often blamed for hav- 
ing too much twist in 'his yarn. He 
is therefore forced to take out twist, 
when perhaps there is not enough in 
the first place. This makes trouble in 
the following processes. In the weav- 
ing, the yarn will continually be snap- 
ping, because in such a condition, it 
depends chiefiy on the sizing for its 
strength. 

FOR SHORT FIBRES. 

If the fibres are short, and it is de- 
sired to lay the fibres along the sur- 
face of the yarn, more size in pro- 
portion to the weight of the yam is 
required, while on the other hand, if 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 

imm iiijiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirtTH:\ 



479 




480 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



it is desired to have a soft, smooth 
face finished oloth, less size in pro- 
portion to the weight of the yarn 
should be used. A yarn made of long 
staple cotton does not require the 
same sizing as yarns made from short 
fibres. Of course, if the warp yarn 
contains a large amount of waste, a 
medium or heavy size to get the yarn 
through the loom must be used. 

Sizing is used for many purposes. 
For instance, some mills use the size 
not only for strengthening the yarn 
to enable it to withstand the strain 
and friction of weaving, but it is used 
also to improve the appearance of the 
cloth by making It fuller. 

Fine yarns, say, about 80s to 100s, 
are often prepared and sized on what 
is known as dressing frames, but the 
machine chiefly adapted to treat the 
warp yarn as it comes from the warp- 
er is known as the slasher. The chief 
defect found on most slashers in op- 
eration to-day is that of having the 
steam admitted to the size box on 
only one side of the box. In this way, 
the solution on the side of the box 
where the steam enters is boiled 
more than that on the other side. The 
above causes trouble in the weaving 
room. To overcome this, many mills 
have equipped their size boxes with 
perforated pipes that are made to cir- 
cle the box. How many mills have 
men in their slashing departments 
who take the above points into con- 
sideration? This is often left to the 
slasher tender's helper. When condi- 
tions in the weave room are very bad, 
questions may be asked. If the tender 
says that it was a bad barrel of tallow 
or waxine, the matter is forgotten 
until more trouble occurs. An inves- 
tigation may then be made, but it is 
too late, or at least too late to rem- 
edy the amount of yam that has al- 
ready been dressed. 

KINDS OF SLASHERS. 

There are various kinds of slashers 
that differ in construction, and for 
this reason, each type will be explain- 
ed. Slashers are named after their 
construction, namely, cylinder slash- 
ers and hot air slashers. The hot-air 



slasher is seldom used, and differs 
from the cylinder slasher only in the 
drying arrangement. The yarn in this 
type of slasher is dried by being pass- 
ed through a hot-air chamber that 
contains many coils of pipes, through 
which steam circulates. The chamber 
being closed, the air within reaches a 
high temperature, and the sheet of 
yarn is guided through this chamber, 
and emerges well dry. The beams are 
placed in a creel in this type of slash- 
er, and the ends from these beams 
are passed over guide rolls. The yarn 
passes through the size box under 
the immersion roll, next between the 
first size roll and squeeze roll, and 
then between the second size roll and 
squeeze roll, and then to the hot-air 
chamber. The operation is the same 
with both types of slashers, and the 
only difference lies in the drying ar- 
rangement. 

One point that is overlooked on 
slashers is the amount of steam in- 
jected in the size box, which tends to 
thin the size. In order to overcome 
this, many manufacturers have a 
steam jacket installed at the bottom 
oi the size box, no steam being admit- 
ted to the solution. This method of 
heating size is the best and only 
method to keep the size of uniform 
consistency. 
SUPPLY STEAM ON ONE SIDE. 
With the size of box equipped with 
a steam pipe, supply steam on only 
one side of the box, the force of the 
steam is continually driving the 
heavy ingredients away to the other 
side of the box. Besides, the water 
from the condensed steam is more apt 
to remain on the same side of the 
box. In this way, the warp ends are 
sized heavier on one side than on the 
other, and as was explained else- 
where, the yarn is not evenly dried. 
If heat enough was supplied to dry the 
yarn on the heavy side, it would burn 
the yarn on the light side, and if there 
is only heat enough to dry the thin 
side, the ends on the heavy side will 
remain damp and cluster together. In 
order to suit both sides, the slasher 
tender from experience will divide the 
heat, and for the above reason, when 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



481 



a new style of goods is dressed, a 
slight difference in the weight of the 
yarn and number of ends give 
trouble. 

When a size box is equipped with 
perforated pipes, it is different. As 
the solution is boiled to the same de- 
gree, the experienced slasher tender 
can reduce the amount of steam, and 
in this way, there is little danger of 
burning the yarn. Although the above 
method is not the best, it will, with 
proper attention, give good results. 

When the steam does not enter the 
size solution, no attention need be 
given to the size box. The temper- 
ature of the jacket is the only point to 
be watched. With this method, even 
if the weight of the yarn or the num- 
ber of ends is changed, it is not liable 
to give trouble. 

What makes size solutions cake? 
This trouble is caused by introducing 
steam at one side of the size box, by 
not supplying steam uniformly, or by 
excessive use of tallow. 

A SUITABLE SOLUTION. 

In order to be able to arrange a 
suitable solution to suit all markets, 
it. is necessary to understand the na- 
ture of the materials that form the so- 
lution. It is also necessary to under- 
stand all kinds of raw stock. It is a 
good plan to have the carder trained, 
so that he will advise the overseer of 
the slashing department when the na- 
ture of the stock changes. It often 
happens in a cotton mill that two and 
three kinds of yarns can be detected 
on the beams by their color; some 
will show very white, while others 
■will have a bluish yellow, or gray col- 
or, which indicates that the stock 
coming in is changing. 

In arranging the solution, the first 
thing to consider is the size of the 
kettle. This is where a mistake is 
made too often. For instance, you will 
often hear slasher tenders ask one 
another how many pounds of ingredi- 
ents they use to a batch of size. The 
reply is frequently given without men- 
tioning the capacity of the kettle. The 
kettles generally used for the same 
number of slashers are generally the 



same size, but in some mills, a larger 
kettle is used. The usual and best 
method is to have a small kettle for 
each slasher. 

In preparing the solution, the best 
plan is to always reduce the ingredi- 
ents of any mixing under considera- 
tion to the basis of 100 gallons of wa- 
ter, instead of the size of the kettle. 
Then consider the quantity of dry 
starch, weighing substances, soften- 
ing substances, and other ingredients. 
The proportion of the ingredients to • 
be used and the method of mixing 
them is the most important matter. 

IT IS SAFE TO SAY 

that there is no subject con- 
nected with cotton manufactur- 
ing where such a variety of 
opinions -exist, and where so many 
different methods are employed, as in 
size mixing. You will find that a dif- 
ferent solution is used in almost ev- 
ery mill, but you will find the best 
results in those mills where different 
mixings are provided to suit the sev- 
eral classes of cloth. 

Size mixing is like twist in the 
yarn. It must be governed by local 
conditions. The location of the slasher 
room, so far as this affects the hu- 
midity, must be considered. 

In preparing size, the following 
points should be considered: (1) Me- 
dium numbers In a cloth of light sley. 
and pick can be woven with a light 
size. (2) If the warp has to be wo- 
ven with a fine reed make the solu- 
tion stronger. The reason for the ex- 
tra amount of size should easily be 
seen, since the ends in each case are 
brought closer together, and the fric- 
tion on them is largely increased. (3) 
For a heavy pick, the warp ends pass 
through the harnesses and reed more 
slowly, and are more subject to chaf- 
ing. (4) The twist per inch in the 
yarn must be considered, because a 
coarse thread, being loosely twisted, 
tends to fray in the harnesses and 
reed more easily than a lighter yarn 
properly twisted, and for this reason 
requires a stronger size. (5) The 
kinds of raw stock should be consid- 
ered. No. 182. . 



482 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



CXXCIII. MIXING. 

A mixing is weakest for coarse 
yarns, and the percentage is reduced 
in proportion to the counts. If the 
cloth is woven with a heavy sley and 
pick, even though the number of the 
yarn is the same, the solution must be 
made heavier, and if the yarn is very 
fine, the solution must also be made 
heavier. In order to obtain the best 
results, and have good weaving with 
the least amount of yarn breakage, it 
is necessary to have several mixings 
to suit the class of cloth to be woven. 
Often you will find different arrange- 
ment in looms to separate the entan- 
gled ends that are caked together, and 
the superintendent will brag of such 
a device, instead of giving his atten- 
tion to the sizing. The writer has in 
mind one mill where the size mixing 
is so well prepared that the weavers 
are running ten and twelve looms 
without stop-motions. 

A good size mixing can be distin- 
guished from a poor one in many 
ways; for instance, its adhesive prop- 
erty, which is the leading qualifica- 
tion, can easily be determined by the 
substance falling off at the loom. Such 
a case proves that too much starch is 
used to form the body of the mixing. 
The principal ingredients are potato 
starch, corn starch, sago flour, wheat 
flour, which are used to form the body 
of the mixing. Softeners which are 
used to avoid harshness, and at the 
same time preserve the softness and 
pliability of the yarn, are tallow, Jap- 
anese wax, glycerine, castor oil, palm 
oil and soap. Tallow is no doubt the 
most useful, but is little used in some 
mills, owing to it being so easily af- 
fected by atmospheric conditions. 

WEIGHTING SUBSTANCES 

are used in medium and heavy 
sizing to add weight that the 
adhesive substances cannot give. 
Perhaps the most useful ma- 
terial for a weighting substance is 
china clay, known to some mill men 
as kaolin. This is free from grit, very 
smooth, dead white and uniform in 
color, and besides it has a great at- 
traction for moisture. Chemicals are 



introduced to destroy any micro-or- 
ganisms^ and vegetable life that may 
exist, and thus prevent the decompo- 
sition of the size or the growth of the 
mildew. 

In some cases, soda is used to pre- 
vent iron stains, while turpentine is 
used to cut up the softening materials, 
so as to get a better blend. It should 
be used only in small quantities, and 
the mixture should never exceed over 
a pint of turpentine per one hundred 
gallons of water. 

The following table is given to be 
used for an approximate amount of 
starch, and softening materials, that 
should be used to each one hundred 
gallons of water for pure sizing. It 
should be understood that it is im- 
possible to give a definite solution 
that can be applied to all fabrics. 



rt &; c 






Sc-. 



ai2 ( 



10s to 30s 


45 


5.5 


30s to 45s 


55 


6.5 


45s to 70s.... 


75 


S.O 


70s to 100s.... 


88 


12.0 



X 




•HhS 






lit 


S 3 


■« ai P 




'-'aip, 


m 




5.5 


35 


5.0 


40 


6.5 


45 


10.0 


63 






in 



4.6 
6.0 
6.6 
7.0 



In using the above table for the first 
batch, the warps sized should be ex- 
amined in the looms to ascertain 
whether thew weave satisfactorily or 
not, then according to the result, the 
size should be either weakened or 
strengthened, until the right solution 
is obtained for the class of goods in 
question. The ingredients used should 
be so that when the same style of 
goods is to be slashed, the right so- 
lution can be quickly determined. 

How long should the sizing be boil- 
ed before using? Economy in the use 
of sizing material depends greatly up- 
on the boiling. A comparatively weak 
sizing will give the same results as a 
stronger mixing, if well boiled. 
GREAT PRECAUTION 
must be taken, however, not to cook 
it badly. To be able to boil the solu- 
tion properly requires much experi- 
ence. 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



483 



Use of China clay necessitates tlie 
addition of other materials to aid the 
clay and make the yarn pliable. The 
following is for a 50 per cent mixing 
to 100 gallons of water: Wheat starch, 
SOO pounds; clap, 150 pounds; tallow> 
60 pounds; chloride of zinc, 24 pounds, 
and chloride of magnesium, 18 
pounds. About three or four ounces of 
aniline blue should be used to improve 
the color. For a 100 per cent size, the 
following will give good results: 
Starch, 340 pounds; clay, 340 pounds; 
tallow, 70 pounds; chloride of zinc, 40 
pounds, and chloride of magnesium, 40 
pounds. For a 150 to 200 per cent size, 
the following will be found suitable: 
Wheat starch, 560 pounds; China 
clay, 1,600 pounds; tallow, 1,600 
pounds; soap, 20 pounds; soda, 30 
pounds; chloride of magnesium, 40 
gallons; muriate of zinc, 20 gallons, 
and aniline blue, one ounce. 

When the above sizes are made, the 
ivheat starch is steeped alone for 
three or four weeks, and then the 
muriate of zinc and soda and heat ap- 
plied, is added. The clay and oth- 
er ingredients are, of course, mixed 
separately in the size kettle and boil- 
ed, then the two compounds are boil- 
ed together. Even with good size, 
there is often trouble. For instance, 
the trouble may be in the size kettle, 
in the size box, in the squeeze rolls 
or in the. drag roll. No. 183. 



CXXCIV. SIZE KETTLES. 

We will first consider the kettle. 
Kettles are generally situated on a 
platform at a higher level than the 
size box, so that the solution will fall 
by gravity. The kettle consists of a 
cast iron body, and should be lined 
with copper. 

The use of turpentine to blend the 
sizing solution , when the fault lies in 
the speed of the mixing paddle, is a 
common mistake. When there is trou- 
ble in the blending, the first thing to 
do is to time the paddle shaft, instead 
of using turpentine. The paddle shaft 
should revolve at least 100 revolutions 
per minute to blend the solution prop- 
erly. 



Another defect that will injure the 
sizing of the yarn is having the size 
rolls out of level. Recently, 
the weavers of a large New 
England plant were having much 
trouble through the above defect. The 
warp ends on one side of the warps 
coming from one of the slashers were 
all clustered together, and different 
devices were resorted to in order to 
separate the ends before reaching the 
harnesses. The trouble was hard to 
locate, but it was found that the size 
rolls on this slasher were not level, 
and most of the size was going more 
to one side. As the squeeze rolls rest 
upon the size rolls, they too were out 
of level, and this caused the yarn to 
be more heavily sized at one side of 
the machine than at the other. Conse- 
quently, the size was not pressed out 
enough by 

THE SQUEEZE ROLLS, 
and the heat from the two 
cylinders was not great enough 
to dry all of the yarn. Some 
of it left the cylinders slightly 
humid, and was pressed together by 
the presser roll on the weaver beam. 
Care and judgment are required to 
cover the squeeze rolls. The squeeze 
rolls on a slasher are common iron 
rolls, usually about six inches in diam- 
eter, and the first layer of cloth is 
either glued or thickly coated with 
white paint. Some writers advise us- 
ing three qualities of cloth, namely, 
coarse, medium and fine. 

The object of covering the squeeze 
rolls with cloth is to cause the size to 
penetrate the yarn. In order to accom- 
plish this, the selection of the cloth 
to cover these rolls is an important 
consideration. 

Do not be in too much of a hurry to 
change the quality of starch; stop and 
reason things out, and if all parts are 
examined and found to be in perfect 
order, then it is time to blame the 
quality of the solution. There are 
many kinds of prepared solutions oit 
the market that give trouble. The 
best method is to use the purest of 
starch and prepare the solution. 

It is not always necessary to use a 
new cloth for covering a squeeze roll 



484 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



■when tlie outside layer becomes stiff. 
This can be remedied by taking the 
cloth off and soaking it in water. Un- 
necessary expense can be saved by 
giving these small details proper 
attention. 

The best method when covering the 
squeeze rolls is to have one man in 
charge of the belt shipper, so as to 
run the slasher as slow as desired. A 
man should be on each side of the roll, 
and as the cloth is being wound, it 
should be given a lateral pull toward 
the outside of the roll, so as to pre- 
vent its puckering up at different 
places on the surface of the roll. The 
above is the cause for humid 
blotches found on the sheet of ends on 
a weaver beam. 

When 

THE CLOTH PUCKERS 
up it prevents the other por- 
tions of the surface from com- 
ing into the necessary contact 
with the size roll, and the 
size is allowed to follow the yarn at 
every revolution of the squeeze. 

After the squeeze roll is covered, a 
level should be placed on its surfaice to 
see if it is level. There are few slash- 
er tenders who do this, because they 
claim that it has very little to do 
with even sizing; nevertheless, un- 
even size rolls have, in the past, and 
are to-day giving trouble in many 
mills, and the above is one cause for 
the trouble. 

Trouble exists often in the weave 
room on account of poorly dressed 
warps. What an overseer of slash- 
ing should do when he receives com- 
plaints from the weave room is to ex- 
amine every part of each slasher be- 
fore the solution is blamed. 

No matter how good the weaver is 
when the warps are poorly sized, he 
is as helpless as a carder or spinner 
V hen poor stock is in process. The 
basis of good weaving lies in well- 
dressed warps. Are warps weighed 
after they are sized? Is it not a fact 
fhat they are seldom weighed, and 
c'till the amount of size applied to a 
warp may vary 15 or more per cent? 
When the cloth is found to be light or 
heavy in the cloth room, is the sizing 



given any attention for the cause? 
After the filling is first weighed, then 
the warp yarn, and if they are found 
to be right, the looms are examined. 
If the looms are in good condition, 
and the cloth shows on the heavy 
side, in most every case the filling is 
made lighter, even when it is on the 
mark. What is the result? As soon as 
the sizing varies on the light side, 
the cloth, of course, becomes too light, 
and the filling is 

AGAIN MADE HEAVIER. 
Cloth thus constructed will show light 
and heavy in different portions, and 
this is many times the cause of losing 
large orders. 

Can you put too much cloth on the 
drag roll? If you do, what effect does 
it have? I have never yet seen the 
above question properly answered. 
The object of the drag roll or friction 
roll, as it is sometimes called, is to 
pull the yarn forward from the size 
roll. The size rolls are usually the 
same diameter as the drag roll, and 
they are geared so that the drag roll 
will take up just the amount of yarn 
delivered by the size rolls. For the 
above reason, a very thin cloth should 
be used to cover the drag roll. Some 
argue that at least three layers of 
cloth should be added to the drag 
roll, and this is done at the present 
time in many mills, the reason given 
being that it is necessary to 
cover this roll with three layers of 
cloth, in order to prevent the warp 
yarn from being cut by the measuring 
roll, and also the guide roll, with which 
the drag roll comes in contact. Al- 
though the above is true to some ex- 
tent, you will find that one layer will 
give better results, simply because 
the drag roll has an evener surface 
when one layer is used, and there is 
sufficient cloth to protect the yarn 
from being cut by coming into too 
close contact with the measuring roll 
and guide roll. 

Can you put too much cloth on the 
drag roll? My answer is, yes, because 
when there is much cloth on the drag 
roll, the yarn is pulled forward at a 
greater speed than it is delivered by 
the size roll. 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



485 




When too much cloth is added to 
the drag roll the yarn must be stretch- 
ed, because the drive of both the size 
roll and drag roll is positive. Cotton 
yarn, stretched when in a humid 
state, loses much of its elasticity, and 
the warp ends are continually snap- 
ping at the loom. 

In many cotton mills, the following 
rule is adopted, but it is not correct, 
however, unless the ends show a little 
slackness. The rule is to have the 
drag roll one-eighth of an inch larger 
ill diameter than the size roll. The 
writer himself has advocated this 
rule, but only for an approximate idea. 
Using the above rule, the drag roll 
would have an increase in surface 
speed of almost one-third of one inch, 
since 3.1416 times 6 equals 18.8496, 
and 3.1416 times 61 equals 19.2423. 

No. 184. 



ig. 65. Sectional View of a Cylinder 
Slasher and Creel. 



CXXCV. DRAG ROLL COVERING. 

No rule can be laid down for cover 
ing the drag roll, except that the yarn 
should not be stretched. When the 
yarn is stretched on a slasher, its ap- 
pearance is considerably affected. The 
fibres will be found to protrude from 
the body of the yarn, and if the warps 
are for sale, they may be rejected. On 
the other hand, many manufacturers 
increase the tension between the 
size roll and the drag roll, so as to 
make a softer finished cloth, but it 
must be said that this is a poor place 
to obtain an oozy yarn, as it is termed, 
because the amount of yarn breakage 
at the looms offsets the advantage. 

One defect that exists on 
nearly all slashers is that of 
having the exhaust to carry 
away the steam directly over the 
cylinders. An arrangement could 
easily be made so that the steam 
could be taken away directly over the 
size box, and in this way the cylin- 
ders could be kept dry. It is often the 
ease that the exhaust does not work 
as it should, and the condensed steam 
falls on the surface of the cylinder, 
which prevents the heat of the cylin- 
der drying the yarn. 

When a slasher is stopped for a 
time without having any steam ad- 



COT:"TON MILL MANAGEMENT 



mitted to the cylinders, the steam that 
is already in the cylinder will con- 
dense. If this water is allowed to re 
main or accumulate in the cylinders, 
it is impossible to obtain good work. 
In some mills, the buckets do not 
work as they should, and a certain 
amount of water is always in the cyl- 
inders. There are generally 

THREE BUCKETS 

ir each cylinder to carry away this 
condensed steam, and they should be 
kept in order at all times. 

When these buckets get out of or- 
der, they give warning, the water 
which collects being quickly discovered 
by any experienced slasher tender. 
Sometimes the buckets are in perfect 
order, and the cause is in the pipe 
that runs from the buckets. However, 
when water collects in any slasher 
cylinder, the machine should be stop- 
ped, and repairs made at once. Every 
revolution of the cylinder that con- 
tains water is turning out work that 
will later give trouble in the weaving. 

The exhaust water is conveyed by 
the exhaust pipe to a steam trap. 
The production of a slasher is deter- 
mined from the measuring roll thai 
rests on and is driven by the drag 
roll. A gear on the end of the meas- 
uring roll drives the measuring mo- 
tion, which indicates the number of 
cuts that passes through the slasher. 
As on the chain warpers, a bell rings 
at the completion of every cut. All 
slashers are provided with a mech- 
ansm, known as a cut marker, that 
stamps a portion of the sheet of yarn 
at the end of each cut. This arrange- 
ment often causes trouble by using 
too much dye when stamping. The 
stamp sometimes is heavy enough to 
soak into another layer of yarn, so 
that it is hard to know which is the 
correct mark. By 

CAREFUL OPERATION, 

this' trouble is readily eliminated. 
When more than one slasher is oper- 
ated in a mill, each slasher tender 
should have his own marking color, 
and in this way bad work can be eas- 
ily traced. 



For finding the production of a 
slasher, it is best to first find the 
speed of the drag roll. This is obtain- 
ed by multiplying the speed of the 
driving shaft by the number of teeth 
on the change gear, and dividing the 
quotient by the number of teeth on 
the large drag roll gear. Example: 
Find the speed of the drag roll, when 
the driving shaft is making 280 revo- 
lutions per minute, the change gear 
containing 30 teeth, and the gear on 
the drag roll 100 teeth. 280 times 30 
divided by 100 equals 84 revolutions 
per minute. Knowing the speed of the 
drag roll and its diameter, the num- 
ber of yards slashed is obtained by 
multiplying the circumference of the 
roll in inches by the number of revo- 
lutions, and then dividing the results 
by 36. Example: Assuming the drag 
roll to be six inches in diameter, 84 
times 6 times 3.1416 divided by 36 
equals nearly 44 yards. 

To get the best results the drag 
roll should take up exactly the same 
amount of yarn that is passed for- 
ward by the size rolls. In many cases 
there are too many layers of cloth on 
the drag roll, and this causes much 
snapping of the ends in the weaving. 
In the example we found that the 
slasher turns off 44 yards per minute, 
tut it must be understood that this 
is only the length of one end, and in 
order to get 

THE PRODUCTION 

the number of ends in the warp must 
be multiplied by this length, and then 
divided by 840 and the number of 
yarn. Assuming that the above num- 
ber of yarn is 30s, and the number of 
ends in the warp is 2,200, we have 
2,200 times 44 divided by 840 divided 
by 30 equals 3.84 pounds of warp 
■yarn per minute, not deducting the 
percentage of size added to the yarn. 
If there is too much drag, the yarn 
is made brittle, and this is often 
thought to be due to the cylinder car- 
rying too much steam. 

When covering the drag roll, the 
old cloth should be scraped off, and 
the surface of the roll made perfectly 
smooth before laying on the new 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



487 



cloth. A closely woven tMn cloth, should 
be used to cover this roll, and when 
the slasher is started, attention should 
be given to the sheet of ends to see 
whether it is too tight or not. Some- 
times an extra layer of cloth must be 
added to this roll when running very 
fine yarn, which is composed of long 
fibres, as they give unusual elasticity. 
What is the result of poor sizing? In 
the first place, it will cause an undue 
wear on the heddles of the harnesses, 
and also on the reed. The yarn itself 
will become worn, and cause weak 
places in the cloth. The 

WEAK PLACES 
in the cloth will often tear in the op- 
eration of dyeing or bleaching. 

Second, if the yarn is fine, and has 
an unusal amount of elasticity, a num- 
ber of the threads forming the sheet 
will kink. These kinked threads will 
get entangled with the adjoining 
threads during weaving, and cause 
what is known as a smash in the 
loom. These kinked ends will also find 
their way to the cloth, and protrude 
from its surface. 

Third, if the solution is not properly 
arranged, the size will shed off at the 
loom. This gives the weave room the 
appearance of a flour mill, the looms 
and floor being full of starch. 

Fourth, crossed threads in the weav- 
er beam, which in most cases is 
caused by contracting or expanding 
the reed, when the width of the warp 
has been miscalculated, or by having 
a larger number of ends in one dent 
than in others, causes the ends to 
roll over each other, and become en- 
tangled. There are various ways to 
overcome and remedy the above de- 
fect, but the best way is to learn how 
to prevent these instead of wasting 
time in their remedy. 

When a breakout occurs on a slash- 
er, the help often pull off 15 or 20 
yards of yarn. Four or five yards 
should be sufficient. The amount of 
waste made in this way should be 
carefully checked and reduced as 
much as possible. 

When weaver warps are carelessly 
handled, the ends, instead of remain- 
ing in a solid sheet, become loose and 



crossed. This is the cause of many 
mistakes in the drawing-in process. 
Many slasher rooms have a certain 
number of spools running on filling 
boxes, or in racks, instead of taking 
the trouble to properly arrange the 
intended number of ends at the warp- 
ers. Some overseers of spooling will 
break up a beam by using from 20 to 
100 ends, and then allow this beam 
to lay around the slashing room un- 
covered, until it is unfit for use. In 
most mills where the practice of 
breaking up the number of ends on 
beams is carried on, they do cover 
the beam, and then again, use this 
beam when a set lacks the necessary 
number of ends. In every case, a cer- 
tain amount of yarn is wasted. 

No. 185 



CXXCVI. WASTE. 

The first thing to do when the 
number of ends is arranged, especial- 
ly for a new style of goods, is to 
figure the number of ends intended 
in the cloth. Then, instead of chang- 
ing all the warpers, change only one; 
this is an easy matter. For instance, 
let us suppose that we are running 360 
ends on each warper, and this number 
just suits the style of cloth now in 
process; that is, say that the number 
of ends on each weaver beam is 2,520, 
or in other Avords, it takes just seven 
beams to make the set, and we wish 
to change to another style, to contain 
2,200 ends. 2,200 divided by 360 equals 
f> beams, and 400 ends over, so add 40 
more ends in one warper, in order 
to make up the set. 

After the section beams are placed 
in the creel, the process known as 
leasing is introduced. Leasing should 
rot only be done at the commence^ 
ment of each set, but should be done 

AT FREQUENT INTERVALS 
during the running of the set. The 
leases employed at the slasher are the 
same as those already explained in 
connection with ball warping. These 
bands are inserted at the creel be- 
tween the sheets of yarn at each 
point where the sheet of one beam 
comes in contact with the sheet 



4SS 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



of another. For instance, with eight 
beams, four leases would be laid 
across the warp yarn from above, and 
three from beneath, seven leases in 
all for eight beams. The leases that 
are to be laid on the sheet from be- 
neath are first placed on the floor in 
position for insertion, and those that 
are to be laid from above are laid on 
the creel. 

The slasher is run very slowly when 
this is done, and the first lease is 
placed between the sheets of the two 
beams farthest away from the slash- 
er, which we will call the first two 
beams. After this band has passed the 
point over the lease positioned on the 
floor, this lease is raised from the 
floor, and inserted between the two 
sheets of the second and third beam. 
Then when this lease has passed for- 
ward the required distance, the third 
lease is placed above between the 
third and fourth sheets, and so on, 
until the whole number of leases are 
inserted. 

Every lease when inserted should 
be given a slight pull, so that each 
end will overhang the beam flanges to 
avoid the possibility of any ends of 
the leases being drawn in the sheet, 
but just before the sheet enters the 
size box, the ends should be folded 
over the edges of the sheet, to again 
insure against their being drawn out 
or getting entangled when going 
through the slasher. When the bands 
have reached the front of the slash- 
er, what are known as split-rods are 
inserted by splitting the lease and 
forcing the split-rod through the lease. 
The band is pulled out, and the rod 
takes the place of the lease. The band 
that first appears in front of the 
slasher is the first lease that was in- 
serted between the sheets from the 
first and second beam, and the split 
rod nearest the slasher, which we will 
call the first rod, is inserted as de- 
scribed in its place, thus dividing the 
warp in 

TWO EQUAL SHEETS. 
The yarn from the bottom beams oc- 
cupies a position above the rods, 
while the yarn from the top beams 
occupies a position below the rods. 



The sheets from the four top beams 
are beneath the sheets from the foui 
bottom beams, and in this manner 
the sheets are divided and kept sep- 
a-rated. 

The process of slashing colored 
warps for fancy colored work is im- 
portant, and must be in charge of a 
thoroughly competent man, because 
one hour's carelessness will cause 
weeks of worry and annoyance to a 
weaver, besides causing bad work, 
which necessitates this cloth being 
put into seconds. This lessens the pro- 
duction in the weave room, and the 
bad work at this stage of manufacture 
it more costly than when running 
vihite work. The importance of good 
sizing should easily be seen from the 
fact that one slasher usually supplies 
from three to five hundred warps for 
the looms. 

For the sizing of 

COLORED WARPS, 
it is not advisable to run all the col- 
ors through one size box, because the 
colors that are not fast will tend to 
run and affect the colors of other 
warps. For this reason, many mills 
install two size boxes, and arrange for 
the white warps and fast colors to 
pass in one box, while the other col- 
ored warps are passed through an- 
other. This arrangement changes the 
method of leasing, and is so com- 
plicated that what is known as twist- 
ing-in is employed. When running a 
fancy pattern, the beams running in- 
to one size box are placed in the creel 
together, and the white and fast col- 
ored work are also placed together. 
The lease rods are then inserted in 
the same manner as when running 
white work, and then the warps are 
twisted to their own colors, and in 
this way the pattern cannot be dis- 
arranged. No. 186. 



CXXCVII. POINTERS FOR SLASHER 
TENDERS. 

A presiser roll is used in slash- 
ing machinery to lay the yam in 
compact form on the loom beam 
to insure a hard beam.. This 
roll is held in contact with the 
surface of the beam and is driven by 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



489 



friotional contact. This arrangement is 
the most neglected part of a slasher. 
You will find many mills to-day where 
the managers will run these presser 
rolls from four to eight inches shorter 
than the inside width of the loom 
beam. They will oblige the slasher 
tender to use a filling box filled with 
weights to shift this roll from one 



at a constant speed, and to do this 
requires good judgment. The disks 
must be well covered with the best of 
flannel. As the beam increases in 
size, its revolving speed must de- 
crease. In order not to exert too much 
pull on the yarn, the friction drive 
must always be in perfect condition. 
When the friction drive is neglected, 




Fig. 66. Warping from Cones. 



side of the warp to the other every lit- 
tle while in order to equalize the pres- 
sure on the surface of the yarn, in- 
stead of buying a few presser rolls to 
suit the width of the loom beams em- 
ployed. 

The friction drive for the loom 
beams require much watching and the 
best of stock should be used. The best 
kind of flannel gives 

GOOD RESirLTS. 
It should be the aim of all slasher 
tenders to wind the ends on the beams 



it will not yield gradually. Instead 
it will yield in jerks, which affects the 
yarn in the same manner as having 
too much cloth around the drag roll. 
The friction drive is regulated on most 
slashers by a screw on the side of 
the disk, and the same attention should 
be given to covering the disks that is 
necessary when covering the drag roll. 
The slasher should be run slowly, and 
the sheet of ends should be regulated 
so that the loom beam will not be driv- 
en any faster than is necessary to take 



490 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



up tlie length of yarn delivered by the 
drag roll. 

Many slasher tenders conceive the 
idea that this friction will take care 
of itself, which is very erroneous, for 
all friction drives must be slightly al- 
tered during the filling of the beam. 



retarding effect. This means that the 
friction drive must be altered to allow 
for the extra leverage. Many slasher 
tenders will say that the above is all 
theory, and that they never disturb 
their drive from one beam to an- 
other. They also claim that their work 







Fig. 67. A Typical Winder. 



In some cases it is found necessary to 
make 

ADDITIONAL ADJUSTMENTS 

of the weight in order to meet re- 
quirements. 

Why is it that the friction must be 
altered during the filling of a loom 
beam? As the beam increases in size 
any pull upon the ends has a greater 



runs all right. Admitting ail this, 
what about the weaver? Does his 
work run satisfactorily? If there is 
much snapping of the ends, the wind' 
is generally blamed. In a mill where 
the looms are running without trouble, 
it will be found that as soon as the 
slasher tender doffs the beam, he will 
at once regulate the tension. At 
times the friction disks give trouble 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



491 



duc to poor covering. This is poor 
economy, for a great deal of 

MONEY IS WASTED 
in any mill where the best of cloth 
is not purchased to cover the friction 
drive and squeeze rolls. 

The writer recently had the pleasure 
of visiting the Palmetto Cotton Mills 
in Columbia, S. C. The quality of cloth 
turned out at this mill speaks volumes 
for their perfect method of cotton warp 
sizing. You must pass in the loom 
alleys more than once to see a loom 
stopped. 

When the section beams are removed 
from a slasher, the opportunity should 
be taken to wash the rolls and clean 
other parts of the machine, in order 
to produce a clean sheet at tlie front 
of the slasher. A slasher should never 
be stopped more frequently than is 
necessary during the running of a set, 
and for this reason, all the cleaning 
should be done when the beams are 
changed. 

Too often much damage is caus- 
ed to many ends by the slasher 
tenders taking a chance to make 
repairs while the machine is run- 
ning at full speed. Such practice 
should not be allowed. Again, many 
slasher tenders neglect closing cne 
steam valve when they run the ma- 
chine on the slow-motion pulley, and 
burn the yam so that it is difficult 
to weave the burnt portion of the 
sheet. 

In most mills, it is a rule to start 
a new set each morning and finish the 
same day. In some mills where a large 
number of raps are used on the sec- 
tion beams, the slashers are driven by 

INDEPENDENT POWER 

such as a small engine or electric mot- 
or, and the machine is run during the 
noon hour or any part of the evening, 
to enable all the yam on the section 
beams to be run through. Such mills 
are managed by men who have had a 
practical experience, and they under- 
stand the importance of these meth- 
ods. 

When the slasher is stopped at night, 
the size and squeeze rolls should be 
washed with cold water, and the im- 
mersion roll should be raised out of 



the solution. The squeeze rolls should 
also be raised out of contact with the 
size rolls, because if this is not done, 
the weight of the squeeze roll will 
press a portion of the cloth between 
the squeeze and size rolls to such an 
extent as to flatten this portion of the 
squeeze roll. This will cause the 
squeeze roll to jump at every revolu- 
tion. 

The writer has already explained 
the disadvantage of filling the beams 
past the level of the heads, and 
any manufacturer who wanTs a 
great length on his weaver beams, 
would be well repaid for having 
larger heads cast for this purpose. He 
would not have so much yarn falling 
over the beam heads, or have it be- 
come entangled or slack. The argu- 
ment that a greater length on the 
weaver beams saves much expense In 
the drawing-in room, and on the 
looms, holds good only when the 
heads are large enough to hold the 
yarn. 

In some mills, the warp ends are 
divided into tapes by the use of a 

STRIKING COMB. 

The use of this comb offers facilities 
for filling the expansion comb, as the 
striking comb contains the same num- 
ber of teeth as the expansion comb. 
When this comb is used the 
ends are arranged In tapes 
before going through the size 
box. The sheet is sized in tapes, and 
each tape is placed in a space in the 
expansion comb. This is done before 
inserting the split rods. When the 
steam is taken from a connection 
other than the main steam pipe, the 
pressure in the cylinders is sure to 
vary to a large extent, and when the 
steam runs low, the slasher tender 
v/ill open the steam valve. As the 
pressure on a branch pipe may in- 
crease faster than that for the entire 
battery, the operation of the safety 
valve may be impaired. The writer ad- 
mits that such cases do not happen 
often, but slasher tenders must keep 
this point in mind. 

When the steam pipe for the slash- 
er cylinders is connected to the main 



492 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



steam pipe from all the boilers, this 
not only precludes the possibility of 
an accident, but gives a pressure more 
uniform. This drys the yarn at the 
same heat throughout the set. 
The only 

RELIABLE WAY 

to find the amount of size that is add- 
ed to the yarn is to weigh every sec- 
tion beam before they are put in the 
creel, and also weigh the tail ends of 
each beam, and deduct the weight of 
these tail ends from the total weight 
of the yarn on all the section beams. 
This gives the exact weight of yarn 
run through the slasher. Next weigh 
every empty weaver beam, and weigh 
the same beam when full, and then 
deduct the weight of the empty beam. 
Do this on every beam until the set 
of section beams is run out, and then 
find the percentage in the following 
way: Let us assume that eight sec- 
tion beams, each weighing 390 pounds, 
are placed in the slasher creels. 
The tail ends from these beams weigh 
40 pounds. We have 8 times 390 minus 
40 equals 3,080 pounds of yarn run 
through the slasher. Let us assume 
that we weigh every weaver beam 
from this set and find that the total 
weight is 3,390 pounds, what is the 
percentage of size applied to the yarn 
for the set? Example: 3,390 minus 
3,080 equals 310. 310 times 100 divid- 
ed by 3,080 equals 10 per cent of 
size on the yarn. The amount of size 
applied to the yarn should be known 
by every superintendent, because he 
can then better judge or figure his 
warp yarn, when changing styles. In 
summing up the above, it must be 
admitted that the success of cotton 
cloth manufacturing depends to a 
large degree upon the science and art 
of cotton warp sizing. 
Single yarn as it leaves 

THE SPINNING FRAME 

is in the form of a cop or bobbin. 
In many cases, this form must be 
changed, either to continue the proc- 
ess of manufacture, or to put the prod- 
uct up into suitable condition for dye- 
ing or transportation. Cotton yarns 



are also often put up in the form of a 
skein. 

The practice of putting up yarns on 
tubes has been common for many 
years, but the best and most perfect 
cone winding has been accomplished 
only within a few years. Winding ma- 
chines prior to the early '90s were 
crude, and many defects existed. Since 
the early '90s, however, the winding 
machines have been much improved. 
At the present time, the winding ma- 
chines of the best types will lay the 
coils in perfect alignment, a,hd form 
a compact, self-supporting package, no 
matter what form it is given. 

Yarn put up on cones or tubes can be 
conveniently used for many different 
purposes. The latest types of winding 
machines are adapted to the entire 
range of textile materials for which 
winding is required. 

The method of tube or cone windin? 
is similar to the balling attachment 
that has been previously explained; 
that is, the cone or tube is placed on 
the drum instead of a wooden core. 
In order to clearly understand the lat- 
est method of winding, the reader 
should fix firmly in his mind the meth- 
od employed to form a ball on a ball 
warper, as in both cases, the method 
of guiding the yarn to the core is sim- 
ilar. This is accomplished by means of 
a traversing motion, which causes 
the yarn to cross the path of yarn pre- 
viously wound on the core. 'The chief 
differences are that on the winding 
machines the tension on the yarn can 
be regulated to suit the compactness 
of the package, and the traverse mo- 
tion is worked more rapidly. No. 187. 



CXXCVIII. WINDING MACHINES. 

Machines designed to wind yarn on 
a cylindrical paper tube are called 
tube winders, and those winding on 
conical tubes are called cone winders. 
These machines are also known as 
cross winders, and quick-traverse 
winders. 

A large amount of yarn is continu- 
ally returned to some of our mills, ow- 
ing to the poor form in which it is 
put up. In fact, the managers of the 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



493 



best winding macMne companies say 
that in some cases, even with their 
very latest machines, it is a difficult 
matter to suit the manufacturers. 
Some manufacturers want a soft pack- 
age, while other manufacturers want 
a hard one. 

Let us consider that the yarn is run 
on a twister, and shipped away 
in the form of a spool. To 
those familiar with the packages turn- 
ed out by our latest winding machines, 
the yarn put up in such a form would 
appear poor. The method of regulat- 
ing the tension on all old style ma- 
chines is that of having the ends pass- 
ing over a traverse rod that is coated 
with paint, flannel, or other material 
to create a certain amount of friction 
on the yarn, so as to lay the coils 
closer, and thus form a more compact 
package. To 

PROPERLY REGULATE 

the tension with such an equipment is 
difficult. Our latest type of winding 
machines can be regulated so that the 
coils can be laid with the proper ten- 
sion, to either make the package very 
soft or hard. 

It is a well-known fact among mill 
men that a great amount of yarn is 
sent to the rope works for no other 
cause than faulty bobbins, still the 
yarn on the bobbins may be better 
than on others that have been accept- 
ed by the spooler tenders or weavers. 
Why do the spooler tenders or weav- 
ers reject faulty bobbins? The reason 
is the same as advanced by manufac- 
turers. They fear that such bobbins 
will not run out without much break- 
age, and so they throw them into the 
waste box. The greait advantage gain- 
ed with our latest winding machines 
is due to the fact that the compactness 
of the bobbin can be regulated. An in- 
creased yardage in the shuttle means 
a better quality of cloth with an in- 
creased production. The amount of 
yardage that can be put in a shuttle 
defends, of course, on the size of the 
shuttle, and on the number of yam 
run. 

As the yam Is transformed from the 
cop or bobbin onto a tube or bobbin. 



much imperfection in the yarn is dis- 
covered, and this reduces the stop- 
pages of the loom. 

There is a large amount of yarn 
wasted in the bleaching, mercerizing 
and dyeing processes. Much of this 
can be saved by the use of winders. 
The packages produced with these 
machines can be put on a special wire 
core, and arranged so that not one 
coil will be disturbed while going 
through the dyeing process. 

With knitting machines where it is 
convenient to take a number of ends 
of yarn from a creel, it is 

A GREAT ADVANTAGE 

to have the supply as great 
as possible. Some knitting mills use 
two kinds of spools. Some large cones 
are used when running long chains, 
and the small sizes when running 
sbort chains. 

The diameter of the heads must be 
increased to hold the necessary length 
of yarn to run a long chain, and when 
short chains are run, the heavy 
spools would cause much unnecessary 
breakage. By winding the yarn on 
conical tubes, the lengths of yarn can 
be greatly increased without causing 
trouble. Of course, a special creel 
must be constructed to hold yarn 
wound on winder cones, but this can 
be done at a very small expense. 

Besides the advantage of making a 
longer chain, we rid ourselves of tha 
trouble caused by having spools sup- 
ported by a skewer that revolves in 
a metal step. In many cases, the spool 
revolves on the skewer, instead of the 
skewer revolving in the metal step. 

By referring to Figure 66, it can be 
seen that the yarn is drawn from the 
cones without the resistance that is 
generally found with other systems of 
warping. Trouble caused by the warp- 
er creels or tiers getting out of true, 
and wearing the skewers unevenly, is 
eliminated. As the yarn is drawn 
from the cones with exceedingly light 
resistance, it is possible to run k 
warper on this system of warping at 
a greater speed than with the ordi- 
nary system. 

Little can be said about some warp- 



494 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



ing departments, simply because tlie 
warper creels are kept continually 
level and in good condition. Still, grant- 
ing all this, it must be admitted that 
a certain amount of friction exists, 
especially when the spools are running 
low, which makes it impossible to run 
the warper any faster than the speed 
quoted above, without causing much 
breakage of ends, which always re- 
sults in a poor quality of cloth, with 
no gain in production. What does this 
mean to any manufacturer? Stop and 
think of it. Here, besides running the 
warper faster, the amount of creeling 
can be reduced and this means that 
one warper can do the same work that 
any two ordinary -vs^arpers can do, 
which also means the reduction of the 
warping cost. Besides, owing 
to the same tension existing on 
all the ends being the same from the 
start to the finish of the yarn on the 
cones, the yam is wound on the beam 
in better condition for use, which 
means a less amount of hitch backs at 
the' slashers, which is another defect 
that is found on most slashers. Our 
latest winding machines are also fast 
superseding the 

CUSTOM OF TWISTING 

from single end spooling, and they are 
adapted for the doubling and twisting 
of fine yams in many mills. The chief 
advantage of these machines over 
doubler winders and twisters is that 
there is no possibility of the yarn 
drawing below the surface of the 
package, or splitting the strands apart 
or falling over the ends. Another ad- 
vantage is that the yams run through 
separate tensions, which can be ad- 
justed to a nicety, so that each strand 
of yarn is laid under uniform tension 
on the package, thus insuring perfect 
delivery to the twister spindle, and 
besides eliminating corkscrew twists 
or slack places that are so often 
found on the ordinary doubler or 
twister. With the above arrangement, 
each end controls the stopping mech- 
anism, which is very sensitive, and 
operates so quickly as to stop the 
spindle before the loose end runs in. 



thus enabling the tender to tie single 
instead of bunch knots. 

Modern winders make it possible 
(1) to wind a considerable length of 
yarn on a core in such a form that it 
may be handled in transportation 
without being damaged and unwound 
when used without injury to the 
strand. (2) To wind a number of 
ends together on one core at an even 
tension. (3) To prevent corkscrew- 
ing or imperfections when twisting. 

The principle of our 

LATEST WINDING MACHINES 

is similar to that of the fill- 
ing wind on either the mule or ring 
frame for filling spinning; that is, they 
are constructed and made to operate, 
so as to give the ends a rapid recipro- 
cating traverse motion on the core, so 
that the yarn is first carried from one 
end of the tube to the other, and then 
carried back. Of course, on all wind- 
ers the traverse moves rapidly back 
and forth and at the same rate of speed 
in both directions, and the traverse al- 
so changes very quickly. Thus, it can 
be seen that by such means the last 
layer serves to bind the preceding ones. 
The coils that form the end of the 
package are held firmly by the suc- 
ceeding layers, which makes each end 
of the package firm. In some winders, 
the yam is wound on the core by con- 
tact with a revolving drum, while in 
other types, the yarn is guided along 
the surface of a paper tube mounted 
on a revolving spindle. Such a type is 
shown in Figure 67. 

Quick Traverse winders are driven 
by a driving shaft that passes under- 
neath the middle of the machine, and 
carries at one end a tight and a loose 
pulley. Double-grooved band pulleys 
are placed at intervals along the driv- 
ing shaft, each of which drives two 
winding drums. The double-grooved 
pulleys on the shaft are much larger 
than the single-grooved pulley on the 
cone drum. There is one drum on 
each side of the machine, and the 
band passes partly around the double- 
grooved pulley, then around the small 
grooved pulley on the drum, back 
again to the double-grooved pulley; 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



495 



from there to the small grooved pul- 
ley on the other drum, and back 
again to the first double-grooved 
pulley. 

SPINDLE WINDERS 

Spindle winders accomplish the 
same purpose as the quick-traverse 
winders, the chief difference being 
that a spindle is used, instead of a 
drum. One spindle constitutes one 
head, and a common construction is to 
have several heads side by side, as 
shown in Figure 67. Referring to Fig- 
ure 67, it can be seen that the cop is 
placed on a spindle, and the end pass 
ed upwards through a guide wire 
From the guide wire, the yarn passes 
around the tension finger, then 
through a slot in the plate, then over a 
pin, and at an angle to the next guide 
wire, through the traverse guide eye 
to the core or package. 

Like all guide wires, the centre of 
the loop of the guide wire should be 
directly over the point of the spindle 
in the yarn holder. The tension on the 
yarn is regulated by changing the 
weights which are hung on a special 
system of levers. 

These machines are equipped with 
what is known as a kink or snarl ar 
rester. It is simply a flat plate with a 
long, narrow slot through which the 
yarn passes, and serves for the same 
purpose as the kink or snarl arrester 
used with the ring spinning frame. 

As a rule, spindle winding machines 
are operated in groups of six heads, 
and this combination is spoken of as 
a gang of spindles. There are few hard 
and fast rules that can be given for 
operating a winding room. The chief 
aim of mills selling yarn should be to 
suit the buyer. There is no depart- 
ment in a mill where the numbers of 
yarn are more liable to get mixed 
than in the winding room. The chief 
cause of the yarn getting mixed in 
many rooms is not marking the yarn 
until it reaches the winding room. The 
only way to prevent the possibility of 
the yarn getting mixed is to mark it 
as soon as it leaves each de- 
partment. If the yarn comes from an- 
other firm, it should be marked im- 



mediately upon its arrival. No. 188. 



CXXCIX. WINDING. 

Buyers in some cases will demand 
that the cone or traverse be of a 
certain length, but when not specified 
by the buyer, a 5i-inch traverse is 
generally used. Buyers will also in- 
sist upon a certain diameter, and 
this has often caused trouble. When 
an order is received by a mill for 
ones of a certain diameter, it should 
be realized that the buyer makes such 
a specific demand for necessary lea- 
sons. Many overseers in charge of 
winding rooms do not appreciate the 
importance of supplying yarn pack- 
ages of the exact size ordered. 

The overseer in charge should in- 
struct every winder to remove the 
cones or bobbins when they attain 
the size specified, and he should watch 
this point continually. Parallel tubes, 
as a rule, are made with 5i-inch tra- 
verse and ii inches in diameter. The 
dimensions given above are found 
generally in use for ordinary cotton 
yarns. Winders are also adapted for 
use with braid and tape looms, where 
the machine is attached to the end of 
the loom. The quill winding is done 
by the weaver. Stop motions and sup- 
ply holders for two and three ends 
are supplied for use in winding on 
bobbins for braiding machines, the 
winding being done directly on the 
braider bobbins or on tubes as may be 
required. In most cases it is more 
economical to wind each package of 
yarn on a separate spindle. The loss 
of time in doffing more than 

OFFSETS THE INCREASE 

in the spindle capacity where 
two or more are wound on thp 
same spindle. However, in case of 
mercerized yarn and bleached thread, 
which are sometimes marked in pack- 
ages of small dimensions, the strands 
are wound in multiple form, as the 
traverse is short and the diameter 
small. 

For taking train silk and fine yarn 
from spools, a compensating unrollei 
is used which automatically controls 



496 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



the rotation of the spool and regulates 
the tension. This also controls the 
delivery of the thread to the winding 
spindle, insuring uniformity of tension 
at all times. 

When cotton or silk yarn must be 
wound on cop tubes, a slight change 
must be made in the adjustment of 
the machine from that of bobbin wind- 
ing. One point to be noted in study- 
ing modern winding machines is the 
carefully designed system of auto- 
matic lubrication. The body of some 
of these machines is a lint proof oil 
reservoir that holds enough oil for 
many months. 

The overseer of winding should see 
that the oiling is carefully performed, 
because, although this auto- 
matic system avoids the ne- 
cessity of giving constant attention 
to the quick revolving parts, there are 
other parts that do not revolve so 
quickly, and should be oiled about 
twice a week. In oiling these parts 
care should be taken, because in case 
of an excess of oil, the yarn is liable 
to become stained. 

Due to carelessness the yam some- 
times runs over the end of a package, 
even when good machinery is used. 
There is little excuse for this, for 
with proper care modern winders give 
satisfactory results. 

WRITER VISITS MILLS. 
The writer some time ago visited a 
small mill where much trouble was ex- 
perienced with the latest winders, the 
man in charge blamed the construc- 
tion of the machines, and claimed that 
it was with much difficulty that he 
could keep the machines running. He 
even claimed that he could not keep 
the belts on. The writer examined a 
few machines closely. Many parts of 
the machines were working loose and 
the equipment was in bad condition. 
The machinery had simply been 
abused. Manufacturers should not 
take advice from men who do not 
give their machinery proper care. 
After visiting the mill mentioned, the 
writer went out to New Bedford, Mass., 
and had occasion to visit the winding 
room of the Kilburn Millg. Here 302 



winding machines were found in 
operation, winding all kinds of cotton 
yarns. Every package from these 
machines were perfectly wound. It 
is safe to say that no winding room 
could be found in a better condition 
than that of the Kilbum Mills. 

The writer at one time took charge 
of a fly frame room equipped with the 
largest type of fly frames, and almost 
every bobbin wound consisted of over- 
run ends. The former overseer claimed 
that the cause was due to the bolster 
not being rigid enough. He claimed 
that it would move angularly and 
raise the spindle. Then, when the 
rail would change its direction, the 
bolster would allow the spindle to 
drop to its proper position. 
This poor work had been going on 
for weeks, and the whole trouble was 
due to dry spindle bottoms. 

Dry spindle steps will cause over- 
running of the ends on the bobbins, 
and the fact was clearly proven in the 
case just mentioned. As soon as the 
spindle steps were oiled, overrunning 
of the bobbins ceased immediately. 
Neglect will reduce the efficiency of 
any machine. 

WINDERS. 

Winders are simple machines and 
easy to operate, and if not neglected no 
serious trouble will be experienced. 
It is for the reason of their simplicity 
that they are often neglected. Some 
men in charge of these machines ex- 
pect them to run forever without any 
care. 

The chief trouble found with 
winders is caused by not having the 
best relation between the speed of 
the traverse and the length of yam 
wound. This is a trouble that is well 
understood by any person having had 
experience with winders. Smooth 
yarn or ply yarn require a quicker 
traverse in proportion to the amount 
wound than any other common single 
yarn, and for this reason, it requires a 
little study to obtain the best 
relation between the speed of the tra- 
verse and the length of the yam 
wound. 

When more than one end is wound 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



497 



on a tube, the stop motion must be 
'3t to a nicety so as to make it as 
sensitive as possible. The yam runs 
through separate tensions which are 
adjustable, so that each strand of yarn 
is laid under uniform tension on the 
package. If the stop-motion is prop- 
erly set it should operate quickly 
enough to stop the spindle before the 
loose end runs in. This enables the 
operative to tie a single instead of a 
bunch knot. The overseer in charge 
of a winding room should instruct the 
operatives so that when an end breaks 
they will carefully tie as small a knot 
as possible. 

Unsatisfactory winding is often 
caused by not having the friction cone 
fit the conical shell. This affects the 
spindle in two ways. The drive is not 
positive, and the spindle is not check 
ed properly. Winders should be exam- 
ined often to see that the driving 
pulley revolves freely when the fric- 
tion cone is out. When the friction 
cone is out the driving pulley should 
have no tendency to impart motion to 
any other part of the winder. 

The production of winders is affect- 
ed by the counts and quality of yarn 
and also the number of ends run. 
For ordinary purposes a quick tra- 
verse winder will wind about 150 
yards per minute, and something like 
20 per cent should be allowed for stop- 
page. Another point that is overlook- 
ed in many winding rooms, and one 
that causes much ravelling off, is 
hot tieing the end of the yarn last 
wound. With both parallel tubes and 
cones, the end of 

YARN LAST WOUND 

should always be tied, because it takes 
but slight ravelling off to give the 
package a bad appearance, and this 
combined with careless packing is 
Often the cause of cancelled orders. 
Many cotton mills pack their cloth in 
smooth paper and afterwards pack 
these packages in wooden cases. 
Although many mill men may see no 
advantage in such a system, neverthe- 
less, you will find the mills that have 
put this practice in vogue never cur- 



tail and they are continually enlarging 
their plant. No. 189. 



CXC. THE MANUFACTURER. 

The manufacturer should consider the 
advantages derived by the use of 
winders. He should not be influenced 
against these machines by men who 
give little or no study to this opera- 
tion. The increase of the shuttle 
capacity of looms alone should be of 
interest to the manufacturers. Prob- 
ably no inventive contribution has 
been offered to the cotton trade which 
is more important than the mule. 
Samuel Crompton, of Bolton, com- 
pleted, in 1775, his invention of the 
"mule jenny", in contriving which he 
had been engaged for years. 
Although the mule from the start was 
recognized as a machine of merit and 
advahtage, it did not come into gen- 
eral use, nor was its value really 
known to the cotton or any other 
trade until after the expiration of 
Arkwright's patent, the spinner until 
then being confined to the roving. 
THE JENNY. 
Prepared for common jenny spin- 
ning, however, about the year 1779 
Crompton combined the principles of 
the jenny with those of the water 
frame, which had been previously in- 
vented by James Hargreaves, and was 
of the intermittent spinning type. 
After the spinner was allowed to make 
use of Arkwright's fine process of 
preparation, or in other words, after 
these two widely different machines 
were combined together, the name 
mule was applied. It is admitted to 
this day that the mule can spin wider 
range of counts than any other spin- 
ning machine. 

One thing is certain, and that is, 
that its introduction formed an im- 
portant era in history of the cotton 
manufacture. Although the operation 
of mule spinning differs much from 
that of ring spinning, the principle of 
each process is the same, that is, the 
final attenuation is imparted in spin- 
ning, and in addition, a certain num- 
ber of turns to the inch is perman- 
ently inserted to give to the yarn 



498 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



the strength necessary for the pur- 
pose for which it is intended. 

In the management of a mule room, 
it is in this respect, especially, that 
the man at the helm can distinguish 
himself. There is no department 
throughout the mill where there is so 
much argument between the opera- 
tives or spinners and the overseer. 
A good mule spinner is worth his 
weight in gold to a mill, 
because he can either increase 
or decrease the amount of 
waste made in the weave room to a 
large extent. To handle a mule well 
requires experience and judgment, 
and one must also be a good judge of 
the roving received from the carding 
department. There is 

NOTHING SO DETRIMENTAL 

to the operation of mule spinning than 
uneven roving. It must be understood 
here that there are a great number of 
overseers of mule spinning who watch 
every box, but they do not know 
enough about it to determine the 
faulty construction of the roving. 
This examination and feeling of the 
roving becomes to them a habit and 
little is gained by it. We wish to give 
a good point here, and one that is mis- 
understood by most mill men, even by 
practical mill men, and which is the 
cause of many heated arguments be- 
tween the carder and mule spinners. 
When an overseer of either the ring or 
mule room examines the roving in 
order to determine whether there are 
enough turns to the inch or the neces- 
sary number lacking, he pulls off a 
certain amount of roving from the 
bobbin, at the same time holding the 
roving in one hand. When this is 
done, the 

ROVING IS UNWOUND 

from the bobbin by circling the hand 
around the top of the bobbin, and this 
is where a great mistake is made, 
because, when the above method is 
used to pull the roving from the bob- 
bin, it gives the portion pulled off a 
very bad appearance, and to the 
naked eye, it looks very uneven, giving 
the same appearance as cut roving. 



There are, no doubt, many carders 
who will read this article who have 
been up against the above proposi- 
tion, and, perhaps, came out second 
best. However, the writer will give a 
remedy that will, no doubt, help out 
the situation for the reader if the 
above should confront him in the 
future. The proper way to examine a 
strand of roving is to take hold of 
the end with the forefinger and thumb, 
and instead of turning the hand 
around the top of the bobbin, just 
pull the hand away slowly from the 
bobbin and turn the bobbin so as to 
follow the movement of the hand. 
When this is done a few times the 
difference in the appearance of the 
roving will be easily noticed. When 
the method given above is employed, 
it will be found that the roving will 
have a smooth, even and flat appear- 
ance, that is, if the construction of the 
roving is as it should be. 

When the first method is employed, 
no matter how even or perfect the 
roving is, it will have a very uneven 
and 

CUT APPEARANCE. 

Of course, what causes the roving to 
have such a bad appearance when 
pulled off in the manner explained 
above is understood by a great many 
practical men, but there are a great 
number, however, to this day that 
could not explain this. 

Now what causes the roving to have 
such an uneven appearance when un- 
wound from the bobbin without turn- 
ing the bobbin? There are, of course, 
various answers to the above ques- 
tion, but the chief answer that fits 
the case is that it is the compactness 
of the bobbin which gives the roving 
this appearance. In order to clearly 
understand the writer, let the reader 
examine a slubber bobbin when the 
last layer is running out in the inter- 
mediate and he will notice that the 
strand is much flattened, which is, of 
course, due to the compactness of the 
bobbin. No. 190. 



CXCI. PRACTICAL TESTS. 

Now to get a clear understanding 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



499 



of the point tlie writer wishes to con- 
vey, let the reader break out the slub- 
ber bobbins where only one layer of 
roving is left on the bobbin, and then 
pull off a certain portion of roving in 
both methods described above, and 
the reader will quickly agree with the 
writer that the above has 

CAUSED MUCH TROUBLE. 
It will be found, if the above is tried, 
that the coils nearest the bobbin will 
have a very flattened appearance 
when the bobbin is made to rotate, 
and the hand holding the end is pull- 
ed slowly away from the bobbin, 
while, on the other hand, if the roving 
is pulled from the top of the bobbin, 
these uneven places will show up a 
great deal more to the naked 
eye. In this way the above 
w^ill be clearly understood, be- 
cause from the experiment it will be 
discovered that these uneven places 
that show up so to the naked eye are 
not uneven places but, instead, 
merely the change in the position of 
the strand. As stated, when the ex- 
periment is tried with a slubber bob- 
bin, the false appearance that the 
change of position of the strand gives 
to the end will be more readily seen. 

Another method that will prove that 
the roving shows uneven places 
when pulled from the top of 
the bobbin is by twisting the por- 
tion hard that shows very defective, 
and then wet the forefinger and 
thumb, and this will quickly prove 
that it is the change in the position 
of the strand that causes these defec- 
tive appearances; that is, as stated, 
if the strand is properly constructed. 
Many carders have 

LOST THEIR POSITIONS 
because they did not understand 
the above point, and, no doubt, there 
are many readers who could point out 
where this occurred perhaps in the 
very mill in which they are now work- 
ing. 

The reason why the writer of 
Studies in Mill Management lays so 
much stress upon this point is 
because in his mill life, this 
trouble has occurred frequently. The 



writer remembers well, when he had 
charge of a ring spinning room in the 
state of Maine that he experienced 
much trouble with a new carder, for 
the reason that his roving was cut, 
but claimed 

TO DEFEND HIMSELF 

that it was in the strand changing 
position when unwound from the bob- 
bin. But when the writer twisted the 
defective portion of the strand pulled 
from the bobbin, after which he wet 
his forefinger and thumb and passed 
them over the roving, the cut places 
in the strand could easily be seen. 
The writer also knows of a place 
where a carder enjoyed a good posi- 
tion for almost a score of years, but 
was forced to resign, simply because 
he could not defend himself, and really 
thought the roving was cut, and his 
admission of this to the new spinner 
cost him his position. An overseer 
of the mule room in many mills can 
be said to be between two fires con- 
tinually, because if the yarn or cops 
are not properly constructed, com- 
plaints come from the weave room. 
On the other hand, if the yarn be- 
comes too light, which is caused by 

LIGHT ROVING, 

this reduces the spinners' pay, and, 
of course they find fault. When 
roving gets on the light side, it 
of course, lacks the necessary number 
of turns to the inch, and a lot of 
breaking back is the result. Now, 
there is nothing more aggravating to 
a spinner than the roving breaking 
back, because in many cases, when it 
does break back the spinner is obliged 
to go around in the back alley to 
place the end in the rolls again. This, 
combined with the light work in front 
which decreases the spinners pay, 
causes trouble in many mills. It is 
with pleasure that it must be said that 
strikes seldom happen now. There 
are, however, a certain class of over- 
seers who get by quite easily by keep- 
ing the filling continually on the 
heavy side. This, of course, just suits 
the spinners, because this to them 
means more pay, and besides the 



500 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



work will, of course, run better, which 
means less work. 

When a piece of cloth is figured, 
the most common method used con- 
cludes by subtracting the warp yarn 
from 

THE AVERAGE YARN 

found, and then if the cloth is found 
heavy the filling is made lighter. But 
there are many ring spinners who do 
not understand the above point, and 
they let the mule spinners take ad- 
vantage of this. There are all kinds 
of tricks in cotton manufacture among 
the overseers, and one that is worked 
to the limit, is reducing the 
size of the sizing reel, es- 
pecially if the mule spinner has 
the use of the reel for his own sizing 
only. It takes a very clever man to 
discover when a reel has been re- 
duced, and although the writer is will- 
ing to admit that the reduction of an 
inch in circumference does not show 
up much in the number of the yarn, 
still by getting the best of the ring 
spinner and using the reel besides, 
it can be seen that he enjoys a great 
advantage. The above is often re- 
versed by the ring spinner who will 
make false reports of the weight of 
the beams, as was explained. The 
point should easily be seen by the 
reader. In many mills the average 
weight of the yarn is found from the 
weight of the beams and not from the 
sizeing. 

The reason given for employing this 
method is that, it is claimed owing 
to the yarn being stretched it is 
lighter when it reaches the beam, and, 
therefore, lighter than when leaving 
the ring frame. So some ring spin- 
ners will reduce the draft on the 
frame and 

MAKE FALSE REPORTS 

of the beams, that is if a beam shows 
heavy, the man who does that weigh- 
ing is so trained by the ring spinner 
that the slate shows the number of 
the yarn on the beams consisting of 
a long draft on the frames. The 
above is one good reason 
why it is not always advisable to 



give the spooling, slashing, and warp- 
ing in charge of the ring spinner. 
However, if the above practice 
is carried on, it forces the 
mule spinner to lighten out on 
the filling. Some ring spinners do not 
stop here, but will get another tooth. 
and if this is not discovered by tht» 
superintendent, the mule spinner Is 
again forced to lighten out another 
tooth. The above need not be doubt- 
ed, because the writer knows of a 
case where the ring spinner falsified 
the beam reports which resulted In 
forcing the mule spinner to make a 
filling lighter than 45s instead of 42s. 
which should have been spun. 

When the weight of the beams is 
falsified, it places the mule spinner 
in a bad position, because he is, of 
course, unable to defend himself in 
regard to heavy cloth, having no 
knowledge of the weight of the beams 
being falsified. The weaver comes in 
for a share of the trouble also, because 
the superintendent, being as 

MUCH AT SEA 

as either mule spinner or weaver, 
imagines that the mule spinner is re 
porting his yarn much lighter than it 
really is, that the weaver has mis- 
calculated the number of ends in the 
warps, or has not enough paper 
on the sand rolls, etc. However, the 
spinner must lighten out to remedy 
the weight of the cloth, and as stated. 
this reduces the spinner's wages, un- 
less, of course, the price per pound 
is changed correspondingly. 

Very few understand how some 
superintendents will prefer to fight 
the spinners instead of fighting the 
office, and for this reason, will not 
allow the overseer to make a correct 
report of the number of filling being 
spun. This is understood by most 
mill men, because if the weight of the 
yarn is correctly reported, an investi- 
gation is demanded from the office, a 
task that falls upon the superintend- 
ent, and one that the superintendent 
dreads, on account of being already 
at sea. Spinners can judge almost the 
exact size of the yarn by the feel and 
handle of the yarn in the spinning 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



601 



operation, and of course, as soon as 
it is discovered that the yarn is com- 
ing in lighter a committer of two or 
three is appointed to interview the 
overseer, and then if no satisfaction 
is received, the next step is to inter- 
view the superintendent, and if 

NO AGREEMENT, 
is received from this course the union 
is called in to settle the matter which 
In some cases results in a strike. 

Now the reader must not forget 
that we are studying mill manage- 
ment, and although the above trouble 
seldom happens, it does happen at 
times, and the spinners are put down 
as fussy fellows when the trouble is 
really through a dishonest ring spin- 
ner. The writer is willing to admit 
that very few ring spinners stoop to 
such low tactics; in fact the writer 
has had twenty-iive years' practical 
experience in different cotton mills, 
and knows of only two such cases to 
have happened. However, when such 
cases do happen, it is difficult to locate 
the trouble, because some ring spin- 
ners will have only about one-half the 
frame with a short draft, and those 
will be found in the centre of the 
room. This is done so that if the 
superintendent figures the proper 
draft of the frame, he will, of course, 
know what draft gear should be 
on the ring frame, and when he goes 
to the spinning room to ascertain the 
right gear, he will 

IN MOST CASES, 
of course, examine the gear on the 
frames nearest the door or walls, and 
the trouble is not discovered. 

Again, it should be observed 
that even if the yarn was 
sized it would seem to be 
right, and for this reason it pays a 
superintendent to take what is known 
as a pick up in both the ring spin- 
ning and mule room every little while. 
He should also weigh an empty beam 
say, once a week, to ascertain whether 
the number marked on the end of the 
empty beam corresponds with the 
actual weight of the empty beam. 

Another good point to preclude such 
trouble., is to .allow the overseer of 



mule spinning to weigh the beams 
himself also when he so desires. 
Surely the ring spinner should not 
object if everything is straight, but 
if he does object, nine cases out of 
ten you will find that it is a confes- 
sion on his part that the weight of 
the beams are falsified on the slate. 
A few mill men may doubt that the 
above has ever happened in mills, 
but the writer has known ring spin- 
ners to have a difference of four teeth 
about the room. No. 191. 



CXCII. CAREFUL OVERSIGHT. 

It can be seen that a shorter draft 
on the frames in the centre of the 
room is going to take in the roving 
quicker, which, of course, means an 
increase in production. While on the 
other hand, in paying the same price 
for spooling and warping this heavy 
yarn, the operatives under his charge 
make better wages which gives him 
the pick of the help among the neigh- 
boring mills. The above tactics can be 
discovered often, by taking a portion 
of cloth and holding it up to the win- 
dow, and here will be seen a certain 
number of threads having a thicker 
appearance than the adjoining ones. 

The reader must not misunderstand 
the writer, and get the idea that if a 
piece of cloth is examined and some 
coarse threads found in the cloth that 
the ring spinner where the yarn is 
spun is dishonest and carrying on such 
a a practice as referred to above, be- 
cause there is not a cloth woven that 
will show every thread, either warp 
or filling. But when the ring frames 
about the room have a different draft, 
say, one -half the frames, then the 
number of coarse threads will show 
correspondingly in the cloth, and the 
above can be traced as the trouble in 
nine cases out of ten. 

From what has been said above, let 
us consider that the mule spinner and 
also the weaver have the privilege of 

AVEIGHING THE BEAMS 
when they desire to do so. Would not 
this be good mill management? Sure- 
ly, in this way, all hands would know 
what to do in case the cloth varied, 



602 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



and the doubt that oftea exists in the 
mind of the mule spinner when told to 
lighten out would not exist, or in other 
words, he would be more satisfied 
that conditions demanded a change. 
But instead of the above sys- 
tem, in many of our mills, the mule 
spinner is supposed to have no busi- 
ness with the ring spinner, and so, in 
this way, it gives the ring spinner ha,v- 
ing charge of spooling and warping 
overy advantage if he has a mind to 
\)e dishonest. 

The ring spinner and weaver should 
be allowed to size the filling, ana with 
such a system it can be seen that 
every man in charge of each depart- 
ment would know just what to do to 
keep the weight of the cloth right, or 
in other words, by sizing the yarn to- 
gether, the sizing found would, of 
course, indicate what man should do 
the changing when the cloth is not 
standard. It is also a good plan for 
a mule spinner to take a few rovings 
from each box of roving that comes 
from the card room and have them 

PUT IN AT THE END 

of the different mules. It must be 
understood, of course, that the over- 
seer is not supposed to do this himself, 
out he could instead so train his holst- 
er that a few rovings from each box 
«)uld be placed in a certain spot and 
afterward put in the different mules 
tyy the second hand. 

The above system is of the utmost 
importance in the management of a 
mule room for various reasons, 1. If 
the yarn sized from the bobbins taken 
from the boxes shows up very uneven, 
the overseer can at once v.'ani the 
carder before a great amount of un- 
even roving gets into the creels. The 
above is a mistake that is often made 
by many overseers of mule spinning, 
occurring more often in mills where 
double roving is run than with single 
roving. The reason for this is that 
when the roving is uneven in the 
mules running single, trouble is no- 
ticed at once by the spinners, who ac- 
quaint the overseer of the fact. The 
carder's attention is called and the 
trouble is somewhat remedied before 



a great amount of roving gets into the 
creels. 

On the other hand, if the overseer 
of 

MULE SPINNING 

is a careless fellow, and neglects 
watching or sizing the roving coming 
from the card room, and at the same 
time running double roving, the un- 
evenness in the roving is not discover- 
ed as quickly by the spinners, and the 
-"onsequences are that a great amount 
of roving gets into the creels before 
the carder's attention is called to it. 
The above should be easily reasoned out 
by any person who has had even a lit- 
tle practical experience, because when 
a mule is on single roving, one roving 
will last three days, and the same rov- 
ing when running two into one will 
last six days, providing, of course, 
that the same number of yarn is run 
in both systems. 

By a little neglect on either the 
part of the overseer of mule spinning 
or carder, uneven work remains in the 
creels in some cases for weeks when 
the work is fine. 2. The amount of 
twist in the roving can be discovered 
from these pick-ups. 

For instance, let us assume that the 
stock coming through the card room 
is more wiry than the stock already 
in process in the mule room, and that 
this stock has escaped the carder's no- 
tice. It can be seen that when the 
ro-sing is put in the mules by the 
second hand in the manner described 
above, such roving will make the 
sizing from these 

BOBBINS HEAVIER, 
and although the yam will show the 
same as in the first case, here is where 
the mule spinner must be careful; that 
is, instead of demanding the carder to 
make the work lighter, he should ask 
him to take a little twist out of the 
roving. Here is where many overseers 
of mule spinning make a mistake, and 
by so doing come out second best. 

Assuming that the work is 
made heavy from wiry cot- 
ton and the mule spinner demands 
that the carder lighten a tooth, 
what is the result? This, of course, 
for the time being will give the right 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



603 



number of yarn, but think what a mesa 
is made when fluffy cotton follows the 
wiry cotton. Now, some may think 
that taking the twist out is of no 
more advantage than lightening out, 
but let us reason this out together. 
There is the difference that if the 
work in the card room is made heavy 
from neglect on the part of the carder 
to 

WATCH HIS WEIGHTS, 
then, of course, he should lighten out. 
But on the other hand, if the work is 
made heavy from a change in the 
stock, the twist by all means should 
be changed in the card room, because 
when this change is ma,de there, as 
soon as this wiry cotton runs out and 
is followed by fluffy cotton, it will be 
discovered before it reaches either the 
ring or mule room. While, en the 
other hand, if the changing is done 
by changing the hank roving, the fluffy 
cotton coming in is not so liable to 
be noticed, owing, of course, to the 
amount of twist not being changed 
in the roving, and thus the light work 
finds its way to the spinning room, 
and for this reason, a pick-vp sizing 
should be put in every morning. 

There are many overseers of mule 
spinning who stand in their own 
light by not having the twist taken 
out of the roving when conditions de- 
mand it. Some men seem to figure on 
cleaning the carder out of roving. 
They do not stop and think how hard 
twisted roving injures the top rolls 
as well as the work. The writer has 
seen the roving twisted so hard that 
it caused the front roll to stop, the 
strand being, of course, stronger than 
the frictional contact between the bot- 
tom steel and leather top rolls and the 
strand delivered so strong as to bend 
the mule spindle slightly, besides in- 
juring the top roll to such an extent 
as to require recovering. No. 192. 



CXCIII. THE MULE ROOM. 

In the mule room, as in any other 
department, the main object is a large 
production with due regard to qual- 
ity. The quality of the production is 
more or less governed by the roving 
received from the card room. There 



are many ways, however, in which 
poor yarn can be made without any 
such excuse. The breakage of ends 
on the mule is a good criterion of the 
conditions in the mule room. Ends do 
not break in the winding without good 
reason, and there is not a practical 
man but will admit that with a fair 

QUALITY OF ROVING 
there are plenty of chances for de- 
fects on the way to the spindle. 

The rolls may not be in good con- 
dition or not properly spaced. A care- 
ful overseer will see that these condi- 
tions do not exist. A mule should not 
be allowed to run more than four 
weeks without taking out all the top 
rolls (one-half each week), and give 
them a good cleaning. The stands 
should be well cleaned and greased 
and all the laps and dirt cleaned off 
the bottom steel rolls, and from the 
top rolls as well. Top rolls require 
careful attention. Using a worn-out 
front roll as a back or middle roll is 
a mistake, and one that is too often 
made in many of our mule rooms. The 
middle roll should be in as good con- 
dition as the front, in fact, from a 
practical point of view, the middle 
roll should be in the best of condition, 
and why? Because the function of the 
middle roll is to grip and hold the 
fibres while passing under its action. 
So, if a slightly worn front roll is put 
in the middle row, and a new one in 
the front, to the naked eye it may 
seem an improvement, because a new 
roll does look good, but what actually 
takes place after the change is what 
should be considered. 

Watch the yarn as it leaves 
THE DRAWING ROLLS 
after making such a change, and in 
every case, light and thick places will 
be noticed. What causes this? The 
cause is due to a poor roll, which is 
not in close enough contact with the 
bottom steel roll at eA'^ery point on 
the surface as it revolves. This, of 
course, allows the fibres to escape in 
clusters, because the surface speed of 
the front roll is much greater than that 
of the second roll, and this creates a 
continued tendency of the front roll 
pulling away all fibres that are not 



604 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



grioped by the second roll, and this, 
of course, causes light and thick places 
throughout the length of the yarn. 

The finest of yarns are spun on a 
mule, as a rule, and with the above in 
mind, the reader should see the im- 
portance of keeping the middle roll in 
the best of condition. Of course, it 
must be understood that a poor front 
roll is also bad, and will make defec- 
tive varn, but not as bad as with a 
poor middle roll. This should easily 
be seen. For instance, let us suppose 
that we have a poor front roll and a 
very good middle roll. In such a case, 
the' end may often lap the roll, or the 
front roll may not have as firm a grip 
upon all the fibres passing from under 
the action of 

THE MIDDLE ROLL, 

and for this reason, may not act on a 
few fibres the moment that it 
should, but even at that, it should be 
seen that with a good middle roll, there 
is no danger of the front roll pulling 
the fibres away in clusters from under 
the action of the second roll. 

For the above reason, a fluted roll 
will make coarser yarn from the same 
roving. This is due to the corruga- 
tions on the roll passing more fibres 
through in the same length of time. 
A good overseer of mule spinning 
watches not only the condition of the 
surface of the top roll, but the inside 
also. ■ Such an overseer demands from 
the roll coverer that the cloth be of 
sufficient thickness to form a good 
cushion, because there is more poor 
spinning made by damaged top rolls 
than in anv .other manner. For this 
reason, the greatest of care should be 
taken in adjusting saddles, levers and 
weights so there will be no loss of 
leverage. Top roll ends should project 
slightlv above the cap bars, so that 
fly and dirt can be removed without 
the use of a picker. It is impossible 
to keep ends of rolls clean when they 
are sunk down in the cap bars. 
ANOTHER IMPORTANT MATTER 
in mule spinning is to have the under 
clearers as far back as possible, but 
not so as to touch the stirrup. Another 
important matter is to have the roving 
girdles set' properly, • because if not 



set in the proper place when the 
traverse motion is working back and 
forth, it will cause a few ends to es- 
cape from the end of the roll, which 
results in roller laps and broken ends, 
a feature that is much detested bv the 
mule spinners. How many of the lat- 
ter in charge of mule rooms at the 
present time are able to sample a 
portion of cotton and get the proper 
length of the staple to enable 
them to space their rolls properly to 
suit the length of staple found? Of 
course, the number that are able to 
do this is great, but on the other 
hand, is it not a fact that the carder's 
word is taken for it? 

This subject is an important consid- 
eration, because when one stops to 
think of it, to set a top roll to suit the 

LENGTH OF THE STAPLE 
passing under its action is a difficult 
thing to do. In the first place, every 
person that has any knowledge of cot- 
ton knows that it takes much expe- 
rience to become a good judge of the 
staple regarding its length and wheth- 
er it will take twist or not. In the 
second place, it must be admitted that 
none of us can any more work alike 
than we can think alike, and for this 
reason, you will find two men who 
will pull a staple precisely the same. 
In the third place, you will find that 
in most cotton mills especially in fine 
mills where a great amount of chang- 
ing is done, these men in charge of 
setting the rolls become careless after 
a time, and will, in the majority of 
cases, leave a top roll out of align- 
ment. Now, when the finest of yarn 
is spun on a mule, none of the above 
evils can exist and make perfect yarn 
at the same time. A good mule spin- 
ner means much to the success of a 
plant, because in order to get a good, 
even, strong yarn it is necessary to 
have the space between the rolls 
slightly exceed the length of the sta- 
ple in use. Some will give a rule by 
telling us that the space between the 
rolls should exceed the average length 
■ of the staple one-sixteenth of an inch. 
This setting is slated in different text- 
books, but this is given more to check 
some who may go to extremes. . . : 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMEJNT 



606 



iFar instance, if the majority of stu- 
dents were told to set the rolls up to 
almost the length of the staple, it is 
safe to say that such would be 

A MISTAKE, 
as many could use such an advocated 
setting for an argument and the re- 
sult would be that the quality of yarn 
turned out would not be as good as 
the present. However, we must ad- 
mit that the mill that is fortunate 
enough to have an overseer of mule 
spinning who has that judgment of 
Iceeping his rolls set up almost to the 
length of the stajjle, is the mill as a 
rule that loses very little in times of 
depression. 

There is a certain law that governs 
the art of drafting, which is that, in 
order to obtain a gradual draft at all 
times between the rolls, which is nec- 
essary to make an even thread, the 
closer the rolls are spaced to the 
length of the staple, and at the same 
time exceeding the length of the lat- 
ter, the stronger and evener the threa,d 
will be made. 

Another cause for broken yarn i? 
bad or uneven winding. This always 

CAUSES TROUBLE, 
and makes it difficult for a spinner to 
operate it properly. There are, of 
course, a number of causes for this. 
For instance, sometimes the backing 
of friction -will cause It by not freeing 
itself as it should do v/hen the faJlers 
lock. This is caused sometimes by an 
old and worn-out friction, or a Avrong 
setting. If the winding click catch 
is not taking hold as it should, or 
the backing off click catch is missing 
a tooth or two at times, thus throwing 
off more yarn some stretches than oth- 
ers, this causes uneven winding. If 
the leather in the click is not in good 
condition, it is impossible to make 
them take hold regularly. For this 
reason, -new leather should be put in 
occasionally as the case requires. 

No. 193. 



CXCIV. AVOIDING DEFECTS. 

If the bowl which runs on the cop- 
ping rail becomes worn, it should be 
taken off and trued. On mules 



that have run a number of 
years, the writer has seen the 
carriage slides on the shaper 
side of the head worn down in places 
so that it was almost impossible to 
get a good even wind, because the car- 
riage was running lower at times than 
it ought to, thus causing the cop- 
ping faller to dwell too long in one 
place and traverse too quickly in other 
places. This causes not only bad wind- 
ing, but sometimes a bad looking 
chase. The only remedy for this is to 
take the carriage slide out, and have 
it planed off level. 

IMPROPER WINDING 
may be caused in the cop bottom by 
the traverse of the quadrant nut not 
being properly performed. This is a 
point which should have careful atten- 
tion. The quadrant traverse is a mat- 
ter to which some care should be giv- 
en, as it is impossible to give a rule 
to guide the operator. The quadrant 
arm should be set behind the vertical 
line at the commencement of winding, 
and a common practice is to set the 
quadrant vertically when the bowl Is 
on the highest point of the copping 
rail and the full diameter of the cop 
has been reached, but it must be un- 
derstood here that such an adjustment 
does not answer in all cases. The besi 
practice is to leave the setting to care- 
ful observation. 

The delivery of the chain to the car- 
riage by the quadrant during its in- 
ward movement cannot be other than 
variable, and the amount of variation 
depends on the circumstances of the 
case. For instance, if the quadrant is 
too high, it will give slack yarn. On 
the other hand, if it is too low, the 
yarn will be too tight, and consequent- 
ly, in the first case, there will De kinky 
yarn, and in the second case ends con- 
tinually breaking would be the re- 
sult. 

The proper building of the cop de- 
pends on 

TWO OPERATIONS, 
namely, the traverse of the faller and 
the proper rotation of the spindle. 
These two factors have a close connep- 
tion, and each depends on the other. 
It is obvious that Improper setting ot 



&06 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



either of the two would entirely de- 
stroy the relation of one to the other. 
It is this which renders this part of 
the operation of a mule of great im- 
portance. 

We will now consider some of the 
defects usually found in cops, and the 
causes which produce them. A uni- 
form length of yarn is wound on the 
spindle during every run in of the car- 
riage. If the traverse of the winding 
faller is not correct, or if the speed of 
the spindle is not regulated properly, 
then some of the yarn will be wound 
on a part of the cop where it should 
not be, which, of course, results in a 
poorly built cop, and if care is not 
taken in readjusting, it will lead to 
trouble some where else. 

Cops are often badly shaped instead 
of maintaining a uniform shape in the 
body of the cop, and they also vary in 
thickness at different places. In other 
cases, the nose of the cop will be 
spongy and soft, so that when the yarn 
is being unwound it unravels and 
causes a great amount of waste. 
Sometimes cops will also 

VARY IN LENGTH 

and thickness when they are spun on 
the same mule. All these defects can 
be remedied by ascertaining the part 
of the cop in which the defects exist, 
and by so doing, a guide is given to 
the parts which need adjusting or al- 
tering. 

If a cop becomes thicker in one part 
of the body than it should be, this en- 
ables the experienced observer to de- 
termine the place where the defect 
originated. It would be evident that, 
for some reason or other, the gradual 
elevation of the faller during winding 
was not taking place at the proper 
time. On the other hand, if the cop 
becomes thinner as the cop builds up, 
then it could easily be seen that the 
elevation of the faller was taking place 
too rapidly, and instead of the cone 
being properly formed, the first coil 
of each stretch was being laid upon 
a portion of the cop where the diam- 
eter was too small. 

By exercising a little thought and 



judgment, much time and labor will be 
saved. 

THE COPPING PLATES 
are formed with curved portions at 
their upper ends. When the copping 
rail is in position to start a set of cops, 
the studs on each end of the copping 
rail rest on the curved parts of the 
plate, and the result of the inward 
traverse of the copping plates altera 
the position of the copping rail too 
rapidly. The curve on the back pait 
of the copping plates is much steeper 
than on the front, and the result is 
that the back part of the copping rail 
falls more quickly than the front 
and the traverse of the fall- 
ers is rapidly lengthened. This ac- 
tion is intended to form the bottom 
properly, and it is tn this fact that 
the proper setting of the plates will 
enable a longer or shorter cone to be 
formed. 

This can be done in more ways than 
one. For instance, if the back plate 
is moved forward, the stud will rest 
on a higher part of the curve and the 
back part of the copping rail will fall 
more quickly as the plate is pushed 
back. It should be clear to any prac- 
tical man that the cop bottom can be 
lengthened or shortened at will by the 
adjustment of the parts in such a man- 
ner that when the inward motion of 
the plates takes place, the back cop- 
ping rail will fall more rapidly for- 
ward than the front. Care should be 
taken, however, that the 

POSITION OP THE RAIL 
is not so as to allow the yarn to bt 
wound below the lower coils on the 
bottom cone. If this is so, the yarn 
is liable to be broken when being un- 
wound in the shuttle. 

Another important point in copping 
is to have two spirals of yarn wound 
close to the nose of the cop. This can 
be done by having the rest on the 
boot leg of proper shape or angle. The 
object of doing this is because when 
the mule is backing off, if the back- 
ing-off chain is properly adjusted, at 
least one of these spirals will be drag- 
ged down and locked on the top of 
the nose, thus causing a good nose to 
be made all through the cop. It is 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



507 



advisable to give warning against un- 
due interference with tlie copping 
plates and rail, because unless the al- 
terations are skilfully made, evils 
worse than those it is intended to 
cure will be produced. No. 194. 



CXCV. MULE ALIGNMENT. 

We will now give some attention to 
the alignment of the mule. When 
aligning a mule, the first thing to do 
is to let off all the bands and then 
remove the top rolls and bottom steel 
rolls. Uncouple the roller beam at the 
mule head, then level the head both 
ways. Level the mule ends the same 
way and then run a line from one end 
of the mule to the other through the 
front stand. Level the line in the 
centre of the stands, then place a 
small block in each end stand to hold 
the line slightly up so that the line 
will just slightly clear the highest 
stand. After gettiog the head level 
and straight, go over the roller beam 
with a spirit level and lower or raise 
the Sampson, as the case demands 
Also move the stands in or out so the 
line will show exactly in the centre 
of every stand. 

In some cases, it is impossible to 
move the stand. In such a case, take 
out the lag screws and move the samp- 
sons as required, replacing them after 
the beam has been set right. Next, 
level up the tracks. If it is necessary 
to level the tracks from one to anoth- 
er, to get a long enougn 

STRAIGHT EDGE 
to reach from the roller beam to the 
track at the head end, set all the 
tracks by this stick from the beam, 
then level the track and leave the 
beam end where it has been put, and 
this will make all the parts level, so 
that they will work in unison. Next 
level the carriage by first loosening 
the cylinders, and at the same time 
see that all couplings and bolts are 
tight. Place a small spirit level cross- 
wise on the bottom of the carriage, 
and then raise or lower the carriage 
as condition demands at the spiders 
until it is level. 
Go over a second time, as some- 



times lowering or raising one point 
will alter the next one just left or right. 
Make a gauge to fit between the top 
and bottom of the spindle rail and set 
them all even. The object in doing 
this is that if the spindle rail is high- 
er in one place than in another when 
the tube is put on the spindle after 
doffing and set with a tube setter, the 
tube will be higher where the rail is 
highest. The result is that the threads 
are 

NOT EVENLY WOUND 
on all the tubes, the threads being 
wound too low where the top rail is 
highest. 

Next run a line in front of the car- 
riage. Get two pieces of board, 
bore a hole in one end and cut a slot in 
the other, bolt to the ends where the 
faller stands belong, and place your 
line in the slot, then tighten your line 
and measure from it to the carriage, 
and if not found straight, make use of 
your diagonal rods, but be sure and 
leave all your rods taut. 

Next take a long, straight edge and 
measure from 5'our front roll to the 
spindle at the head, then measure 
same at the ends, and if the carriage 
does not measure the same at the 
ends, loosen all the bolts in the square 
connecting the carriage, and draw in 
or out as required, using your tie 
reds connecting your carriage with 
square until it is in line from end 
to end, then lighten up your square. 
Next get three long boards and bolt 
them to the sampsons, and fix the 
other end to the back of the carriage 
perfectly steady, at the same time mak- 
ing sure your carriage is perfectly in 
line. Then loosen all your fallers at 
the top spindle rail. The reason for 
this is to allow your top spindle rail 
to move freely in or out when 

SETTING YOUR SPINDLES. 

Now you are ready to set your spin- 
dles. Take off your brackets where 
your squaring bands belong, then take 
boards and bore a hole in one end and 
a slot in the other, bolt them to the 
carriage ends and run a line from one 
end to the other. Now take your spin- 
dle gauge and level your spindles a,c- 



508 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



cording to requirements, putting them 
in line at ttie same time. Do not at- 
tempt to get them right the first time, 
but instead go over them two or three 
times. Next, tighten all your bands 
and loosen your back stops, and put 
your carriage up to the beam. Take 
your spindles and roller gauge and get 
the height of the spindles frnm your 
steel rolls, and set the spindles below 
the delivering point of the rolls. About 
2i inches below the delivering point 
for medium numbers, and for fine num- 
bers 2| inches is considered about 
right. Next eet your stops and run 
your mule out and line your cylinders 
and fallers, but be sure and never line 
your cylinders and fallers before top- 
ping your spindles. 

After lining and leveling your fall- 
ers, see that your faller shaft is rest- 
ing on all the bearings. This is very 
important, because after mules have 
been running a number of years 

THE FALLER STANDS 
are worn, and when you are lifting 
one up it will lift the next one, so 
that when you put your gauge on 
it shows all right, but still it is not 
touching the bottom. See that all your 
faller sickles are of one shape. This 
can be done by making a gauge to 
fit on the faller shaft and the faller 
wire, bending the sickles in or out as 
required. Now your- wires must be set. 
The proper way to do this is to have 
gauge made to fit on the points of the 
spindles and reaching down to the fall- 
er wire after setting your changes; 
your mule is then ready to start. 

The quadrant plays an important 
part in the operation of mule spinning, 
and most cop troubles, as a rule, can 
be traced back to this part of the ma- 
chine. Let us assume for the conve- 
nience of illustration, that a mule is 
making a cop with a short chase on 
the tube, and it becomes longer as the 
set of cops are filled. Again, let us 
suppose that it is intended to make 
the chase longer without making it 
become too long when the cop is full. 
The best way to do this is by letting 
what is known as 

THE BACK SHOE 
back towards the rear of the mule 



slightly, and at the same time letting 
the long rail down slightly. In mak- 
ing this change, It Is necessary to 
lengthen the boot leg slightly, so as 
to make the yarn wind as low on the 
tubes as before the change. It must 
be understood, however, that this will 
not change the shape of the cops. 

In case of cops having a round bot- 
tom, v/hich in most cases is short, you 
will find that the coning parts of the 
shoes are worn flat, or may have been 
filed by a person in charge of the fix- 
ing who did not understand his busi- 
ness. In order to remedy this, when 
filing leave the highest part at the 
back towards the coning part, and take 
more off as you get down toward the 
point where the shoulder is turned. 
In doing this it requires the best of 
judgment, and the greatest care must 
be taken not to take off too much. In- 
stead be careful and make the bot- 
tom become longer and straight with- 
out making other changes. 

When cops show 

A HOLLOW BOTTOM 

this indicates tha/t the coning parts of 
the shoes are too high at the begin- 
ning and ending of the set. When cops 
are larger at the shoulder and finish, 
this indicates that the shoes have a 
low place between the coning and fin- 
ishing parts. The cause should easily 
be seen, because shoes must be straight 
between the coning parts and the low- 
est point, while on the other hand, if a 
cop is larger in the middle it indicates 
that the shoes have a high place be- 
tween the coning parts and the low- 
est point. 

When the internal shoe is set too 
far toward the front, this will cause 
a cop built with a hollow cone and 
produced by the long rail having a 
high place on it, or sometimes by the 
short incline on the front being too 
high. 

Dwell motions are applied to mules 
to prevent snarls or kiuKS forming in 
the yarn when the carriage is at, or 
near, the beam. The rolls remain in- 
active for a brief period just as the 
carriage starts outward, which allows 
the yarn to be brought under a slight 
tension. To the writer, this motion is 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



509 



as useful on a mule as split lap pre- 
venters are necessary on a picker. 
Split lap preventers are used in mills 
where the proper construction of a 
lap is little understood. This fact is 
proven by other mills making a per- 
fect lap without the use of split lap 
preventers. The same can be said 



CXCVI. HAND DRESSING PREP- 
ARATION. 

Hand dressing is resorted to by 
manufacturers who want the very 
best results in dressing cotton warps, 
and it is admitted that a hand dressed 
warp excels all others in meeting all 
requirements, i.e., uniformity of ten- 




Fig. 68. Doubler — Three Beam Tie-Up. 



about a good mule spinner. He does 
not need the dwell motion to preven* 
snarls when he understands his busi- 
ness. No. 195. 



sion, each thread laying side by side 
in the same place throughout the 
whole length of warp, no broken 
threads nor imperfect threads. 



510 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



It is the method used in the dress 
ing of warps for the finest fancy 
fabrics. It is also really the only way 
to handle a warp of a thin sheet, as for 
Instance, a warp taking about 25 per 
cent of the diameter of the yarn used, 
such as lusters or fabrics of 
this kind taking cotton warps filled 
with worsted filling. 

On any other method of dressing 
these thin sheets the tendency is to 
make ridgy beams, on account of the 
open spacing of each thread in the 
warp. On the contrary, by hand dress- 
ing, the warp and the web on the 
beam is perfectly level, and will weave 
off with an even uniform tension. 

Warps for hand dressing are pre- 
pared in various ways. By warping 
on section beams and then doubling 
on doubler, or by ball warping, or by 
a chain warper. The general prod- 
uct of the ball warper is not of the 
best. The warper usually contains 
tight and slack threads, which are 
very objectionable, for the tight threads 
are likely to break in the dye house, and 
the slack threads may get tangled 
and make a smash in the dye house. 
Even if these accidents do not take 
place, the warps do not make 
good webs. There seems to be no 
reason for these defects, only care- 
lessness and defective conditions in 
the 

WARPER AND BALLER. 

To avoid tight threads in the centre 
of warp it is necessary that the creel 
in set back far enough from warper 
to allow each thread to unwind from 
spool freely without the thread rub- 
bing up against the spool next above, 
n the creel is not far enough back 
from the warper, this is just what 
will happen, particularly if the spools 
are full. There is but one other 
remedy, and that is to reverse the 
spools affected and have them un- 
wind from the bottom. This trouble 
is confined to the bottom spools of 
the first four rows on each side of 
creel. 

Another feature that is productive 
of mieven tension is the practice of 



bunching the warp when the chain 
is in front of the return pulley. This 
is a most serious defect, and ehould 
be promptly eliminated wherever it 
is practised. Each thread of the chain 
should rest on the face of the pulley 
freely. By giving special attention to 
these two features in ball warping, 
the writer was able to produce the 
very best of warps by ball warping, 
and as these warps were made for his 
own department, he was in a position 
to observe their condition in every 
stage of progress to the finished warp 
on loom beam. 
The 

GENERAL DEFECTIVE CONDITION 

of ball warps is, no doubt, one reason 
why the two other systems are used. 
Still there is another reason. When 
best results are desired from the dye- 
house, the work must be done within 
limitations. For instance, our dyer on 
short chain dyeing, which is the only 
way to get best results in variety of 
colors and level dyeing, refused to 
use a warp that contained more than 
80 pounds of yarn, 1,200 yards in 
length, contending that with four 
warps to the run, a set of 320 pounds 
would take the color uniformly and 
would not be ended. That is, the first 
and last ends of the chain would shade 
the same. With a larger pound weight 
it is probable that his warps would be 
ended, as when the last end of the 
warp left the liquor the latter would 
be nearly exhausted. It is always dan^ 
gerous to try to feed the liquor dur- 
ing the running through of a set, and 
is never resorted to in short chain 
dyeing. 

If warps were made of 1-30, 80 
pounds to the warp, there would be 
1,680 threads of 1,200 yards long, and 
it would probably require two of thes*» 
v.'arps to make a web for the loom. 
To ball warps for this layout it wou!<* 
be necessary to creel 840 spools, so 
that the warps would dress from four 
chains — four chains is a favorite ar- 
rangement for hand dressing. The 
ordinary warper is not provided with 
such a creel, if it were, the finer 
numberg would call for a still larger 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



511 



;iumber of threads, and the difficulty 
would be further aggravated. 

No. 196. 



CXCVII. WARPING AND DOUBLING. 

As the reputation of warps made 
on a ball warper is not very good, 
to get better warps resort is made to 
warping and doubling. It is generally 
believed that warping on to 
beams is better than on to 
balls, as any variation of 
tension of threads will make itself 
known by its appearance on face of 
beam and the warper tender will cor 
rect this quickly, whether it is a 
tight skewer, waste in reed, or drop 
wires, a thread of different number 
or defective yarn. If the warper ten- 
der fails to note and correct these bad 
conditions, the man on the doublet 
attends to them, so that they will not 
reach the dresser. 

Chain warping is done on the Wai- 
cot Warper. This method of pre- 
paring warps is a compromise be- 
tween the balling and doubling 
methods. It can use a, creel with as 
many spools as threads could be used 
in the doubler, and the defect of the 
return pulley is eliminated as the yarn 
is taken up by full length drums 
around which each thread runs free, 
but the opportunity to inspect the 
yarn is wanting. This feature in itself 
would determine fine mills in favor 
of the doubler. 

The latest style 

DOUBLING MACHINE 

is called the continuous proc- 
ess doubler. It consists of two 
side frames, some five feet high, 
with cross bracings, reed sup- 
ports in front and back, one measur- 
ing roll and clock, one carrying roll, 
harness slide and one warp roll stand 
for two beams front and same in back. 
At a distance of not less than 20 feet 
is a mounted bailer which does the 
winding of warp on to a ball. 

As the preferential value of the 
doubler is in the production of a warp 
more uniform in its tension, it is im- 



portant that beams warped are not 
ridgy, and to avoid ridgy beams it is 
necessary that there are enough 
threads to the width of beam to occu- 
py all the surface of beam. 

By experimental test it was 
found that the number of threads 
to the width of the 54-incb 
beam is the product of 100 
multiplied by the square root of 
the number. Thus: 1-30 5.4772 multi- 
plied by 100 equals 547 threads. LeR«i 
than this number of threads is not. 
safe in obtaining a good beam 
This method of ascertaining the num- 
ber of threads to the beam width 
could be made applicable to any width 
of beam by proportion, using 54 as a 
divisor and the width of beam desired 
as multiplier. 

We will take an order, say, for 8 
warps of 1,680 threads, 20 cuts of 60 
yards each, made from 

1-30 CARDED COTTON. 

The warping would be thre>3 
beams of 560 ends, 9,600 yards, and 
the doubling would be affected as fol- 
lows: two beams in front of machine 
and one beam at the back. On the 
front of back stand there would be 
put a roll, around which would be 
put one-half of the thread of firsf: 
beam of front stand as follows: 140 
ends retained at front, 280 thread<3 
run over the above mentioned roller 
on back stand, the balance of 140 
being retained at front of doubler. 
This would leave the warp threads 
840 at back and 840 at front. 

By referring to Figure 68, it will be 
of assistance to the reader in obtain- 
ing an idea of the method used in 
tying-in a three-beam set in a doubler. 
The view is from the back of machine, 
and shows the preparation made. The 
beam and threads latched on after the 
threads of the previous set have been 
counted off and divided to suit new 
tie-up. Also by referring to Figure 69. 
which is a view of the machine from 
the opposite side, you will observe 
the position of the clock and shipping 
lever. It is at this point the operator 
stands when running the machine. 

No. 197. 



512 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



CXCVIII. TWISTING-IN SECTION 
BEAM. 

For this order just described, 
a 12 reed is used on each 
side of frame and the threads are put 
in 2 in each dent. A rod is kept in 
the outer side of the reed to keep 
separate the two threads in each dent. 

With 560 threads on one beam and 
the 280 threads from the opposite side 
of frame, there will have to be 140 
threads taken from the full beam; pick 
up threads from this beam, 3 up and 1 
down, the threads thrown down being 
twisited-in in conjunction witl) the 
threads from opposite side. 

THE BOTTOM THREADS 
in the reed are picked, one 
up and two down, and the threads 
from the opposite side are twisted 
to the down threads. The above 1 40 are 
separated as before and twisted to 
the threads picked up— 140 plus 280 
equals 420, the balance of the threads 
of beam being twisted to the upper 
threads of the two in the dent. This 
will be 420 threads running over and 
420 threads running under the separat- 
ing rod in front of reed on both sides 
of the doubler. 

On the front side of the beam the 
threads from the two beams will be 
twisted on the same as the threads 
on opposite side. All the yarn will 
come from the beams in front when 
the twisting-in is completed. The 
doubler is started up and the yarn 
is run through reed over rollers and 
through harness to the overhead 
drum. On the knots reaching the 
bailer a lease is struck and strings 
put in, the old chain cut away, and 
the ball of previous set taken off 
bailer and replaced with empty roll 
to which the chain is fastened. 

As this order calls for 8 warps, 
we will assume that they are to be 
dressed in doubles, and, therefore, the 
ckll order will require 4 warps with 
cut marks, and 4 without. 

The gearing for the clock 
will be as follows: The yard 
giear works with one tooth to 
the yard, for instance, with the 
above order of 60 yards to the cut a 



60-gear will be used. The cut gear is 
figured 4 teeth to the cut, and in the 
above order of 20 cuts would figure 
4 multiplied by 20 equals 80 gear. A 
40 gear could be used by running two 
raps instead of one to the warp. With 
a 60-yard gear and 80-cut gear on 
clock, and the lease taken, all is ready 
to start up. 

Make first 4 warps, putting in cut 
marks, the cut lever ringing a bell 
and stopping the machine when the 
length is measured. The operator 
should be ready with his cut strings 
to tie them on. After these 4 warps 
the 

CUT ALARM MOTION 
can be thrown out of operation and 
the balance of warps to be made will 
run without stoppage, with the excep- 
tion of putting in lease, which 
is always done at both be- 
ginning and end of warps. A ball 
will hold in this case 4 warps. There- 
fore, this order may be put on two 
balls. 

In this order we have had to use :{ 
beams, and by doing so, there were 
unusual difficulties to overcome, as 2 
beams had to be put on one side and 
one on the other. Half of the one 
beam had to be crossed to the opposite 
side and a pick-up made. Most sets, 
however, are made up of only 2 or 4 
beams, and it is a small matter, tha 
putting-in of a set. As in the case of 
a 4-beam set, the dividing rod at the 
back of reed separates the yarns from 
top and bottom beams on each side, 
and unless there are ends to be put 
in or taken out, the operator will only 
need to twist in his beam and 
proceed as in the above mentioned 
order. No. 198. 



CXCIX. YARNS IN HARNESS 

In explaining the filling of an order 
as specified no mention was made ot 
the arrangement of yarns in the har- 
ness, nor how a lease was obtained. 
This point we will nov/ take up. 

In the above set there is 1,680 
threads in warp, 840 threads enter- 
ing the reed on each side of the frame. 
The threads on back side of frame 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



513 



pa&ri round roller and through, the 
heddle loop in the harness. The 
threads on the front side of frame 
pass around roller and through the 



the opposite side, and it does not 
contain a thread-eye. This gives 
the yarn perfect freedom to pass in 
the harness, when not taking a leasf?, 




t\g. 70. Dressing Frames — Front View. 

harness, clear of the loop heddle, and the loops meet all requirements 

threads from each side being put in when the threads have to be crossed 

alternately. for the second lease. 

The harness used in a doubler Is piRST SINGLE LEASE, 
made somewhat different than that 

used in a loom. The neddles on one The first single lease is obtained 

side are looped into the heddles on by passing lease stick up between the 



614 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



rollers and separating the yarns from 
the back and from the front, carrying 
this separation through the harness 
on top of which a string is put in the 
constitutive first single lease — the 
second lease is taken by pulling over 
harness toward the front, bringing 
back threads which are in the loop 
toward the front of frame, causing 
these back threads to cross each oJ 
the front threads. 

When this is accomplished, the leaso 
rod may be passed through above 
harness, between the threads that are 
looped and the threads that are noi: 
looped. By running the machine a 
yard or so the string of the first lease 
and the lease stick will be brought, 
into d, convenient position to replace 
the rod with the lease string of the 
first lease. 

In the process of doubling great 
care should be exercised by the 
operator that the beams are properly 
weighted. Each head on each beam 
having a rope placed in the groove 
and weighted with the least amount of 
weight possible, the rope fastened to 
the floor or beam stand at the front 
and encircling the head of beam in 
the diret-tion it runs. 

A close scrutiny should be made of 
the yarns as they come off the beams 
and if any imperfect or wrong threads 
come up they should be immediately 
tied out, replacing the yarn from 
beaten spool behind beams. No tight 
or slack threads should be allowed to 
go into warp and care should be ex- 
ercised in putting in cut marks and 
leases. 

COMBINATION TABLE. 

The following combination table of 
section beams for warp dressing v.'as 
found very useful. This table pretty 
well explains itself. The 2nd, 3d, 4th 
and 5th columns are headed with the 
number of threads on section beams 
The first column the number of 
threads in each combination of beams 
marked opposite under any of the 
other four columns. When there are 
two groups this indicates that there 
are two combinations to the same 
number of threads: 



COMBINATION TABLE OF SECTION BEAMS. 
450 500 550 600 

900 2 

950 1 1 

1000 2 

1 1 

1050 1 1 

1 1 

1100 ■ 2 

1 1 

1150 1 1 

1200 2 

1350 3 

1400 2 1 

1450 2 1 

1 2 
150O 2 1 

S 
1550 2 1 

I 2 

II 1 
1600 2 1 

1 2 

1 11 
1650 3 

111 
1700 1 2 

2 1 
1750 1 2 

ISOO 8 

4 
1S50 3 1 

1900 3 1 

2 2 

1950 3 1 

13 

200O 4 

2 2 

2 1 1 

2050 3 1 

12 1 

1 12 

2100 2 2 

3 

2 2 
1111 

2150 1 3 

1 1 2 

2200 4 

2 2 

1 1 2 

2250 3 1 

112 
1 S 

2300 1 , 3 

2 2 

2350 1 S 

2400 ■ 4 ■ 

With varicus beams on hand cor- 
taining the above number of threads, 
doubling can be done promptly on 
receipt of an order. 

On the completion of the above 
order, the balls are sent to the dye 
house with instructions as to the 
shade or bleach wanted. In this case 
we will say 4 warps for red and 4 
warps for black, and will proceed to 
describe the process of hand dressing, 
a 4 and 4 pattern of 3,360 ends, 1,680 
black and 1,680 red. No. 199. 



CC. A HAND DRESSING FRAME. 

A hand dressing frame Is constructed 
in such a way as to provide every faCil- 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMEM'r 



515 



ity to the dresser to control every con- 
dition that is likely to develop in han- 
dling chain warps. With this machine 
a dresser can handle the lightest and 
heaviest sheets, and a great variety of 



ing illustrations, which are those of a 
large hand dressing room, will aid the 
reader to understand the following de- 
scription of the process. 

Figure 70 is a front view of a row 
of dressing frames. In front of each 




Fig. 71. Dressing Frames — Bacl< View. 



colors in combination, in chains of any 
size and numbers of yarn of any com- 
bination, producing a warp that is 
nearer perfect than can be produced 
by any other method. The accompany- 



frame may be seen the cha-in warps 
running up to their friction boxes, 
from which, it may be observed, they 
pass to the back stand some 20 feet in 
the rear. This stand contains several 



516 



COlTl'ON MILL MANAGEMENT 



cross bars and a cross roll. Each cliain 
in a warp is run around 

A SEPARATE CROSS BAR. 

The surface of each bar con- 
tains a series of notches. These 
notches are intended to hold the chain 
spread, and the whole warp passing 
around the cross roll and through a 
free reed to the loom beam which will 
be noticed is in the drive in the front 
frame. 

In the front frame. Figure 71, in the 
forieground will be seen a warp where 
the operator has carried his reed back 
preparatory to winding on a reach. In 
the second frame you will notice the 
reod which the operator uses to guide 
the warp is run up to the beam, al^o 
the brush which he uses to open up 
the warp. The dresser stands between 
the back roll and the loom beam and 
controls the belt shipper with a rope 
which passes from the shipper around 
the whole frame front and back, and 
is always at all points within easy 
reach of the dresser. There are a se- 
ries of 3 cone driA^es on the frame and 
on the counter shaft which enables the 
drasser to change his speed to meet all 
conditions. 

On receipt of the above warps re- 
turned from the dye house colored, the 
overseer passes upon them as to shade, 
conditions, etc. If satisfactory, they 
were put into a weighing and lotted 
for by the men. 

This method in giving out the work 
was in accordance with the wishes of 
the men, and by way of explanation, a 
weighing consisted of several warps 
which were all ready to b^ dressed. 
When one of the men fell, that is, 
ready for another warp, this man 
would report to the second hand and 
ask the number of warps ready for the 
weighing. With this information he 
would call for the number of men who 
fell next, all of whom would assemble 
in the warp room where the first man 
would prepare checks (marked with 
numbers) to the number wanted and 
place in a bag from which each man 
drew a check, the number of each hav- 
ing a corresponding number of warps 
placed there by the second hand just 
"fevious to the drawing of lots. 



The dresser who received the warps, 
the preparation of which we have de- 
scribed, when ready to proceed would 
call for a splitting boy and would 
count off to the half of each of his 
black and red warps, splitting each 
half on to separate coils. 

After the splitting was done, each 
strand was placed under and carried 
through the friction box and over the 
cross bars at the back, placing a strand 
of black and a strand of red alternately 
over separate bars. In front of the 
back stand a temporary stand was put 
to hold lease rods which were insert- 
ed in each lease of each strand, mak- 
ing in all four sets of lease rods. 
From these he would proceed to sley 
in his warp. 

From the two leases of the black 
he would take one thread each and put 
them in one dent of the reed and re- 
peat this in the next dent, making 4 
ends of black. He would next take 
one thread each from the two leases 
of the red and place them in one 
dent and again one from each lease 
in the next dent, making 4 red threads. 
Continuing this sley until the whole 
warp was in reed, making a pattern of 
4 black and 4 red, 420 patterns, 1,GS0 
dents, 3,360 threads. This put in a 
suitable reed to get the necessary 
width for the weaving of the cloth. 

No. 200. 



CCI. HAND DRESSING. 

This completed, the separating rods 
were put in between the double threads 
in each dent. Ths is done by separ- 
ating the two top and the two bottom 
strands. The rod is fastened by strings 
on each side to the reed. A beam is 
secured and placed in the front drive 
and flanges adjusted to the proper 
width. The warp is now brought for- 
ward and latched to the beam. All 
overhead frictions are adjusted and 
the reed is brushed back, beginning the 
dressing by running up one reach, and 
adjusting the spread of warps in the 
back bars. Great care is used to see 
that yarns wound on the beaju are 
level and that the face of the beam 
has no high or low places. After 
brushing back a few reaches a run is 



COl'TON MILL MANAGEMENT' 



6if 



started, the dresser standing a few 
feet in front of the beam brushing 
and carefully watching each part of 
the operation. 

On finishing the warp, a lease is 
taken by picking up the lower threads 
in each dent of the reed that runs un- 
der the separating rod. This is done 
with the assistance of a peg which the 
dresser uses in his right hand to press 
aside the top thread in the d-ent, while 
with his left forefinger he picks up the 
lower thread. This is done very quick- 
ly by an exp-erienced dresser. The sep- 
arating rod provides the second half 
lease. After the lease has been put in, 
the warp is cut away, leaving the warp 
yarns in bunches about 24 inches from 
the lease. These bunches are fastened 
on to the warp and the beam is now 
ready for the loom and the dresser for 
another warp. 

The above seems simple enough, but 
in the operation it requires skill to 
meet the usual conditions, replacing 
the out threads, tieing up the broken 
threads, taking out imperfect yarn, and 
doing this without crossing up the 
warp, regulating the spread of chain, 
carefully watching that each chain is 
working under the same tension and 
that each chain leaves its coil clean 
and free — all this in good warps. 

But the dye house will not always 
return warps colored in a good shape. 
Sometimes they are not properly clean- 
ed in the washing, sometimes they 
have insufficient size and at other 
times too much size, and sometimes 
the warp will be badly broken. All 
these conditions are common features 
in a dressing room. The above dress- 
ing is of a 4 by 4 pattern with warp 
provided exactly as needed, but if a 
call for warps is to be met by warps on 
hand, and these warps do not contain 
the right number of threads, as for 
instance, the order calls for four 
warps of the same quality and same 
style and the gray warps avaJlable are 
in double warps as follows: 1,200 ends 
600, 1,000, 720, 1,700 and 1,^00. The 
order on the dye house would be for 
a set of the above in black and a set 
In red and the dyer would run in the 
vat as follows: 1,200 and 600 in one 



strand, 1,000 and 720 in one strand and 
1,700 and 1,500 in separate strands, in 
all four strands in one run of a dye- 
ing set in each color. 

On being received at the dressing 
room after being colored, the four 
warps would be put Into the weighing 
as before the men received these 
warps, a splitting would be made, so 
that each man had a warp in each 
color of 1,680 threads, 20 threads be- 
ing split from 1,700, 120 being 
split fiom 1,200 and 40 from 1,000.- 
All these bits would be dressed in 
with the 1,500, making 1 warp of 1,6S0 
threads. The balance of the l.TOO 
would stand for the second warp, the 
balance of the 1,200 and 600 combined 
would be for the tbira warp, 

THE BALANCE 
of 1,000 and 720 would make the fourth 
warp. Provisions Avould be inade 
so that the warp that took the 1,500 
and the three bits would not be dress- 
ed with the corresponding red warp, 
but would be dressed with a straight 
1,680 thread warp. Each warp and bits 
would have to be reeded in the full 
width of the warp in each color. The 
dresser would exercise his best judg- 
ment in arranging the distribution of 
these threads and it would require skill 
on his part to handle these warps to 
get uniformity of tension. But for 
such conditions an allowance is pro- 
vided for bits in the schedule of prices 
for dressing. (See price list.) This 
last illustration of a hand dresser's 
work indicates that a hand dresser re- 
quires skill and intelligence. 

The above description of the va- 
rious ways and means that are to be 
resorted to in hand dressing does not 
refer to the more complex work of 
dressing, such as Scotch tartan plaids, 
which in many designs take as many 
as ten colors, the preparations of which 
in splitting and putting in chains for 
dressing are mud* more complicated, 
but the same general procedure is ob- 
served. The reeding-in is from as 
many rods as there are colors and 
sometimes more, as the ground may 
take mere than one chain. The reed- 
ing-in must be done according to the 
pattern and provision made for split- 



SIS 



CQT*rON MILL MANAGEMENT 



ting the double threads in each dent 
for separating rod. It is very im- 
portant that each strand runs free 
without rubbing. 

The following is a price list which 
contains the usual rating for hand 
dressing; 

PRICES FOR HAND DRESSING. 
Special price in proportion to yards per cut. 
.(162 per 1,000 ends per cut of 72 yds. Grey. 
.065 per 1,000 ends per cut of 72 yds. Black, 

bleacli and colored. 
.075 per 1,000 ends per cut of 72 yds. Spirited 
and C. D. Col. 

PREPARING. 
.34 per 1,000 ends per warp. Plain. 
.51 per 1,000 ends per warp. Fancy. 

EXTRAS. 
.25 per wp. for cutting into two parts. 
.12 per wp. for picking lease in wp. of 2,600 

ends or Jess. 
.15 per wp. for picking lease in wp. of more 

than 2,600 ends. 
.12 per wp. for slaying off four pairs of rods. 
.02V4 per cut additional color for 72 yds. 
.02% per cut extra bit for 72 yds. 

All bits to be picked in full width. 

No. 201. 



ecu. FRUIT OF MISMANAGEMENT. 

The following statement of facts 
came under the personal o"bservation 
of the writer when in the employment 
of the parties referred to and are 
written as words of encouragement to 
the efficient and words of depreciation 
to the inefficient in the hope they 
may accomplish good. 

We had an order placed with us for 
French voiles which called for 800 
pieces per week. The fabric was made 
of 2-40s worsted twisted wire 
twist. This is a twist of a 
multiple of 6 to the square 
root or about 26 turns to the inch in 
this number. This excessive twist is 
given the yarn to make it wiry. In- 
stead of making this yarn of it's cor- 
rect twist of 26 turns the mill order 
called for 30 turns, or the multiple 
6.75 of the square root of the num- 
ber. 

Before dressing some of this 
YARN WAS GASSED 
and 7 per cent was allowed in the 
size of the yam to allow for loss m 
the gassing, that is, the single yarn 
was spun 38s. On the weighing of a 
section beam warped to a different 
quality of the same lot of yam before 



it was gassed, this beam contained 
511 threads, 4,500 yards, the weight 
figuring as follows: 511 times 
4,500, equals 2,299,500 diyided by 
11,200, the yarn yards per number to 
the pound equals 205.3 pounds. On 
weighing the beam, the gross weight 
was 438 less beam weight 165, equals 
273 pounds of yarn. Per cent of dif- 
ference 273 divided by 205.3 equals by 
per cent 32.97. Please note this yarn 
was about 33 per cent too heavy. 

In the same lot 

AFTER GASSING, 
the weight was estimated as follows: 
Beam containing 515 threads times 
4,320 yards, equals 2,224,800 divided 
by 11,200, equals 198.6. A weighing of 
the beam showed the following gross 
weight: 392 minus 156 beam weight, 
equals 236; percentage of difference, 
236 divided by 198.6 equals 18.8 per 
cent given away to the buyer of the 
cloth. 

This lot was sent along to meet 
orders for gassed and ungassed- warps, 
and in both cases the number of the 
yarn was designated as 2-40. The 
above shows a loss of 11.4 per cent in 
gassing, but how did the management 
figure to obtain correct results from 
such conditions, and is it possible that 
there could be such a margin of profit 
on making this fabric that an over- 
weighting of fabric 32 per cent (fill- 
ing took same yarn as warp) would 
still stand for good profitable busi- 
ness? Nothing of the kind. This 
stupid piece of work meant the wiping 
out of margin of profit and a big loss, 
so we were using about 3,000 pounds 
of yarn per day, one-half of which 
went into filling. 

The above does not tell 

THE WHOLE STORY. 
The amount of twist put in the yarn 
to its number was unreasonable and 
wholly unnecessary. The square of 
6 is the proper twist 25.6 turns. 30 
turns was excessive twist, but with 
yarn 32 per cent heavier, that is 2-26, 
the twist should have been 22 turn 
instead of 30 turn. 

The yarn seemed impossible to 
handle. The warper had to be run 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



619 



at a very low speed, and although it 
was usual to dress these warps on 
dry slasher, these warps had to be 
hand dressed from section beams of 3 
beams to the set. From these condi- 
tions breakage was very great, and it 
was a problem to tie a knot that 
would hold and not untie in the weav- 
ing. 
The above mentioned . 

EXTRAORDINARY CONDITIONS 

were decidedly discreditable, that the 
management should select such ex- 
cessive and impossible twist, that the 
same lot of yam should have been 
assigned to meet two distinctly dif- 
ferent orders at a sacrifice of not less 
than 7 per cent in weight, that the 
organization was so bad that there 
had been no check to the delivery of 
yam so much over weight, the open 
weave effect of voile fabric eliminated 
the weaver as a check, but what about 
the perch? 

This exhibit of inefficiency, In addi- 
tion to the loss of pounds weight in 
yams, increased the cost in each pro- 
cess, beginning with a 15 per cent re- 
duced production in the twister, there- 
by increasing cost for twisting. A 
special price had to be paid for spool- 
ing, as the yarn was too lively to 
handle freely. Warper had to be 
run at a low speed, and even then 
stoppages were very frequent as the 
yarn was continually getting tangled. 
This doubled the cost in warping. In 
hand dressing these warps, the 

COST WAS INCREASED 

from .36 cents for slashing 
to 1.06 cents for hand dress- 
ing, about three times what 
it should have cost. The best results 
were not obtained in the weave room, 
as the excessive twist was felt here 
more than in any other process. The 
dresser could not get his warps as 
nicely on the beams as desired, and 
the nature of the yarn made it almost 
impossible to tie a knot that would 
not slip. 

It is needless to say that there were 
many heartaches during the six 
months this order was running; To- 



ward the end of the Season a change 
was made in a reduction of twist by 

4 turns per inch, and a greater care was 
exercised in spinning to the prop- 
er number. This completely changed 
conditions, but think of the leak. Not 
less than 4,492 pounds, this yam sell- 
ing at $1.25 per pound in dollars 

5 5,614 dead loss as the fruits of ad- 
ministrative inefficiency. No. 202. 



CCIII. FANCY CHAIN BEAMING. 

Warps prepared in the chain to be 
ultimately slashed will be put on sec- 
tion beams with a chain beamer, 
whether they come from the dye-house 
in colors, blacks, bleaches, mercerized, 
etc. 

The chain warps are made on a ball 
v/arper, and although the number of 
threads v/ill make no difference in 
warping, it is very important that in 
beaming there should be a sufficient 
number of threads to the width of the 
section beam to have it level and not 
ridgy. This feature need not be con- 
sidered at length when dealing with 
plain work, where all the beams of a 
set are of one color. 

In ball warping such warps, the di- 
vison of the number of threads of the 
warp would be to the least number of 
beams that can be made conveniently, 
ir the order called for 2,200 threads 
of 1-30 in a set, three beams could 
be made, two beams containing 733 
threads, and one 734 threads. Most 
mills are not equipped with creels 
large enough to take 733 spools, but 
2,200 divided by 4 beams equals 550, 
would be correct number for various 
reasons. This number would suit the 
ordinary creel; it is also a number of 
threads that will lay well on a 54-inch 
SECTION BEAM. 

This preparation of the proper num- 
ber of threads in the warping elimi- 
nates the question of ridgy beams in 
the beaming, but in fancy work, 
where there is more than one color, 
there has to be some thinking and 
calculating done to avoid ridgy beams, 
and these kinds of beams are more ob- 
jectionable in fancy work than in 
plain, as the unevenness of tension 



520 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



will affect the prominence of colors 
in the warp design, and this effect 
will be variable, as a ridgy beam will 
deliver the same threads sometimes 
slack and sometimes tight. Keeping 
this point in view, the reader will read- 
ily understand why a number of col- 
ors are sometimes put on one beam in 
a mill, making fancy cotton goods, 
such as ginghams. 

Figure 72 shows a beaming 
machine that is used in beam- 
ing both long and short chain 
warps on to section beams for the 
slasher. 



driving pulley is a friction clutch pul- 
ley, and is connected to a foot treadle, 
so the operator can stop machine in- 
stantly, when an end breaks. 

TWO COMBS 

are used in connection with 
this machine, the front one be- 
ing an expansion comb, and the other 
a swing comb. 

In operating the beamer, the yarn 
passes over a guide or eye-bole, sus- 
pended from the ceiling, then through 
the guide eye on the tension end, 
passing around the drums of same. 




Fig. 72. A Chain Beamer. 



QUAT.ITY 39S7 SCOTCH PLAID, DRESSER DRAFT. 













Threads 






Total 












in pat- . 




Ex- 


thr. In Sec. Style 27 


yarns. 










tern. 8 Pats. 


tras. 


warp, beams, colors. 


2/50s comb 


A. 


.8 


8 




16 X 8 


128 




128 128 Yellow 


l/30s card. 


B.. 


. 2 


2 


2 


2 48 X 8 


384 




384 384 Black 


l/30s card. 


C 


6 


6 


6 


9 6 153 X 8 


1,224 


21 


1,245 2—624 Green 


l/30s card. 


D.. 


8 


S 




16 X 8 


128 




128 128 Red 


l/30s card. 


E.. 




9 


43 


48 105 X 8 


840 


96 


936 1— S40 Blue 
J 396 


2/50s comb 


b\ 


. — 


— 


— 8 


8 — 16 X 8 


128 


16 


144 1U44 Red 






6X 


6X 


6X 


ex 




— 










Start 


Finish 254 




133 


2,965 in all 5 sec. bms. 








6 




6 




thr. 










on 


C. 


on C. 









The driving of the machine is ar- 
ranged with clutch gears, so that four 
different speeds can be obtained. The 



then around a floor stand, back to the 
tenison end, around the wood roll, 
then to the Swing comb, which frees 



.otl'ON MILL MANAGEMENT 



521 



tne yarn of snarls before entering the 
expansion comb, which lays the yarn 
evenly on the beam. 

The above illustration shq^s but 
one color being beamed, and #ily one 
strand. But in the making of fancy 
work, where there are a large num- 
ber of colors, it is frequently required 
that more than one color be put on one 
beam, and to illustrate the method 
used in beaming fancy warps of va- 
rious colors, we will take the draft of 
a design for a Scotch plaid as on pre- 
vious (page. No. 203. 



CCIV. 



BEAMING FOR 
PLAID. 



SCOTCH 



In the above draft will be found the 
whole design in warp layout, with 
particulars as to yams used, threads 
in pattern, number of complete pat- 
terns and threads of each color, and 
with the added extras the total num- 
ber of threads of each color in warp 
section beams and colors to the style. 

By referring to the pattern, it will be 
noted that at the third repeat groups, 
the start of the pattern is indicated; 
that is, six threads of Color C fol- 
lowed by 48 threads of color B, and 
the fourth repeat group. Finish of the 
pattern is indicated six threads of C, 
preceded by 48 threads of E. 

GREAT CARE 

is always exercised when lay- 
ing out the design of a warp to 
have the pattern on each side of warp 
finish the same. This has been done 
in the above warp, which begins with 
six of green and finishes with six 
green, 48 of blue coming next on both 
sides. 

This layout for beaming, as indicat- 
ed above, is for five beams, three 
beams with one color each, one beam 
with two colors, and one beam with 
three colors. C color will have two 
beams of 624 threads each, and E will 
have one beam of 540 threads. The 
balance of E color will go on same 
beam as F, and will be put in raddle in 
the following pattern: 



Color E 22 22 396 threads 

F 16 144 threads 

60 X 9 = 540 

ADD colors will go on one beam, 
and will be put in raddle as follows: 

Color A 8 8 16 8 128 

Color B 24 12 12 48 384 

Color D 16 16 128 

630 

In the quality outlines, colors are 
represented by letters, but we have 
added colors of one of the styles at 
the end of draft. It is probably best to 
explain that quality refers to outline of 
design, and that style refers to the 
colors that are used in the quality out- 
lined. There are usually many styles 
to each quality, each style having a 
different 

COMBINATION OF COLORS. 

In putting a warp in the beamer 
made up of more than one chain, each 
strand should be provided with a sep- 
arate eye-bole or guide, and as far as 
possible, kept separate, when on fric- 
tion drums. The tension on each chain 
is determined by the number of times 
each chain passes around the tension 
drums, and the drums should be at 
least 20 feet from the beam, the long- 
er the space to a certain point, tht 
better the results. With a good long 
reach, the yarn is well opened before 
it reaches the swing comb. 

Each chain should be kept separate 
as it passes around the wooden pul- 
ley on the floor, also as it passes over 
tension end roll. In beamer used for 
varied colors, provision is made par- 
ticularly at tension end to have as 
many pulleys as there are colors, each 
of a different diameter. This prevents 
the chains from rubbing each other 
as they pass to the raddle. In addi- 
tion to the above provision, it is well 
to put rods between each color. 

Each chain has always a lease at 
both ends, and if it is a long chain, 
there will be several leases through- 
out its length. These leases are to 
enable the beamer man to straighten 
out his warp if it should become tan- 
gled or crossed up. 

PUTTING IN CHAIN. 

We will now proceed to hang the 



&22 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



two C and F chains up, that are to 
be put on one beam, each color or 
chain will be put into a separate eye- 
bole and carried through the eye to 
the tension end, passing each through 
between different guides, each chain 
being put around the tension drums 
twice, and to the pulley on the floor 
back to the tension end, and each put 
around a separate pulley, the E color 
around the smallest pulley, the F col- 
or the largest pulley, both being car- 
ried forward to the raddle. The 
swing raddle should be removed, and 
the yarn laid in front raddle in the 
rotation of the pattern for two-color 
fancy beam, via 22 threads of E, 16 
threads of F, then 22 threads of E. 
On repeating the pattern, 22 threads 
of E will come next, and make in all 
44 threads of E laying together. This 
will continue throughout until the fin- 
ish of laying in, when there will be 
only 22 threads of color E at the end. 
These ends will be fastened onto 
the section beam and a short start 
of a few yards made, when the raddle 
will be adjusted to width and position. 
When this is done, the swing reed 
or raddle will be brought up under the 
chains, each wire of the reed passing 
through between each thread. This 
completes the preparation. No. 204. 



CCV. BEAMS LAID IN WARPING. 

This same procedure will be observ- 
ed when the beams for three colors 
are laid in. In warping for these 
chains, it is always considered expe- 
dient to put at least one thread extra 
in each color, to be available to tie up 
breaks or replace ends out. Some mills 
will provide the men with a length of 
yarn of each color, which they hang 
up convenient to the position they are 
required to take, when running the 
machine. The operator stands in front 
and holds the sewing reed in hand, 
and a good man wili manipulate this 
reed to excellent advantage in open- 
ing up his warp, and preventing 
breaks. The shipper is in a very con- 
venient position, and responds 
promptly to the pressure of the foot 
of the operator, who is also in a posi- 



tion to see just how the warp is going 
on to the beam, and adjust his front 
raddle by shrinking, expanding or 
raddling to either side. On finishing a 
section beam, a lease is picked and 
STRINGS PUT IN. 
On the completion of these beams, 
we are ready to put them in the 
slasher, but before doing so, we will 




Fig. 73. Section of Block Lease Reed. 

describe another way this set may be 
prepared, and we think the most com- 
mon way, but if quality is a consid- 
eration, the above is by far the best, 
as by laying out for five beams, a uni- 
form tension is obtained, the warps 
will weave well and the cloth and the 
design will be uniformly balanced. 

The objection to this layout is that 
there will be four beams that will be 
disposed to be ridgy. This layout is 
also suitable for a slasher that is 
equipped to take a lease. 

Chain beaming is usually paid for 
by the piece, so much per 1,000 yards. 
Some mills on plain work class it in 
two grades, coarse and fine, paying 
19 cents per 1,000 yards for coarse, 
and 25 cents for fine. In fancy mills, 
the prices are scheduled per 1,000 
yards for a number of threads and 
number of chains used. The following 
is the schedule used in a leading mill: 

LONG CHAIN BEAMING PRICE PER 1,000 
YARDS IN ALL. NUMBERS. 

2 3 4 

Ends. Price. Chains. Cliains. Ctiains. 
Cents. 

From to.. 350 16.5 18. 19. 20. 

351 to 400 17. 18.5 19.5 20.5 

401 to 450 17.5 19. 20. 21. 

451 to 500 18. 19.5 20.5 21.5 

501 to 550 18.5 20. 21. 22. 

551 to 600 19. 20.5 21.5 22.5 

601 to 650 19.5 21. 22. 23. 

651 to 700 20. 21.5 22.5 23.5 

701 to 750 20.5 22. 23. 24. 

751 to 800 21. 22.5 23.5 24.6 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



623 



There are a variety of ways in the reader will better understand the 

slashing these warps. Some mills are explanation given, and will note in Fig 

in the practice of putting their fancy ure 75, that there are five beams in 

beams in the slasher in the ordinary this set tied up. This set will be cut 

way, as with a set of grey warps put down, but before doing so, the atten- 

ting in the three color fancy beam tion of the reader is called to the split 

SECOND BEAM ARRANGEMENT OF SET FOR QUALITY 3987. 
A 128 4 4 64 

B 384 Two pattern 6 6 6 6 192 

C 1245 beamed made 

D 128 as follows. 8 64 

E 9S6 

F 144 8 8 72 

2/392 2/623 2/468 8 times 1 time 2/392 

in the front beam stand, next the two in the middle of third beam. This is 

color beam and then color E beam, necessary, as the two threads in each 

the two C beams being at the back, dent of reed have to be kept separate. 

In addition to putting in the usual therefore, one-half of middle beam 

strings to separate yarn from each will be on each side of lease rod in 

beam, the colors are separated, and alternate threads, accompanied by 

when the set reaches the front, the the threads from two beams each, 
design is picked in the raddle. As The first arrangement of bea,ms for 

each loom beam is taken off the slash- the slashing of the quality outlined 

er, a string is put in separating the will not do, but the second arrange- 

colors, the beam then being taken and ment of threads in colors and beams 

put on a stand, and girls would pick meets all requirements. 
a lease in each color. The old set is cut out in front of 

Some mills prefer to run each beam the block or lease reed one yard from 

separately and run the warp through an reed. Beams are taken out and re' 

ordinary reed at the back of slasher, placed with beams as arranged, six; 

treating loom beam in a similar man- beams in all, put in beam stand as 

ner by picking a lease, only beams follows: 

would be reversed, the three color Threads, 

beams would be put in back stand, in- l^' ^^^^ °°i- ^ «*' | .\'i.^.^..^.!^.:::::;|i 

stead of front, etc. As the purpose in 3 c 624 

arranging the beams is to have easy 5 e V^'.y^V^'^V^'.'.'.'.'.'.'..'.'.m 

excess to the greatest number of col- 6th beam coi. a 64, b i92, B 64, f 72 392 

ors, however, the most up-to-date After beams are put in hackstands, 
method of slashing fancy color warps 
is by using a block reed at back of 
slasher by which a lease is obtained. 

No. 205. 



CCVI. SLASHING FANCY WARPS. 

In this warp we have been consider- 
ing that the design is not easy of ar- 
rangement to be handled in this man- 
ner, but the design was selected so that 
the writer might explain away difficul- 
ties in chain beaming fancy wr-rk in 
preparation for slashing, and will now 
proceed to explain the putting in of a 
set in a slasher equipped with a block 
reed placed in front of size box, and. 
ARRANGED TO TAKE A LEASE. 
By referring to Figures 73, 74 and 75„ 




Fig. 74. Rod and Lease String. 

lease rods are put in to replace lease 
string in each beam, and all brought 



524 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



forward to lease stand, ropes weighted 
having been put on the beam heads. 
After all these preparations, the slash- 
er man proceeds to twist or tie in his 
warp onto the threads in the block 
reed. Care is taken that whatever col- 
or is wanted in the pattern when twist- 
ing in, each successive thread must 
come alternately from the front three 
beams and the 

BACK THREE BEAMS. 

Please note this, as we twist in the 
warp, as this is a very important fea- 
ture; it determines the allegment of 
threads in the lease. Refer to pattern 
draft, while following the twisting-in 
of the warp. Start six threads of C on 
the third repeat, taking one thread 
from th'rd beam, one thread from 
fourth beam and twisting onto yarn 
in first dent in reed. Repeat this three 
times on threads of successive dents, 
now one thread from second beam, 
and one from fifth, this 24 times, mak- 
ing 48 threads of F. 

Now, one thread from first beam 
and one from sixth beam, four times, 
making eight of F; now two threads 
of C, third, and one-fourth, now one- 
third C, and one-fourth C three times, 
in all, nine threads of C. This will put 
a flat in the lease, but it cannot be 
avoided to advantage, but the double 
threads should be taken an equal 
number of times from back and front 
beams. 

By continuing to twist in the pat- 
tern, as indicated, the warp will be 
completed, and all threads twisted in, 
finishing with six threads of C at the 
fourth repeat. All lease sticks should 
row be taken out, and a splitting rod 
put in to keep separate the yarn from 
the three front and the three back 
beams. No. 206. 



ward a little more. Next take the rod 
and string, and put it through the half 
lease for the splitting rod at front; 
see that the size is in box, and steam 



CCVII LEASING IN A SLASHER. 

Now run the warp forward a little, 
and take lease rod and put it on top 
of warp in front of reed, pushing the 
warp down to the bottom of reed. By 
doing so, you will get a pin lease of 
eight threads each way; put rod and 
string. Figure 74 in lease, pulling ou*: 
rod and leaving in the string run for- 




in the cylindt 
chine, and run 
the front, whei 



•; now start up ma- 
he strings through to 
the first string is close 



up to the rad'! e; go over raddle, and 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



525 



see if all the threads are properly in 
the comb; that is, eight each dent. 
Now, put in your dividing rod; take 
off the full loom beam, and put on 
empty beam latch on warp and start 
up slasher. On the finish of beam, a 
lease is struck at back reed, as fol- 
lows: 

Take a lease rod and run it through 
where the splitting rod is between the 
yarns of the front and back beams; 
push it close up to the reed. This will 
separate the two threads in each 
dent. Take another rod with a string 
in the end of it; run it through be- 
tween the yarns parted at the back 
of reed; leave the string in and pull 
the rod out. In doing this, you have 
got your first lease. 

If the reader will closely observe 
the constructions of section of block 
reed at Figure 73, he will more easily 
understand that in 

TAKING SECOND LEASE, 
the bottom threads on first lease have 
to become top threads at second lease. 
To make the change, a hook is pro 
vided in each dent of reed by a lead 
block. Pull the reed over and raise 
the yarn on top into hook; now push 
the yarn over the opposite way and 
pull out lease rod; put it under the 
bottom yarn -and pass that half of the 
yarn free of the hooks to the top of 
reed, slipping a lease rod through at 
back of reed and 

RUNNING THE WARP 
forward a few inches; then putting 
in lease string, replacing rod. 

Run the machine a yard or so, and 
put in string in shed for dividing rod, 
start up machine, and run the leases 
through to the front, and when the 
lease strings are close up to raddle, 
take a flat rod, putting the end be- 
tween the strings (which are double), 
push it through, putting it close up to 
the comb, placing it edgewise; then 
take the rod and string, and put the 
string through the front of the comb, 
starting the machine a little. Do the 
same with the bottom string, and we 
have the lease completed. We now put 
the splitting rod where the last strin,% 
is, leave It in its place at back oi. 



comb, cut out the full warp, put in 
empty beam, and start up for second 
run. 

In this method of slashing fancy 
warps, all warps must be colored 
fast, as colors cannot be run separate- 
ly through different size boxes. This 
feature may be assigned as the reason 
why mills which color warps with cheap 
dyestuffs are not equipped to take 
leases on their slashers. Where fugi- 
tive colors are used, the extreme 
shades have to be kept separate when 
sized in a slasher by running them 
through separate size boxes. But most 
high-class mills use the block reed in 
their slashers to get a lease. By so do- 
ing, they obtain warps that shed free- 
ly in weaving, and cross threads in 
the warps are reauced to a minimum. 

No. 207. 



CCVIII. IMPORTANCE OF SYSTEM. 

In these tJogressive times, when 
the importance of system in all the 
activities of life is being emphasized 
not alone in the business world, but in 
all our educational institutions, it is 
but natural that the employer shoul I 
expect the new man to be 
systematic and methodical, and if thf 
latter succeeds a man of the old 
fechool, whose ideas of economy were 
confined to a close scrutiny of the 
pay roll, and a continual driving of the 
help who worked under him — one who 
had but the faintest idea of securing 
statistics to base hifc: understanding of 
labor and machine values in produc- 
tion and cost — the new man will have 
to organize his department in the ab- 
sence of records, to obtain all facty 
as to labor and machines and at the 
same time run the department to keep 
up with the work. 

It may be said at this point that 
there are few responsible positions in 
mills that are alike in every particu- 
lar, and when a man takes a new po 
sition, he will invariably meet condi 
tions that are different in many ways 
from those of his previous experience 
The carder will probably find that the 
equipment will not balance the same 
as in his previous position, and to meet 
these conditions, he will have to draft 



526 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



his machines differently. The spinner 
the weaver and the finisher will in- 
variably have to adapt themselves to 
some features that are distinctly dif- 
ferent from their previous experiences, 
and the new overseer's adaptability is 
a feature that will, more than any 
other, determine his success in his 
new position, and particularly is this 
applicable to the 

OVERSEER OF DRESSING. 

An experience such as is mentioned 
above came under the observatiop of 
the writer, and the following describes 
'.he development from an administra- 
tion by sufferance to a well-organized 
department, where the overseer had a 
line on every process, machine and 
worked in the department, providmg 
exact data of the labor and machine 
values as a basis for cost finding, and 
enabling the overseer to effect im- 
pro-vements where there was evident 
weakness and balance the department 
to meet all demands of the weave 
room. 

At the time the new man 
took hold of the position re- 
ferred to, the equipment con- 
sisted of two departments, slash- 
ing and hand-dressing, each being con- 
trolled by second hands with all sorts 
of licenses in the handling of orders. 
Ihe slashing department had four 
slashers, one of which was a dry 
slasher. There were also ten warpers, 
five Draper spoolers of 100 spindles 
each, and ten Moore quillers of 30 spin- 
dles each. 

This department was manned with 
<t second hand, four slasher men, four 
nelpers, two warper and beam men 
and one man to bring yarn up to Vif- 
spoolers and quillers. Each side "f 
spoolers and quillers was run by a 
girl, and each warper girl had one 
frame. At this time, a large proportion 
of worsted yarns used were bought 
from outside yarn mills. 

The 
HAND DRESSING DEPARTMENT 

consisted of 62 frames in rooms scat- 
tered all over the plant, two ScoTch 
warpers for dressing overlines, three 
upright sample frames and one split- 



ter. This department was manned with 
one second hand, one third hand, one 
man to each frame, and three boy 
splitters, one machine splitter, one 
beam man, one belt man, two men for 
warpers, second hand on samples anil 
three sample dressers, two men for 
v.arpers, second hand on samples and 
three sample dressers, six leasing 
girls, three office girls, two men to 
take care of all shipments received in 
of gray warps, yarns, etc., for both 
departments. No. 208. 



CCIX. REORGANIZATION FIRST 
STEP. 

The matter to be given first consid- 
eration was the establishment of a 
correct understanding as to tke num- 
ber of warps to be prepared for each 
class of looms in the mill. To meet the 
looms' demands, there was a sort of 
a general rule that there had to be 
dressed 1,000 60-yard pieces each day, 
250 in slashing department, 550 hand 
dressed, and 200 pieces slashed from 
beams, the yarn of which was col- 
ored black on the beam. These pieces 
were slashed on a special slasher in- 
the dye-house. 

There were no call lists provided, 
:^nd the overseer of dressing would, as 
a general rule, dress the warps he 
had yarn for, and wait supplementary 
information from the main office. This 
information was generally delivered 
by the overseer of weaving, who, on 
finding himself running short of warps 
for some particular looms, would call 
on the main office for information a a 
to what was coming next, and would 
be advised that the dresser had suit- 
able brders on his books, but chain 
vvarps for these orders were not yel 
delivered, and was requested to se^ 
'■f the dresser could arrange „o use 
■^ome stock warps that the ^ooms 
might be kept running. This was not 
:i very desirable move for the dresser 
and his room, and met with his op- 
position. 

TEAM WORK LACKING. 

The weaver was in the habit of call- 
ing for warps ahead of his needs. Of 
this the old dresser knew, and having 
no 6.€*ta as to loom requirements. 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



527 



would act stubbornly, and, as a result, 
there was continual friction betweei, 
iiie weave room and dressing room. 

The weaver had an advantag*^ i" 
these circumstances, and when nis 



cut the assistance of the weaver, a 
table was made out, covering 18 kiiid.3 
of looms, number of each, speed and 
width, average picks of fabrics woven 
in these looms, and a 72 per cent pro- 




Fig. 76. Cam Loom. 



weave room production did not show 
normal he would complain about his 
looms being stopped for warps. These 
conditions did not fit the new man, 
and in his effort to mend things, Qii 



auction constant for 10 hours. This con- 
stant, when divided with the number 
of picks, is the yards per loom. Mul- 
tiply the quotient by number of loom.i. 
and divide the sum by yards per cut, 



Looms. 

1 156 

2 4S 

3 263 

4 352 

5 72 

6 63 

7 114 

S 119 

9 129 

10 24 

11 36 

12 204 

13 24 

14 24 

15 205 

16 124 

17 125 

IS Ill 

2.198 



Speed. 
155 
145 
155 
145 
125 
125 
125 
130 
125 
125 
130 
125 
125 
125 
125 
125 
145 
145 





Average 


10 hr. 


10 hr. 


60 


Surplus 


Width looms. 


picks. 


constant. 


yards. 


yds. cut. 


beams. 


46 Dobby 


68 


1860 


27.35 


71 


32 


46 Jacquard 


56 


1740 


31.07 


24 


10 


46 Plain 


6S 


1S60 


27.35 


120 


53 


50 Dobby 


60 


1740 


29. 


170 


70 


50 Jack 


56 


1500 


26.79 


32 


14 


50 Jack 6X1 


56 


1500 


26.79 


30 


14 


50 C. Cam. 


68 


1500 


22.05 


41 


23 


60 C. fancy 


56 


1560 


27.85 


55 


24 


64 C. fancy 


56 


1500 


26.79 


57 


26 


62 C. Cam. 


32 


1500 


46.87 


19 


5 


61 Plain 


32 


1560 


48.75 


29 


7 


72 Atherton 


32 


1500 


46.87 


160 


41 


72 Plain 


52 


1500 


28.84 


11 


5 


72 Plain 


52 


1500 


28.84 


11 


5 


72 Fancy 


70 


1500 


21.43 


73 


41 


S2 Fancy 


70 


1500 


21.43 


44 


25 


46 Dobby 


66 


1740 


26.36 


55 


25 


46 Cam. 


56 


1740 


31.07 


55 


22 



had the opposition of the weaver who 
wished to let what he called "well 
enough alone", but this harassing con- 
■^ition had to be eliminated, and with- 



and the result will be the number of 
cuts that must be dressed on an aver- 
age per ten hours. 

The last column in the preceding 



S28 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 





Fig. 78. Jacquard Loqiti, 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



529 



table is the number of beams or webs 
that should be ready on the floor 
dressed for each kind of loom. This 
is figured at 20 per cent of each class 
of looms, for example, th^^ first item 
in the table is: 155 speed times 72 
per cent equals 111.6 speed times 60 
minutes equals 6,696 picks, divided by 
36 inches equals 186 yards 1 hour, 
times 10 hours equals 1,860, divided by 
68 picks equals 27.35 yards times 156 
looms equals 4,266 yards, divided by 
60 cut yards, equals 71 cuts. 

When the matter was taken up with 
the superintendent, he agreed to see 
that a report of warps on the floor in 
the weave room be furnished the 
dresser each day. This list plus Ine 
warps dressed on the floor in the 
dressing room gave the dresser 

A WORKING BASIS. 

The report of warps on the floor 
.\ould be set against the last column 
n the table. This would indicate just 
what must be done to keep the looms 
going, and at the same time the ninth 



LBS. ORDERE.D 



s 



^ £>-0 



•^'T' 



/c. 



FROM 



on which he chose to have warps put, 
as, for instance, on getting a new 
quality to dress the weaver would 
state the kind of beam to put these 
warps on. Suppose he said a 46-ineh 
beam; when these warps went to the 
weave room, if a 50-inch loom was 
empty, he would just as soon put t.ho 
46-inch warp in as not, and it eventu- 
ated in their being a shortage of 46- 
inch beams, and 46-inch looms were 
waiting for warps. It may be mention- 
ed that narrower beams will run all 
right in a wider loom, but the rule will 
not do when reversed by the above 
table, and by carefully watching the 
weave room, this most important mat- 
ter was remedied. 

The orders for the department were 
received on slips, on which was desig- 
nated the quality, style (and if plr'.fn, 
the number of the color), and pieces 
called for of each style. Tf fancy, a 
supplementary draft sheet was re- 
ceived, giving the lay-out of design, etc. 
There was also marked on this slip 
the number and kinds of yarns, and 

K. 160-1000-2-1907 



9 o ^ 



-TT TZ 



^ 



It. 



4H.»*^ 



3 ¥^o 



^uo 




LBS. /HfSGN'D 






^sn^i 






Figure 79. 

column will indicate what must be 
dressed on an average to supply warps 
for each kind of loom. 

Another irritating feature was the 
habit of .the weaver to suit his own 
<lon,ven;i^g,CQ ijj, selecting, the Ijean).^ 



Stock Card. 

if the orders were for cotton warps, 
there would be written on this slip 
information as to where varps would 
come from, and the firm they were 
ordered of. If slasher warps, the order 
would designate from where the yari? 



530 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



was coming, the pounds ordered and 
nature of contract as per weekly deliv- 
eries. 

This information was recorded in 
a book provided for that purpose, and 
also all particulars as to orders, was 



slashing department, and reference 
was made to the main office only to 
ascertain how orders for yarn stood 
when the yarn seemed to stop coming 
in. The man in charge had no way of 
checking the yarn, and there was no 



Quality, 



30 



lllyy) ^ 1 DescrlDiIon 2L Da 



Pioki (J 



Selvg, i:ouTO, 

Roed R^J sT 



|30CilAj. 



F 189-1000-9.1306 

Date 



Boam 



Kind of Yarn 



^6, 






y S^ 



4^t^ 



Ends 
Wt. of I 



2ft 



J,, 

2« 



MO 



■i^ 



MO MO MO 



> 



- y^o > 



^ 



/a I, 



±2£t 



y^ 



7^ 



/Vr. 



loU 



ill 



in 






Figure 80. Quality Card. 



entered in the overseers' book for his 
information and guidance. 

All slashing orders were recorded 
in a book in the slashing department, 
and the order slips kept by the second 
hand, until the order was completed. 
At that time, it was returned to the 
overseer and filed with all orders that 
were completed. Pounds of yarn re- 
ceived were reported to the main of' 
flee, but no record was made in the 



security against 

THE MIXING OP LOTS, 
nor was there any way whereby the 
j-arns going into a set could be <Taced 
back. Yarns of the same number and 
the same quality were being received 
in this department at the same time 
from as many as five or six different 
companies. No. 209. 



OOTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



531 



CCX. CARD SYSTEM, 

Tlie temptation to be carelesy and 
mix lots was too great, and to elimi 
nate this condition, a system of cards 
made of cuts dressed on tach b'.yle. 
Figure 80 shows the record as made 
of a fancy quality, which wiil be hand 
dressed, and will be referred to later 
on, but the record of plain work will 
not contain so much detail, and in 
v^as adopted. Each order as it was re- 
ceived was transferred to cards, yarn3 
required to the stock card (Figure 79), 
the number of yarn, lot, shade, poundi 
ordered, from whom, date, pounds re- 
ceived and total pounds on hand; also 
pounds assigned and number of set. 

On a quality card. Figure 80, all de- 
tail was recorded, if fancy warp, lay 
out in draft, description of grade and 
width, date of the receipt of each or- 
der, yarns in number and grade, ends, 
picks, selvage counts, reed, reed 
space, beam width, pattern letters of 
colors in quality, kinds of yarn, layout 
of warp draft, ends in pattern, ends 
in warp, weight of each kind of yarn 
styles, colors of each to the letter of 
the design, and the M. O. number 
(manufacturer's order). On the oppo- 
site side of the card, records were 
the case of the slashing, grey work, 
instead of a fancy warp draft, the ae- 
tail of section beams was written in 
as in the following illustration. 

Quality 3855, description, 54 inches. 
Chiffon panama, ends 296F;, picks 52 

No. 1 beains 594 ends, 2.6 pounds per 72 jards 

No. 2 beams 594 ends, cut, 3% being allowed 

No. 3 beams 594 ends, for shrinkage. 

No. 4 beams 593 ends, 

No. 5 beams 593 ends. 



2,968 of 2/60 xxxx 



All 



ORDERS FOR SLASHING 

sets were issued on ticket. Figure 81, 
by the overseer. This is the same qual- 
ity referred to above, the date of the 
issue of this order, the set number 
and the number of cuts were record- 
ed on the back of the quality card, 
the pounds assigned and the set num- 
bers were recorded on the stock card 
of 2-60 grey lot R 66, the gearing, 72 
yards gear, 40-cut gear, instead of 80 



gear, and eight rapes Instead of four 
rapes. 

Figure 82 shows two warpers tied 
up for different purposes, one for sec- 
tion beams for slasher or doubler di- 
rect, and the other for chain warps 
for the dye-house to be colored, 
bleached or mercerized. In this illus- 
tration, there can also be seen two 
spoolers and part of a twister. 

The rule in selecting gears for this 
warper clock was yards gear, as spec- 
ified, cuts gear as specified, and 
always four rapes, with a dif- 
ferent arrangement of gears, as in 
the above. To figure the product of 
a set of gears, multiply one by the 
other, and divide the sum by four. 
Multiply quotient by rapes; thus: 

72 X 40 = 2S80 -H 4 = 720 X 8 = 5760. 

There are five beams called for, as 
recorded on quality card, and there 
are 80 cuts called for. Therefore, 
pounds per cut (see quality card. Fig- 
ure 80), 2.6 times 80 cuts equals 208 
pounds per beam, making in all, 1,040 
pounds, which are credited on stock 
card, as pounds assigned No. 210. 



CCXI. CONTROL OF SETS. 

A board containing ping, one for 
each warper, was used to hang set 
tickets on. Each set, when made ou+ 
by the overseer, was placed on the 
pin of the warper on which 
he desired to have it warped. 
This gave the overseer com- 
plete control over the detail of 
the warping. This was vei'y import- 
ant, as there was a very large num- 
ber of different kinds of yarns used 
of different numbers in single and 
twist, and various sizes of creels, rad- 
dles and section beams, of which data 
was kept in the office, and was avail- 
able for the overseers' use. Ihis en- 
abled the overseer to avoid tying on 
single to twist yarns a small tie-in to 
a large tie-in, avoiding numerous com- 
plications, and keeping the driving 
belt on the tight pulley. 

The second hand was expected to 
see that each warper had on her nail, 
beside her frame, a set card, and as 



532 COTTON MILL MANAGEMDNT 



F. 142^000-5-1907 

CLOTH DEPARTMENT 

DRESSING ^ /) 



y<r> GRADE >^/>.>:_ 

iR J 2^ "^f^^ SCORES ^ 



DATE Sjf^/^~ a y 

QUAL, J ^kT'^" sett. 2L035 

COUNT 

COLO R 

GEAF 

Beams Ends Yds. l.bs. 

/?*-K ^ ^4 

/•.r*/ 16 

JT t//f^ L 



SEP ^S 1^07 



ziP: 



WARP8 CUTS YARDS 

Fig. 81. Set Card. 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



5S3 



each beam was made, a check mark 
was put on the ticket opposite beam 
made. By this method, 

THE SECOND HAND 

or the overseer could see at all times 
how warpers were provided tor, and 
in what stage of progress each set 

was. 



On slashing the set, the slash- 
er man made record of cuts and beams 
made on the back of card, and also 
the time it took to slash the set, 
counting time from the finishing of 
previous set. By this means all the 
slasher man's time was accounted for, 
ihe record on back of this card being 
cuts slashed 80 J cuts, time 12 i hours, 




Fig. 82. Beam and Ball Warper. 



After each beam was warped and 
tagged, it was taken to the examin- 
ing frame and hung up in turn, as 
condition required. To avoid ambigu- 
ity, we will follow set 2035 to its fin- 
ish, and then take up the other 
phases of the development being af- 
fected. On the left of the number set 
on ticket of the beam in each set, the 
number of the examining girl was 
placed by the man in chaige of ex- 
amining, and when the set was com- 
pleted in the warping, the card was 
hung up on the examining nail, and 
when the last beam was taken off the 
examining frame, the ticket was as- 
signed to a slasher number, and hung 
upon the pin of the slasher designated. 

The loom beam on which this set 
was required to be put was an 82-inch 
Knowles, to be slashed 62 inches 
wide, 6 warps (4-13 and 2-14 cut). 



No. 4 slasher, and name of slasher 
man, also name of warper girl. The 
number (20) of warpers was marked 
at the top of ticket. 

On completing the set, the ticket 
was returned to the overseer, and re- 
ceived date stamp and the initials of 
office girl who made 

THE FINAL RECORD. 

All yarns received in the depart- 
ment were checked up and reported to 
an office girl, who recorded the same 
on stock cards. In addition to our own 
weighing, we had the reports of the 
people from whom we purchased the 
yarn. Frequently, assignments were 
made for sets before the weight of a 
set was available, and the second 
hand had the option to make a tip- 



534 



COTTON MILL/ MANAGEMENT 



over, when lie found it most conven- 
ient, but never to make a beam on any 
other warper but the one to which the 
set was assigned. 

This rule among several others 
gave splendid results, and the follow- 
ing list of sets will indicate these. 
This list was an official statement 
from the main office taken from regu- 
lar set cards without selection. 

STATEMENT IN REFERENCE TO LENGTH 
OP WARP CUTS, 72 YARDS EACH. 

Cuts Ordered. Cuts Made. 

2/32-38. 

64 Warper '. 641/2 Slasher 

76 Warper 76V2 Slasher 

80 Warper 80 Slash r 

64 Warper 64% Slasher 

38 Warper SS^^ Slasher 

75 Warper 75 Slasher 

75 Warper 74% Slash T 

75 AVarper 741/2 Slasher 

75 Warper 74% Slashe. 

75 Warper 75% Slasher 

75 Warper 74% Slasher 

75 Warper 75% Slash r 

76 Warper 75% Slasher 

75 Warper 75 Slasher 

75 Warper 741/2 Slasher 

76 Warper 7672 Slasher 

75 Warper 74 Slasher 

80 Warper 80% Slasher 

64 Warper 641/2 Slasher 

70 Warper 69% Slasher 

75 Warper 75 Slasher 

75 Warper 73 Slasher 

75 Warper 75 Slasher 

80 Warper 79% Slasher 

75 Warper 74% Sla.sh-r 

75 Warper 75V2 Slasher 

75 Warper 74% Slasher 

75 Warper 75% Slasher 

75 Warper 751/2 Slasher 

75 Warper 74% Slash?r 

75 Warper 761/2 Slasher 

75 Warper 76 Slasher 

75 Warper 75% Slasher 

75 Warper 75 Slasher 

75 Warper 75% Slasher 

76 Warper 76% Slasher 

64 Warper 61% Slasher 

76 Warper 75% Slasher 

76 Warper 75% Slasher 

80 Warper 79% Slasher 

75 Warper 74% Slasher 

75 Warper 74% Slasher 

75 Warper 75 Slasher 

75 Warper 75% Slasher 

75 Warper 75 Slasher 

70 Warper 70 Slasher 

75 Warper 74% Slasher 

64 Warper 63% Slasher 

75 Warper 74 Slasher 

3599 3595% 

2/50 X R. 

75 Warper 74% Slasher 

75 Warper 74% Slasher 

125 Warper 125% Slasher 

92 Warper 91% Slasher 

92 Warper 92% Slasher 

105 Warper 106% Slasher 

75 Warper 75 Slasher 

75 Warper 75 Slasher 

130 Warper 129% Slasher 

110 Warper 110% Slasher 

75 Warper 74% Slasher 

75 Warper 74% Slasher 

105 Warper 105% Slasher 



105 Warper 104% Slasher 

75 Warper 74% Slasher 

105 Warper 104% Slasher 

105 Warper 105% Slasher 

75 Warper 74% Slasher 

92 Warper 92% Slasher 

75 Warper 74% Slasher 

130 Warper 129% Slasher 

105 Warper 105% Slasher 

70 Warper 70 Slasher 

75 Warper 75% Slasher 

75 Warper 75% Slasher 

75 Warper 74% Slasher 

65.6 Warper 66% Slasher 

75 Warper 74% Slasher 

92 Warper 93 Slasher 

55 1^ Warper 551/2 Slasher 

2? Wari^er 22% Slasher 

14 Warper 13% Slasher 

25 Warper 25 Slasher 

59 Warper 60% Slasher 

59 Warper 5S% Slasher 

75 Warper 75% Slasher 

75 Warper 74% Slasher 

298S.8 2992 

2/34 4s A. 

14 Warper 13% Slasher 

45 Warper 44% Slasher 

45 Warper 44% Slasher 

9) Warper 90 Slasher 

90 Warper 89% Slasher 

90 Warper 89 Slasher 

374 370% 

2/36 4s. 

32 Warper 31% Slasher 

2/60 XXXX. 

70 Warper 69% Slasher 

125 Warper 126 Slasher 

125 Warper 124% Slasher 

70 "Warper 69 Slasher 

20 Warper 19% Slasher 

70 Warper 69 2-3 Slasher 

61 Warper 60% Slasher 

123 Warper .*.. 126 Slasher 

72 Warper 73% Slasher 

55 Warper 54% Slasher 

61 Warper 61 Slasher 

25 Warper 24% Slasher 

25 Warper 24% Slasher 

52.5 Warper 53 Slasher 

44 Warper 43% Slasher 

70 Warper 70% Slasher 

70 Warper 7034 Slasher 

40 Warper 40 Slasher 

SO Warper 80 Slasher 

70 Warper 71 Slasher 

10 Warper 10 Slasher 

1341.5 1342-1/6 

2/34 4s. 

92 Warper 91% Slasher 

90 Warper 89 Slasher 

92 Warper 92% Slasher 

90 Warper 89% Slasher 

92 Warper 91% Slasher 

456 453% 

2/50 XX A. 

75 Warper 74% Slasher 

75 Warper 74% Slasher 

75 Warper 74 Slasher 

225 222% 

2/50 E X. 

75 Warper 74 Slasher 

37 Warper 37% Slasher 

75 Warper 75% Slasher 

187 186% 

2/48 X. 

20 Warper 19% Slasher 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



535 



The first column of figures in the 
above list are the cuts warped in each 
set. The second column of figures are 
the cuts in each set put on the loom 
beams. The variations shows a loss 
in percentage of five one-hundredtha 
of one per cent on the total of the 
whole series of sets. No. 211. 



CCXM. PRODUCTION STATISTICS. 

To obtain statistics as to production 
in detail of all machine processes and 
labor in cost and pounds cost, a dif- 
ferent system or method of paying the 
help for service had to be established. 
In the slashing department, all the 
help were payed by the hour, except- 
ing the warpers, who were paid by 
the running yard. The only production 
sheet was the weekly report of cuts 
sent to the weave room in warps and 
pounds in filling, and the only tally 



processes, such as warping, spooling, 
slashing and quilling. 

This condition prevents the writer 
from giving data as to cost of each 
process at the time of the change of 
the overseers referred to. The great 
variety of yarns used and fabrics 
made precludes the possibility of 
even a guess as to what was the slash- 
ing, spooling, warping and quilling 
cost per pound. 

Exceptions might be made as to 
warping, as warpers were payed by 
the running yard, but beams were 
made of a great variety of numbers of 
threads to the beam from about 250 
to 540 threads in the same number. It 
is obvious that a beam made of a giv- 
en yardage, say, 5,000 yards times 540 
threads equals 2,700,000 total yards, 
would cost much less per pound than 
a beam made of 5,000 yards times 300 
threads equals 1,500,000 total yards. 




Figure 83. Spooler. 



made of production and cost was at 
the end of each six months, when the 
total six months' production would be 
set against the pay roll. There was no 
data provided in detail of the several 



In other words, the per cent of dif- 
ference would be 2,700,000 divided by 
1,500,000 equals 80 per cent. As the 
cost per yard would be the same in both 
cases, the price at 15 cents per 1,000 



536 



COTTON MILL MANAGBMENT 



yards, 2-82 worsted, would be $.75 
each beam. As beams with 540 threads 
will contain 301.3 pounds, the cost 
would be divided by $.75 equals 
.00249, and beam with 300 threads 
would weigh 167.4 pounds divided by 
$.75 equals .00447 pounds cost; warp- 
ers' pay roll was of no value for 
pounds cost data. 

In scheduling price lists, spooling got 
first consideration, and the prices 
were scheduled according to the yard- 
age of yarns on bobbins, from which 
the yarn was wound onto the spools. 
The accompanying price list will in- 
dicate the diversity of yarns to be 
spooled, and although not all the va- 
ried sizes of bobbins and the weight 
of yarn each bobbin contained is men- 
tioned, it may easily be inferred that 
the most 

EXACT METHOD 
of estimating and compiling the list of 
prices was necessary, and the usual 
table of spindle production based on 
speed was of little value. 

It may be explained at the outset 
that the best to be got from the spool- 
er girl is the pound production of the 
number of bobbins she can tie up in 
a given period of time. As an illus- 
tration, the best spooler girls will tie 
up four bobbins per minute. That op- 
eration includes the putting on bob- 
bin, bringing up the thread and tying 
on and incidentally taking off full 
spool. If bobbins of yam contained one 
ounce each, the girls would wind four 
ounces per minute, 240 ounces per 
hour, 15 pounds, that is, regardless of 
the thickness of the yarn, whether 
fine or coarse numbers, but there is 
a condition that must be provided for, 
and that is, the spooler girls must 
have enough spindles to occupy their 
whole time, also an allowance has to 
be made for average breakage from 
tender places, bunches, etc. No. 212 



CCXIII. PRICE LISTS. 

In this way, the following spoolers' 
price list was computed in the ex- 
pectation that a good, smart spooler 
would find no difficulty in making 18 
in a 58-nour week. 



SPOOLERS" PRICE LIST PER lOO POUNDS. 
Spindles. 

1/30 X W mule bobbin 40 $1.10 

L'/32-3s large twister bobbins 50 .35 

z/'iZ-Ss large quiller bobbins 25 .70 

1/2U cotton, large tubes 50 .50 

1/20 cotton, mule cops 25 1.10 

2/40 X W W T. 3" spools gassed... 33 .70 

1/30 cotton quiller bobbins 50 .80 

2/50 X W W T. twister bobbins 33 .60 

2/50 X R. reg. twister bobbins 33 .70 

2/60 xxxx twister bobbins 33 .80 

1/20 X W W T. gas twister bobbins. 33 .70 

2/80 cotton cons 80 .86 

2/48 twisted bobbins 40 .88 

In making up price list for quilling, 
we had to consider that yarns were 
mostly delivered on five-inch spools, 
and the balance on spinning bobbins, 
also that most of the work done by 
the girl operators consisted in taking 
off the filling bobbins. The scheduling 
of prices was therefore done to the 
number, and two constants were usea, 
of which one, when multiplied by the 
worsted or relative worsted number 
of yarn, gave the price per one pound. 
The constant used for yams delivered 
on four-inch spools was .0057, and for 
yarn delivered on spinning bobbins 
.011. These constants were used to 
figure prices of yarns not previously 
provided for. 

QUILI.ERS' PRICE LIST. 

Spools. Spindles. Per lb. 

1/18 3s worsted • 30 .02 

1/22-4S worsted 5" 60 .0125 

2/32-3S worsted 5" 60 .0091 

2/32-4S worsted 5" 60 .0091 

2/40 X worsted 5" 60 .0114 

2/1/30 card 5" 40 .017 

/1/50 X P 

2/1/50 cotton 5" 40 .0213 

/1/50 cotton 

2/1/36 X worsted 5" 60 .017 

/1/120 cotton 

2/50 X W. W. T 5" 60 .0213 

3/2/26 worsted 6" 60 .0070 

/1/120 cotton 

2/80 CE. cotton 5" 60 .0342 

1/24 M. L. worsted 5" 60 .0137 

1/40 X worsted 5" 60 .0360 

1/36 X • 30 .0206 

1/32-3S worsted 5" 60 .0352 

1/16-4S worsted 5" 60 .0176 

1/20 cotton mix 5" 60 .0177 

2/34-4S worsted 5" 60 .0097 

2/36 super 5" 60 .0103 

1/20-3S worsted 5" 60 .0114 

2/40 gas worsted 5" 60 .0100 

2/40 X W. W. T. gas.... 5" 60 .0100 
• Spinning bobbins. 

Prices in warping to the yard, re- 
gardless of the number of threads in 
the tie-in running on to the beam, 

WERE NOT ADAPTABLE 
for obtaining correct data as to cost 
of warping, and the change was made 
to a list based on the price to the 100 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



537 



pounds weight. Two constants were 
used to figure prices on single and on 
twist yarns. The price for single yarns 
was ascertained by using 1.50 as the 
multiple of the number of worsted or 
relative worsted yarn, and 1.25 con- 
stant for twist yarns; these constants 
were of general application, but we 
were compelled to make exceptions. 
For instance, any yarn 2-36s and coars- 
er would not be warped for a lower 
price than 25 cents per 100 pounds 
and again, 2-69, 2-80 and 2-100 cotton 
would spool for a lower price than 
that one computed by the above con- 
stant. 

WARPERS' PRICE LIST. 

2/100 C. E. G 5" spools $0.92 per 100 lbs. 

2/80 xP 5" spools .60 per 100 lbs. 

2/58 or 2/60 cotton.. 5" spools .45 per 100 lbs. 

1/20-4S 5" spools .30 per 100 lbs. 

2/20 cotton 5" spools .25 per 100 lbs. 

2/40 X grey worsted. 5" spools .25 per 100 lbs. 

2/48 X 5" spools .31 per 100 lbs. 

3/20 worsted .20 per 100 lbs. 

2/32-3S grey w'rst'd.5" spools .25 per 100 lbs. 

2/34-4S grey w'rst'd.5" spools .25 per 100 lbs. 

1/16-4S mixture 5" spools .26 per 100 lbs. 

S/40 X "W. W. T. 

rev. gas 5" spools .25 per 100 Iba. 

2/50 X W. W. T 5" spools .295 per 100 lbs. 

2/60 xxxx 5" spools .375 per 100 lbs. 

1/30 X W 41^" spools .45 per 100 lbs. 

1/40 xxxx 4%" spools .60 per 100 lbs. 

2/l/3ti X 5" spools .375 per 100 lbs. 

1/120 cotton 

2/1/26 worsted 5" spools .33 per 100 lbs. 

1/120 cotton 

1/20 mix. cotton 5" spools .38 per 100 lbs. 

1/30 grey cot ton.... 5" spools .45 per 100 lbs. 

2/40 grey cotton 5" spools .38 per 100 lbs. 

2/26 mix. cotton 5" spools .45 per 100 lbs. 

2/50 reg. worsted 5" spools .31 per 100 lbs. 

2/36 prime or super.5" spools .25 per 100 lbs. 

2/80 cotton 5" spools .60 per 100 lbs. 

1/50 X P B" spools .75 per 100 lbs. 

2/1/30 card '. 5" spools .35 per 100 lbs. 

l/CO X P 

3/20 X W. W. T. 

gas 5" spools .30 per 100 lbs. 

2/1/28 5" spools .31 per 100 lbs. 

1/120 

In all 

NEW YARNS 
not provided for, a price was not set 
until sufficient tests had been made lo 
prove whether the above constants 
would figure the correct price or not, 
but in all cases, and in all price lists, 
care was taken that when a price was 
made, no change should be necessary. 
To insist on fnis feature in this 
mill was very important, as the 
practice up to date was to make al- 
lowance for all sorts of seeming ab- 
normal conditions, thus giving a poor 
standard for this department. The pre- 
vailing idea was that if any piece 



worker did not get through enough 
work to give them fair average pay 
as per schedule of prices, they should 
get any allowance to make up the dif- 
lerence. This was one of the 
hardest problems which the new 
man had to solve.. This was 
minimized to almost its elimina- 
tion by pursuing the above policy. On 
the adoption of these schedules, there 
were some incipient strikers, but none 
of any weight, and none that produced 
any change in the schedule of prices. 

In the administration of the depart- 
ment, the interest of the help v'as 
always kept in mind. In the case oi: 
warping, the beams for a slasher set 
were warped to the largest number of 
threads possible. This enabled the 
warpers to get off a large pound- 
weight in the making of each beam. 

Every facility was provided to en- 
able the operator of any of the ma- 
chines to attain the highest pound 
weight of production, and as the rat- 
ing was done with care and with due 
consideration of all conditions, tbe 
help soon learned to know that their 
best efforts would receive just reconj- 
pense, and this created a contented 
feeling throughout the department. 

No. 213. 



CCXIV. TAKING OUT IMPERFEC- 
TIONS. 

The yams bought in the open 
market were found frequently to con 
tain bunches, etc. As a matter of econ- 
omy, these imperfections were taken 
out in the dressing room, as it was 
realized that the taking out of a bunch 
when woven into the cloth was very 
expensive, and did harm to the ap- 
pearance of the cloth, while to take a 
bunch out in the dressing process, cos Is 
comparatively little, and, of course, 
the cloth was in no way impaired. 

Up to this time, most all warps 
slashed, particularly warps for Pana- 
mas, were examined by men running 
them from loom beams to loom beams, 
these men taking out all imperfect 
yams, bunches, etc. This did 
not give the best results, 
as the warps were too dense, that is, 



538 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMEflSIT 



had too maicy threads for these men 
to see every imperfection, and the 
cost of the worli was very high, about 
two cents per pound. 

Also whea an imperfect thread was 
tied out, two knots were put in the 
warp, as each piece of yarn tied out 
had to be replaced. To meet this prob- 
lem, a frame, (see Figure 84), 
was rigged up to take sec- 
tion beams, and girls at not more 
^han 14 cents per hour were employed 
to take out the imperfections. This 
proved highly satisfactory, and ma 
chines carefully designed and made to 
meet the conditions were installed, 



A is the section beam from which 
the yarn is taken and wound onto 
B section beam. Gudgeons of beam A 
rest on bearing that can be wound out 
by a screw device C. This device pro- 
vides adjustment for the two beams. 
Beam A is placed in the frame by a 
chain block and trolley. This is neces- 
sary, as the beams are usually full of 
yarns, weighing sometimes over 500 
rounds. The gudgeon of Beam B is 
placed in the hollow gear shaft, and 
the head of beam is engaged by stud 
(which is omitted in the sketch) of 
dog, J, on gear shaft. 

This beam is supported on the op- 




Fig. 84. Examining Frame. 



and a system of checking production 
was followed up, which prevented 
carelessness, and gave excellent re- 
sults. 

EXAMINING FRAMES. 
This sketch of examining frames 
shows the particulars of arrangements. 



posite side with a hollow shaft in 
which the gudgeon enters. This shaft 
rests in a bearing attached to the 
frame, and is held in position with a 
thumb screw. In putting in the beau*. 
this shaft is pushed clean up to the 
beam holding it up against the dog 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



539 



by which the beam is driven. D is a 
flange pulley, which is driven by a 
slack belt. An idler pulley (which ia 
not shown in sketch), engages belt 
at the underside of pulley. The lever 
holding the idler works free on its 
centre at which it is supported by a 
stud attached to the frame of the ma- 
chine. Attached to the opposite side of 



breaks back on the top beam, taking 
the length of one round of beam to 
tie out imperfection. This was done by 
the tying of one knot. By breaking 
back on the top beam, the finisheti 
bottom beam had a uniform yardage 
of each thread throughout its whole 
length. 
The checking method was done as 




Fig. 85. Foster Winders. 



the lever is a rod G, which is fastened 
to shipper H, by which the operator 
controls the drive of the machine. 

An adjustable weight, I, can be 
moved backward and forward on the 
lever on which it rests, to balance the 
shipper. By pressing the foot board, 
H, the idler pulley takes up slack of 
belt, and starts the machine. There 
are put in the grooves of the heads 
of beam A ropes, weighted to provide 
friction. The operator stands in front, 
aixd when taking out an imperfectiori. 



follows: From the time of finishing 
one beam to the time of finishing the 
next beam was credited to the oper- 
ator, pounds yarn on beam, and time 
taken in examining beam. Imperfec- 
tions taken out were weighed on grain 
scales, and percentage of imperfec- 
tions to pounds examined figured. A 
rule was laid down to the office girl, 
who took care of this data to report to 
the overseer when the number of 
pounds examined per hour was abnor- 
mally low, and grains weight of im- 



540 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



perfections were also low. In other 
words, a girl running low in pounds 
l>er hour would show reasons in the 
large quantity of imperfections she 
bas had to take out, otherwise, she 
was negligent of her work, and dis- 
ciplined accordingly, record being 
made of all this matter. No. 214. 



CCXV. TUBE WINDING. 

At this atnge, it would be well to 
explain the introduction of Foster 
winders into this department, and the 
experience ihat was had in scheduling 
prices. It was frequently found that 
in buying yarns in the open market, 
what was wanted could only be ob- 
tained on ti:bes. These had not been 
successfully handled in the warper 
heretofore, and the practice was to 
rewind theixi on to spools, and warp 
from spools, but a large lot of yam on 
tubes was secured with a light twist, 
and it was found by rewinding it 
became 

TOO TENDER TO WARP. 

A series of (experiments were made 
to see if there could be a readjust- 
ment on the warper to make it possi- 
ble to warp direct from the tubes 
These experiments were successful, 
and it was found by rearranging the 
top and bottom of creel a free and even 
tension delivery from each tube when 
in the creel could be obtained. This 
v/as accompl-^shed by bringing each 
end of the skewer into correct rela- 
tionship, equidistant with the point 
& round whiet the thread bent as it 
ran to the warper. 

This success was so important that 
practically all the warper creels were 
changed over, and several Foster 
winders were installed on which Lo 



wind the yarn, instead of spooling it 
In considering the method of sched- 
uling prices, it seemed from the condi- 
tions under ^v'^hich the operator work 
ed that theis need not be any differ- 
ence in the rating, but in starting up 
ihese machines, the operators object- 
ed to the spooler's schedule of prices, 
and after a try, the matter was refer 
red to the superintendent, who sug- 
gested a better price list in accord- 
ance with the first try. 

The ov9rso?r contended that it 
would be a .mistake to do so. The mat- 
ter was referred to the maker of the 
machine, the seller and the fitter, and 
they all agresd that it was not to be 
expected that winding could be done 
as cheap as spooling, and that 
handling the yarns in the package was 
of so much benefit that the use of a 
winder was a decided advantage. 
These high opinions had no effect in 
convincing the o\erseer, and the su- 
perintendent fi greed that for the pres- 
ent, at least, an allowance be 
made to each operator who had work- 
ed faithfully, but who did not get as 
much money as she would have earn- 
ed had she spent her time in spool- 
ing. 

This was left to the overseer's dis- 
cretion, and the outcome was that the 
same girls averaging some $8 per 
week on spooling, earned by winding 
wages as high as $11, and some even 
more. 

Under the circumstances, it was 
not thought wise to schedule a sepa- 
rate 

WINDER, PRICE LIST, 
but data svas obtained to compute 
prices for work done. This data show- 
ed that one price would serve for all 
nnmbers, when the weight of yarns 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



541 



viere the same on all bob- 
bins from which they were wound. 
For instance, cotton mule cops 
contained about two ounces of 
yarn, and frame bobbins about one 
and one-half ounces. If a girl had the 
proper allotpipnt of spindles to the 
number of ; arn, she would wind the 
tame pounds per day or week of any 
number. Th'j following table will show 
the allotmeiiT to the number, and 100 
per cent production of each spindle 
less one spindle to the allotment. 

POUND PRODUCTlOiN VAL.UE OF EACH 

WINDER SPIND1.E RELATIVE TO 

WEIGHT OF YARN ON COP 

TO THE NUMBER OF 

OUNCES, ALSO 

YARDS. 

Lbs. Lbs. 

No. per per 

cot- Mule cop. spindle operal- 

ton. Weight. Spin- per 58 or 58 
yarns. Ounces. Yards. dies. hr. wk. hr. wk. 

10 2 1,050 28 62 1,674 

12 2 1,260 33 52 1,66-1 

14 2 1,470 39 44 1,672 

16 2 1,680 43 40 1,680 

17 2 1,885 46 37 1,665 

18 2 1,990 50 Sri 1,700 

20 2 2,100 56 31 1,705 

21 2 2,205 59 29 1,682 

22 2 2,310 62 28 1,708 

24 2 2,520 67 26 1,716 

26 2 2,730 72 24 1,704 

28 2 2,940 78 22 1,694 

Ring frame bobbin. 

30 114 2,360 63 20.7 1,283 

34 IVs 2,677 71 18.3 1,281 

36 IMi 2,835 75 17.3 1,280 

38 11/2 2,992 79 16.3 1,271 

40 ......VA 3,150 84 15.6 1,294 

45 1% 3,545 94 13.8 1,283 

50 IVa 3,937 110 12.42 1,291 

55 11,^ 4, .331 115 11.33 1,289 

The above table is estimated on a 
winder speed of 150 yards per min- 
ute, with the 

REASONABLE ASSUMPTION 
that a girl can tie up a thread in 16 
seconds on an average, that is, four 
threads per minute, the table being 
figured out as follows: Two ounces of 
No. 10 cotton contains 1,050 yards di- 
vided by 150 yards per minute as a 
divisor, would give quotient 7. This 
figure is the number of minutes it 
will take to run off a cop 
v^ontaining two ounces of num- 
ber 10s yarn. The number of spin- 
dles a girl will be able to take care of 
will be, therefore, 4 times 7 equals 28. 
As in the operation there will be 
always one spindle stopped, the pro- 
duction of each operator or girl will 



be one spindle less than the allotted 
spindles; therefore, 28 spindles as- 
signed will give a production of 27 
spindles, and in all cases, each spin- 
dle assignment will give a one-spindle 
less production. 

Pounds per spindle, figured with a 
constant of 52,200 as a sum to be di- 
vided by the yards per pound to the 
number, and this constant being yards 
production of a week of 58 hours, it is 
obtained as follows: 150 yards per 
minute; 900 yards per hour times 58 
equals 52,200 yards. 

The last column of above table 
shows the maximum production for a 
58-hour week of one operator on each 
number specified, and as these figures 
a're obtained by 

CORRECT DEDUCTIONS, 
it may easily be seen that a price per 
number is not essential, in fact, 
it is an incorrect way of 
paying for winding. This mav 
also be said of spooling, but 
to give the operator a chance to make 
wages, spindles will have to be allot- 
ted according to the yards on bobbins 
from which the yarn is wound. The 
percentage of variation in the list of 
pounds per week is only 3 per cent en 
the two-ounce cops, and not quite J 
per cent on the li-ounce frame bobbin. 

The writer is aware that it is prac- 
tically impossible to get a 100 per 
cent production, but in the above ta- 
ble, every reasonable consideration 
has been met, and there only remains 
the condition of the yarn as a factor 
to effect the above conclusions. As 
yarn breaks so many times on 
an average, the number of spindles 
allotted to the operator should be 
reduced proportionately, and the pro- 
cMiction payed for in accordance with 
the spindles operated. No. 215. 



CCXVI. SLASHING ROOM LABOR 
REPORT. 

Concurrent with the establishing of 
the changes mentioned, the dressing 
room office was organized to take care 
of the reports of production of ma- 
chines and processes, and in addition 
to the pay roll, a labor report, 



542 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



was made out each week. A printed 
form was used to fill in labor repon 
in detail of counts of yarn and stock; 
and under each process, spooling, 
warping, examining, slashing, quilling, 
pounds production to the number, to- 
tal cost and cost per pound, also 
pounds waste and waste percentage 
to pounds production of each process 
Separate, but under the same heading, 
charges for room help were record- 
ed, spooler helper, warper helper and 
charge for spooling pieces. This item 
was charged to the warping, as the 
jarn was bought from outside, and the 
spools had to be emptied and returned 
to the maker of the yarn, also exam- 
ining helpers and spare girls. 

The frequency of overtime in this 
part of the department required that 
we should have a separate record, as 
the extra cost of overtime to the 
pounds examined weakened the data, 
and made it less reliable. Slashing ex- 
tras for overtime were recorded sepa- 
rate to make data more exact. Resiz- 
ing indicates how much work was re- 
turned from the weave room, helpers, 
etc., quilling, helper and bobbin boy. 

A 

SUMMARY OP ALL PROCESSES 
was made covering pounds pro- 
duction, total cost and total 
pounds cost, waste and waste 
percentage in each kind of yarn 
and under each process. There was 
also the room overhead charges, sec- 
ond hand yarn man, scrubber, and 
clerk. A copy of this report was sent 
to the main office, and original report 
retained in the dressing room office, 
and it was expected that all moneys 
charged up on the pay roll would be 
accounted for. All extras allowed piece 
workers, and all other charges for bad 
work were charged up to the depart- 
ment or mill responsible. The 
strongest agency that an over- 
seer can use in controlling those work- 
ing under him is the impression that 
he is fair and just, and that he is fa- 
miliar with all the conditions of the 
work which they perform. 

This is to be best obtained by hav- 
ing data to show comparative condi- 
tions. For Instance, if any of the help 



is not giving sufficient pounds produc- 
tion, and it is found necessary to call 
attention to this fact, if approached in 
general terms, the help will most as- 
suredly say they are doing as much 
as their associates, and, too, 
that they work much harder than 
most of the others. Unless you have 
data, the culprit will take on an ag- 
grieved air, and nothing more than a 

CONDITION OP IRRITATION 
will be effected. 

On the other hand, if approached 
with a comparative statement taken 
from the records and the data there 
set forth, there is nothing to be said, 
and a gentle appeal to their personal 
pride will do much to bring them up 
to an effort equally as efficient as their 
associates; not only this, but in the 
first case, the help will think they are 
doing enough, or if they know better,, 
they will feel that they have been 
successful in hoodwinking the boss. 
In the latter case, on the contrary, 
they will realize that nothing but facts 
will go, and that the boss knows his 
ground. 

From, the data found in this labor 
report, compared with previous re- 
ports, the overseer obtains 

A CORRECT UNDERSTANDING 
of all the detail of the essentials in his 
department, and therein finds encour- 
agement by improvements noted, and 
also his attention is directed to de- 
fective conditions needing corrections 

The defects of the slashing process 
were in the excess of waste made, and 
the irregularity of lengths in cuts and 
warps, also too many warps were 
brought back from the weave room 
that were improperly sized. No. 216. 



CCXVII. CUTTING DOWN WASTE 
PERCENTAGE. 

The excess of waste was made from 
various causes, but resulted in all 
cases in sets of section beams running 
cut uneven. To remedy this, the slash- 
er man was requested to be careful as 
to how he put his friction rope on 
the section beam heads, which rope 
should be bitched to the cross bay qt 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



543 



the section beam stand, and brought 
around the head of the beam in the 
direction in which it ran, this on ail 
beams. Gear clocks were put on warp- 
er and instructions given that no 
changes be made in the gearing, only 
by one particular man, and also a 
rule laid down that each beam in each 
set be made on the same warper. With 
these provisions made, the waste prob- 
lem was brought to a very low per- 
centage — as low as .004 per cent. 

IRREGULARITY OF LENGTHS 
in cuts and warps complained of by 
the weaver were not entirely charg- 
able to the dressing room. It too fre- 
quently happened that the weavers in 



marker was at the back of the hot 
air chamber, and in front of the size 
box. To operate the marker, a small 
shaft made the connection between 
the marker and measuring roll. 

In the operation of this mech- 
anism, many bevel gears were 
used. These gears were cast 
gears, and each set required 
plenty of play to work safely, but the 
aggregate of play at the marker was 
so great that the finger that brought 
up the marker could be moved freely 
some 30 degrees. 

This condition suggested that the 
PROBABILITY OF ERROR 
on the release of the mark- 




Fig. 87. Hot Air Slasher. 



their anxiety to get another cut in 
their week's pay would take off their 
cuts before cut marks were woven ap, 
and the complaint as to lengths was 
not sustained by evidence of marks on 
the short cuts. In the piece, this may 
not have meant anything, but it is the 
only evidence that will satisfy a slash- 
er man. The number of cuts to the sel 
was uniform. This was convincing 
that the trouble might be in the slash- 
er. 

A thorough investigation of the 
measuring mechanism was made. The 
slashers were Lowell machines with 
hot air drying chambers. The measur- 
ing roll was on the front head, located 
just beyond the dividing rods. The 



er was very great. To effect 
a remedy by eliminating the series of 
bevel gears, the measuring roll was 
put at the back of the slasher, re- 
placing the bottom carrying roll, and 
a casting was made to carry the meas- 
uring mechanism, eliminating the se- 
ries of bevels. This proved so satisfac- 
tory that all the slashers were fitted 
likewise, and by this method the ac- 
curate measure to cuts and warps was 
obtained. This did not entirely satisfy 
the weaver, but as before stated, the 
errors of lengths were not all charge- 
able to the slasher. 

The following size formula will il- 
lustrate what the new man had to 
deal with. 



5^4 



COTTON MLIjL MANAGEMENT 



SIZE FORMULA FOR QUALITY 5138. 
1/40 X C. 

12 inches water nnishing 17 inches, 138 gallons 
50 pounds starch. 
50 pounds P. gum. 
S5 pounds No. 3 glue. ' 

2 quarts glycerine. 
4 pounds tallow. 

Compound. 
': 3 ounces borax. 

3 ounces sulphate zinc. 
6 ounces salt. 

1 ounce sal ammoniac. 

2\i ounces crystal magnesia. 

One batch and a half of this size, 
207 gallons, sized a set of '16 cuts of 
60 yards, 437 pounds. 

This formula was 

AN OFFICIAL ORDER, 
and until it was tried out, the new 
man did not wish to be antagonistic, 
but as its real value became apparent, 
he asked to have it referred to the 
chemist, who reported that there were 
ingredients in this formula for which 
he could not find any necessity. 

This formula with many others was 
discarded. These various formulas 
were intended for the different kinds of 
yarn we used, and because of the va- 
riety of goods made, it was difficult to 
keep the slashers supplied, and the 
tollowing formula was adopted, which, 
by diluting, could be used for all kinds 
of yarns: 

SIZE FORMULA. 
Single Single 

.„ , „ worsted. 2/32. 2/60. cotton. 

Water, gallons.... 10 15 17.5 20 

Starch, pounds 5 5 5 5 

T. gum, pounds... 5 5 5 5 

Tallow, pounds — 0.5 0.5 5 5 

Glycerines, pints.. 0.25 
Tragasol, pounds. 2.5 

Neutralizer. Acetate of sodium, 5 pounds 
per 100 gallons of size" for blacks. 
Anticeptic. Sulphate of zinc, 8% pound.<i of 
agent. 

This size formula gives the propor- 
tion under four distinct headings. 
These headings represent all the dif- 
ferent grades of goods made, each 
containing a variety of different num- 
bers and kinds of yarn, and with the 
Exception of the single worsted, the 
same ingredients were used, but with 
a difference in the gallons of water. 

No. 217. 



CCXVIII. CONDITIONS IN EVI- 
DENCE. 

With these reports, the conditions 
In the department in its various ac- 



tivities were in evidence, and the mat- 
ter needing prompt attention was the 
waste question. Neither second hands 
nor section hands had the faintest 
idea of yarn values, and their idea of 
the requirements of their position was 
to keep the help at work, and if a 
girl made waste extravagantly, they 
would probably give her a call down, 
but if conditions of the yarns were 
bad, the making of waste to excess 
was considered as confirmatory evi- 
dence that the yams were really bad, 
and the question of economy in the 
making of waste was forgotten, 

THE REMEDY 

adopted to effect a cure for these con- 
ditions was successful in results. 

The overseer took up the matter 
with each man responsible for the 
waste made by calling their attention 
to the value of yarns used in the de- 
partment, and asked them to here- 
after keep a little note book, and make 
a record of the pounds waste taken 
from these weekly reports, and call 
on the ofiice girl who had charge of 
the production sheet for total pounds 
of yarn, for instance, quilling, during 
the same week. The overseer showed 
each of the men how to figure per- 
centage, called their attention to the 
relations of waste to pounds produced, 
and incidentally suggested to these 
men that to get accustomed to an un- 
derstanding of percentages tended to 
fit them for better positions. 

IMPROVEMENT EFFECTED. 

In following up this arrangement, it 
soon became apparent that an improve- 
ment was being effected, and the men 
with this better understanding were 
saving the company money, the over- 
seer co-operating with them, showing 
each of them the value of their sav- 
ings in dollars, also telling each man 
that his effort would be credited to 
him in the report to the superintend- 
ent, and in some cases, the savings 
effected exceeded the man's wages. 

It is a strange commentary on the 
ordinary operator's thoughtlessness to 
see them stand and pull off yarn from 
a spool continually for some minutes 
to avoid tying up the same thread 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



545 



once, which could be done in fifteen 
seconds or less. The value of waste 
economy, as men realized it, also 
brought the fruits of a larger produc- 
tion and more wages to the operat- 
or, as the time spent in making waste 
was employed in getting production. 
Production from warper was alffect- 
ea unfavorably by the variableness of 
the yardage on each spool coming 
from the different yarn mills from 
whom yarn was bought. As each spool 



statement needs an explanation. 

It was not only the pieces that were 
brought back from the warper after a 
run-out of a regular tie-up, but the 
spools of the rewound pieces would 
come back time after time to be re- 
wound until cleaned up. No. 218. 



CCXIX. DIFFICULTIES TO BE MET. 

It would be proper and in order at 
this point to describe some of the 




Fig. 88 is a dry slaslier referred to in a previous chapter. Tliis is used in 
mills where the goods manufactured do not need size to aid in the 
weaving. 



received had to be returned empty, 
the warping had to be done as near 
the bottom of spools as possible, 
and when making out the set card, 
the overseer had to keep this in mind. 
A record was kept of yardage on the 
different spools, and the rule was es- 
tablished that in all yarns received 
from a new yarn maker on the first 
tie-over, the set would be run until 
some five or six spools of the set were 
run off. 

THIS TEST 

would determine length of all 
sets in the future made of each 
maker's yarn. The rewinding of 
pieces was made chargeable to the 
warping as a separate specified item, 
as the only proper place. By careful 
checking off of averages, it was found 
that of all the yarn received 10 per 
cent of it would be rewound 
at a cost of two cents per j)ound. This 



difficulties that the new man had to 
meet in his efforts to secure best re- 
sults, and over which he had no con- 
trol. 

On a rearrangement of the dressing 

department, it wa,s found expedient to 
order two new size kettles. The mat- 
ter was taken up with the chief en- 
gineer who sent his assistant to the 
overseer of the dressing deiifirtment, 
and the whole matter of the amount 
of size needed each day and the va- 
rious sizing solutions used, etc., were 
gone into fully. 

At that time, there were four wet 
slashers, each of which took nearly 
150 gallons of size each day, in all 600 
gallons. There were four formulas of 
sizing solutions which were all- dis- 
tinctly different, all of these being 
used from day to day. This informa- 
tion was taken down by the assistant 
engineer, and this matter, as far as the 



546 



COTTOiN MILL MANAGEiMENT 



dressing room was concerned, was 
allowed to rest. 

In the course of time there was de- 
livered to the department what seem- 
ed to be a boiler. On inquiring at the 
main office the information was re- 
ceived that this was the first size ket- 
tle of the two ordered. I'^urther in- 
Quiry elicited the information that as 
the slashers needed 600 gallons each 
day the coiporation was getting two 
kettles with 600 gallons capacity. The 
kettles ordered were to have jackets, 
but on examining this monster, the 
only part that was jacketed was the 
base. 

ALL SORTS OF OBJECTIONS 
were made to the installation of this 
kettle, but the management insisted on 
trying it out, and it was set up, but 
the only way the size could be cooked 
v/as with an open pipe delivering 
steam inside the solution. To 
remedy these defects, the second 
boiler or kettle was ordered to be made 
with jackets extending up all sides of 
the boiler or kettle, and it was shipped 
in under protest, but the assurance of 
the management was given that this 
kettle would do the work. In the mean- 
time, No. 1 kettle had been returned 
to the maker. 

After piping up this second kettle, 
every effort was made to cook size, 
but even water could not be brought 
to a boil. An expert was sent to make 
tests, and after li hours' effort, the 
expert claimed he had brought the wa- 
ter to a boil. 

This test, however, demonstrated 
that this expensive tank was entirely 
unsuitable. This decision was not 
made until after No. 1 kettle also jack- 
eted all the way up the sides had 
been returned. 

At this point, the management con- 
sented to buy kettles from a maker 
with a 150-gallon capacity. The cost of 
these two kettles was over $1>C00 each, 
$2,000 in all, in addition to the losses 
entailed in the department through ex- 
perimental work. No. 219. 



CCXX. DECEPTIVE CONDITIONS, 
Warps were called for a qual- 



ity, the samples of which were 
made from a few pounds of yarn 
taken from a lot being spun for a 
yarn customer. The yarn was 1-30 
worsted and contained 18 turns twist. 
The warps were made from yarns pre- 
sumedly the same as sample, and were 
sent forward to weave room and put 
in looms. After starting up these 
warps, it was found that they did not 
weave well. The dresser was taken 
to task, but had no explanation to 
offer. 

INQUIRIES MADE. 

Inquiry was made, and it was ascer- 
tained that the above yarn customer 
who received his yarns in the form of 
slashed warps found his warps wove 
all right. Set after set was made for 
looms, but these warps would not 
weave well. After a while a hurried 
order for warps from the above yarn 
customer was received, and as the or- 
der was wanted in a hurry, a set was 
made from the yarns in the dressing 
room that were understood to be of the 
same number, quality and twist. On 
the set being finished and sent out to 
be shipped, advice was received from 
the main office that these warps would 
not do, as the lot of yarn intended for 
this customer had not been made. 

Inquiry was made to ascertain what 
was the difference in the yarn and the 
reply was that it required 18 turns of 
twist, whereas the yarn used in the 
warps sent to the weave room only 
contained 16 turns. In other wards, the 
samples produced in which this yarn 
v/as used had two turns more than the 
yarn put into the straight goods. This 
change of twist was made without 
any advice from the superintendent 
who was unaware of it until the above 
inquiry was made. 

This explained the difficulty in weav- 
ing the warps of the above quality, but 
this was only an incident. The man- 
agement worked continually with ex- 
pedients and recognized no rules, 
and there was no explanation given 
for changing the twist. 

Yams were coming in 1-40 
worsted, which was made up into 
warps that wove badly. The under- 
standing was that the yarn was 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



Frencli spun, and it was received on 
five-inch spools. 

THE DIFFICULTY IN WEAVING 
these yarns caused an inquiry into the 
matter, and it was found that instead 
of being mule-spun, the yarn was 
frame-spun, and instead of the yarn 
being made in the French system, the 
whole process of making this yarn 
was Bradford system. 

To make it plain to the 
reader, it should . be said that 
in the Bradford system oil is 
used in the stock to a very 
large extent to aid in the 
processes of drawing and spinning, 
and as this oil is very much in excess 



and break in the weaving. 

The French system does not need 
the assistance of oil, etc., to assist in 
making the yarn, therefore, the size 
would stick to the yarn and the warps 
would weave. No. 220. 



CCXXI. OVERSEER KNOWS BEST. 

Preparatory to the installation of ex- 
amining frames, a lot of experiments 
were made and exact conclu- 
sions arrived at. The design was 
worked out and every condition was 
taken cognition of, and a com- 
plete understanding was estab- 
lished as to every detail of the ma- 
chine and an order was made out for 




Fig. 89. Size Tank. 



of the amount of grease used as a 
softener in size, the sizing ingredi- 
ents would not stay on the yarn, but 
would work off in the loom, and the 
warp yarn would chafe and ball up 



the necessary castings, pulleys, etc. 

On receipt of the first set of four 
machines, which were set up accord- 
ing to plans in the room, it was found 
that there had been what seemed to be 



548 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



a mistake made in the designing of 
the casting. By way of explanation 
(See Figure 84, issue of November 16), 
the drive was a slack belt controlled 
by an idler pulley attached to a foot 
lever. By the pressure of the foot of 
the operator, the idler would take up 
the slack of the belt and the machine 
would run at a speed according to the 
pressure used. 
This 

IDLER PULLEY 

was planned to be placed where 
it could take up the slack 
belt at the back of the lower side of 
the pulley. The machines being belted 
to be driven from the top side of pul- 
ley, the mistake was made by a change 
in the casting which brought the idler 
to the top of pulley and caused it to 
rest on top or tight side of belt. 

Complaints were immediately made, 
but the machines continued to come in 
until there were some 4'() out of 44 ma- 
chines received all wrong. During the 
time the machines were being deliver- 
ed, the management was receiving 
complaints daily, and the only reply to 
these complaints was that the prin- 
ciples involved were not understood. 
All the operators were women, and the 
strength reciuired was too much for 
them and help could not be retained. 

The outcome of it all was, the over- 
seer found a way to hang his idler to 
engage the bottom belt, and matters 
became serene. But who ever heard 
of a slack belt driven with the idler 
pulley on the take-up side of the belt 
instead of the slack side. No. 221. 



CCXXII. HAND DRESSING DEPART- 
MENT. 

During the evolution in the slash- 
ing room, which has been described in 
previous chapters, a good deal of con- 
sideration was given by the new over- 
seer to the hand dressing department. 
The difficulties he met there were of 
an entirely different character than in 
the slashing room, and to some ex- 
tent this department was even more 
deficient in organization, and instead 
of scheduling wages to obtain data as 
to costs, etc., the prime consideration 



was the keeping down of expenses in 
preparing the yarn and chain warps to 
enable the hand dresser to do his 
WORK lECONOMIOALLY. 

At the time the new man took over 
this charge, all chain warps required 
were made outside of his department. 
The method in vogue in directing the 
supply of grey warps was productive of 
some very expensive complications. 
The way the dyer was provided with 
warps to fill the dyeing orders from 
the dressing room made it impossible 
to keep a correct tally on available 
warps at the dyehouse. The practice 
that was prevalent in the dressing 
room in directing the dyer as to what 
warps were needed from day to day 
was the cause of the accumulation of 
surplus warps in the color for which 
there were no orders. 

By explaining the procedure that was 
observed on receipt of an order from 
the main office, the reader will more 
readily understand the difficulties that 
confronted the new man in his effort 
to direct the work of this department. 
The difficulties consisted principally in 
the making of careless and inaccu- 
rate records on the stock book on re- 
ceipt of grey warps and neglecting to 
check off warps assigned to specified 
orders, which was a free and easy way 
of forwarding warps to the dyehouse 
rather than have them put in stock, 
thus again entailing labor when want- 
ed in the dyehouse. 

USUAL PROCEDURE. 

All orders for warps for the 
looms that were required to be 
hand dressed were entered in a book 
kept for that purpose, and the office 
girl, in accordance with the informa- 
tion contained in these orders, would 
make out loom warp tickets and hang 
them on pins in a board provided for 
that purpose. On completion of 
the dressing of a warp, the second 
hand would issue to the dresser a ticket 
taken from this board, that is, after 
a record was made to his credit on 
dresser's book of particulars which de- 
termined the value of the labor per- 
formed in the dressing of this warp. 
This ticket the dresser would fasten 
to the lease strings of his warp and 



;OTTON MILL MANAGBMBNT' 



649 



It was ready to be sent to tlie weave 
room. 

On receipt of an order for hand- 
dressed warps, the overseer would 
make out an order on the dyehouse 
on a form which gave the following 
particulars: dyehouse order, number, 
date, number of warps, shade, num- 
ber and grade of yarn, threads in 
warp, length in yards, pounds weight 
of each chain warp, also the name of 
the company which would supply the 
warps. A copy of this order would 
be sent to the dyehouse and the origi- 
nal retained in dressing room to check 
warps off as they were received from 
the dyehouse after having been passed 
as to 

SHADE AND CONDITION. 

The orders for qualities made out 
by the assistant superintendent con- 
tained the information as to the num- 
ber of chain warps wanted and of 
whom they were ordered, also the 
number of warps in stock that could 
be used (if any). In this order, un- 
fortunately, the stock warp lists from 
which the assignment was made were 
very inaccurate, and frequently there 
was a shortage of warps and a tie-up 
of the order. This inaccuracy in the 
stock sheet was caused by the method 
by which warps were checked when 
received from the yarn mill. In the- 
ory it was expected that all warps or- 
dered outside would be required to go 
to the dyehouse, and the shipper would 
send all forward as they came in. 

In practice, although every provi- 
sion had been made to secure chain 
warps by ordering them forward, 
sometimes before the yarn mills had 
made their first shipment the cus- 
tomers ordering the goods would 
be calling for deliveries, and stock 
warps of the right number and grade 
of yarn, but ill suited for this quality, 
would be prepared in the grey for the 
dyehouse, and sets to the shades color- 
ed; not only by taking warps would 
the list be changed, but as mentioned 
above, all warps would be sent to the 
dyehouse as they were received, and 
the ones that were replaced would 
also go to the dyehouse and remain 
there in stock with no ac- 
counting made for their presence. 



Warps made in the cotton mill of this 
company for the dressing department 
were made from yarns bought outside 
by the cloth department. This yarn 
was delivered, too, on a verbal call 
order from the room in which these 
warps were warped and prepared, and 
a case or cases were sent along without 
any attempt being made to determine 
the pounds required to fill orders and 
pounds sent up. In other words, there 
was no checking made to show whether 
pounds warps came back to the dress- 
ing room equivalent to pounds yarn 
sent up. 

All warps and yarns colored in the 
dyehouse were charged up to the cloth 
department for payment, so much per 
pound. These charges were made once 
each month. There was no tally sheet 
kept in the dressing room outside of 
the dyer's slip. Errors in charges were 
very likely to be made and would go 
unchallenged. Because of conditions 
in the dyehouse there were very many 
warps sent back each day off shade, 
ended, hard-sized, tendered, etc. The 
probaijility of these warps being 
charged for more than once was very 
great, due to the manner in which or- 
ders were handled. No. 222. 



CCXXIII. SELECTION OF DYE- 
STUFF. 

In this mill, the procedure they 
observed with reference to the pur- 
chasing of dyestuffs was unusual, and 
illustrates the difficulties that confront 
the faithful overseer. 

An order for four warps to be col- 
ored a blue slate was put into the dye- 
ing machine. The solution used was 
prepared according to formula used 
in coloring the sample. 

As the coloring proceeded, it was evi- 
dent that the shade was not right, for 
the warps came from the dry cans so 
far off shade that there was nothing 
to be done but to put these 
warps into blacks, and a second set 
was put into the machines after 
the solution was prepared by the dyer. 
This preparation was usually the work 
of the second hand, but to make sure 
there was no mistake being made, the 
overseer gave it his full personal at- 



550 



COTTON MILL MANAGBMENT 



tention. This second set at the dry 
cans was no better, so the 
dyer carefully scrutinized Ms 
records, and called for new sam- 
ples from the dressing room to 
be taken from the sample warp which 
it was intended to duplicate. He found 
no difference in his standards and the 
samples he called for. In his perplex- 
ity he called for another set of greys, 
as he felt sure that he could repeat his 
former shade, but after coloring his 
third set, the results were no nearer 
the shade. 

At this point, 

A SAMPLE OF DYESTUFF 
was sent to the chemist, who, after 
looking up his records, reported that 
the dyestuff used was bought froju a 
different dyestuff company, as the cost 
per pound was lower. In this whole 
matter the dyer was not consulted nor 
informed of this change, nor did the 
ohemist make any test to prove this 
cheap stuff a correct substitute. It was 
also learned that as a rule no tests were 
made by the chemist on any material 
until trouble developed. They had a 
high-priced chemist and a very com- 
plete laboratory, conditions which are 
usually established to prevent trouble 
by testing all chemicals coming into 
the mill, but in this mill only to locate 
trouble after it appears, and we pre- 
sume to establish a claim for compen- 
sation, was the extent of what was 
required of the chemist. 

Up to this time, the 

METHOD OF CHECKING WARPS 
for shade was unique. There 
were no standards kept. Shades were 
first selected in the designing room, 
and to these shades short sample 
warps were colored. The regular or- 
ders being provided for, a cut- 
ting from the sample warp 
would be sent to the dyehouse 
on the number of the shade de- 
termined by the designing room. On 
the warps of the color being received 
from the dyehouse, as was the prac- 
tice, the overseer would match them 
for shade to sample and shade to ends, 
feel for size and a general examina- 
tion for condition of warps as to usage 
received in the dyehouse, broken, tan- 



gled up, matted, tendered, etc. 

The unique feature referred to was 
that on the second set being received, 
a cutting from the first set would 
probably be used to check the shades, 
and when the third set came along, 
a cutting from the second set. The 
effects of this procedure can easily be 
conjectured, and as an illustration, on 
receipt of a set of warps from the dye- 
house, the second hand, as was usual, 
brought the sample shades to the 
trucks containing the warps. The new 
overseer, finding the warps off shade, 
was about to order their return to the 
dyehouse when the second hand sug- 
gested that he look over his shades to 
see if he had not made a mistake. The 
overseer accompanied him and found 
that the sample shades which were in 
the custody of the second hand were 
of divers kinds and shades to 

THE SAME SHADE NUMBER. 
Being left alone, the second hand se- 
lected a sample he thought would 
match the warps, and was about to 
proceed to check for shade, but the 
overseer wanted an explanation, and 
was informed that all shades were sub- 
ject to modification from season to 
season, and that this particular tan 
shade was required to be kept on the 
yellow side — the yellow side of what? 
The second hand was nonplussed, but 
the overseer found an explanation for 
the shades varying so much in the 
pieces No. 223. 



CCXXIV. SAMPLE COLORS TO A 
FIXED STANDARD. 

Recognizing the impossibility of uni- 
formity of shades under these 
conditions, a system of standards 
was adopted. Provision was then made 
that all new shades thereafter should 
be standardized by the designing room. 
On the first coloring for samples a half 
pound of yarn would be added to the 
required weight and when passed as 
correct to shade this half pound of 
yarn would be retained as a standard 
and be properly marked and classed. 

On receipt of orders for regular 
goods, taking a particular new color, 
two cuttings of about three ounces of 
yarn each would be taken from the 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



designing room standard of this color 
and one sent to tlie dyehouse and one 
to the dressing room, the balance be- 
ing retained in the designing room. 
Any modification in shade would call 
for the return to the designing room 



which was marked also with the same 
number. This sample was used in all 
matching until it began to show loss 
of color, and was then replaced by an- 
other piece from the cutting referred to. 
This latter was put away in a dark 




Figure 90. English Warper. 



and a new standard of shade provided. 
COLOR SHADES. 
All the shades in general used at 
this time were passed on for stand- 
ards by the superintendent and three 
cuttings sent to these same depart- 
ments. 

A set of three-inch square pigeon 
holes in which to keep samples were 
made. On receipt of each standard of 
shade of cutting a few grains 
weight of yarn were taken from 
the bunch and tagged, indicat- 
ing number of shade, and placed 
In a tubular paper box. This box was 
also marked with shade number and 
was placed in a particular pigeon hole 



place, and rolled up in paper to pre- 
serve the color in its freshness. 

The license taken with reference to 
color shades was exceeded by the sec- 
ond hand in his interference with or- 
ders made on the dyehouse. The pre- 
vious overseer, as has been said, was 
very weak on system and depended 
upon his help a great deal to carry the 
work through the department. After 
he had made out his order on the dye- 
house he expected that the second 
hand would take care that the warps 
were put through on time. 

It was the habit of the second hand 
from day to day after surveying the 
needs of the hand dressers and looking 
over the tickets on the pins to call 



552 



Cotton mill management 



up the dyehouse and ascertain what 
was going through, and what grey 
warps were available to put through, 
and gave supplementary instructions 
which would frequently be different 
to the written orders sent to the dye- 
house. This practice was also a con- 
tributing cause to the prevailing mix 
up of dyehouse stock of grey chain 
warps. 

This practice on the part of the sec- 
ond hand was done with the full con- 
sent of the old overseer, and to avoid 
interference on the part of the over- 
seer. If any particular order was not 
being dressed as fast as he wanted, the 
overseer would get after the dyehouse 
and would frequently order that grey 
warps intended for a specified order 
be put through for this particular or- 
der, regardless of their unsuitableness, 
in warp arrangement. This would en- 
tail a great deal of extra labor in pre- 
paring these warps for the dressers, 
and in this the second hand had a 
large share. 

Through lack of familiarity with 
chain warp supplies, this order of the 
overseer would result in the tie-up ol 
another quality for which these assign- 
ed warps were intended. It need not 
require a severe 

STRETCH OF IMAGINATION 
to realize what would be the condi- 
tion of dyehouse orders — warps in grey 
and warps in colors would be in a 
confusion that would take a long time 
to straighten out and the second hand 
would feel justified in taking liberty 
with the rules governing the handling 
of the different sets. 

The license forced upon the second 
hand by the circumstances above allud- 
ed to become a habit, and he had no 
compunction in mixing up sets. It may 
be said at this point that no two sets 
dyed of the same color are absolutely 
alike, and it is very difiicult to deter- 
mine how each set will work out be- 
fore the goods reach the finishing 
table, even though in the matching 
they may appear absolutely alike. It 
is reasonable to expect that all colors 
will lose some in strength in dressing 
and weaving, because of friction. The 
"-^tent in practical experience is vari- 



able, and the only safe way to handle 
different sets is to keep them sep- 
arate. If compelled to mix sets in the 
same warp, have each chain reeded 
in all the way across the warp, and, if 
possible, confine this sort of thing to 
fancy warps. No. 224. 



CCXXV. LACK OF ORGANIZATION. 

In this rather general description of 
conditions in the hand dressing depart- 
ment there has been but little attempt 
made to give exact detail, as it would 
occupy too much space and serve no 
purpose. Enough has been said that is 
necessary to convey an idea of the 
lack of organization, the absence ol 
system, the license taken by subor- 
dinates which was fruitful of a demor- 
alization of the worst kind, as this 
naturally extended to all the help in 
the department, and the impossibility 
of an intelligent control of all stock 
in process and on hand. The colored 
warps on hand in the warp room, the 
warps in process in dyehouse, the grey 
warps available in stock room and the 
warps in the dyehouse which varied 
from 2010 to 500 warps, at all times 
were unknown quantities, and the day- 
to-day supplies were always problem- 
atical. 

To remedy all 
THESE DEFECTIVE CONDITIONS 
the new overseer began by calling 
for an exact report of all warps in the 
grey on hand in the dyehouse, and 
the orders they were intended to cov- 
er, demanding that all surplus warps 
be returned to the store house. Com- 
paring this report with the in- 
incomplete orders for warps to be 
dressed, the actual condition of the 
supply of grey warps to meet unfilled 
orders was ascertained. It was also 
necessary to know how the orders for 
grey warps stood on the books of the 
yarn mills which supplied these warps. 
By carefully working on these various 
reports, an adjustment was made 
which established exact conditions, 
and very strong orders were issued 
that hereafter there was no other per- 
son authorized to give orders but the 
overseer himself. 

To prevent any possibility of a fur- 



COTTON MILL MANAG^EMBNT 



553 



tlier mix up, instructions covering par- 
ticulars were given first to the over- 
seer of dyeing that lie hereafter con- 
fine himself to the orders sent him on 
the usual order slip form, checking off 
all warps on their completion and ship- 
ment to the dressing room. As a dupli- 
cate of all dyehouse orders was kept 
In the dressing room, the warp man 
was ordered to check these warps off 
as they were received from the dye- 
house. The shipper was instruct- 
ed not to send any grey 
warps to the dyehouse with- 
out specified orders, which would be 
furnished him by the overseer when 
orders were sent to the dyehouse. The 
shipper was further instructed to take 
care of all warps made in the cotton 
mill. This put under the control of 
the shipper all warps whether from 
outside, stock on hand, but also the 
warps from the cotton mill. 
The overseer installed 

A CARD SYSTEM 
in which each kind of warps was put 
on a separate card, the number and 
grade of yarn specified, threads in 
warp, yards, pounds, warps ordered 
end from whom, warps received, warps 
on hand, warps assigned to quality, 
dyehouse order number and date of 
assignment. All grey warps received 
were recorded on these cards by an of- 
fice girl and provided an accurate rec- 
ord of warps- wanted, received or sur- 
plus. 

It was also found expedient to adopt 
a card system to take care of small 
lots of yarn wanted for over lines, and 
not only the over line for the dressing 
had to be provided for, but also the 
over line for the filling — a card for 
each color and kind of yarn contain- 
ing a record of pounds needed for each 
order. When the pounds weight not 
provided for was of convenient size, an 
order on the dyehouse was made and 
warps sent and checked off the stock 
card from which they were taken, and 
also a record was made on the over- 
line card as to pounds ordered and 
dyehouse order number. 

These changes marked a great im- 
provement in the dressing room, but 
there were many other features that 



caused a great deal of worry and un- 
necessary expense. As has been said 
before, grey chains were made 
either by outside customers or by 
the mill itself. A few days after an 
order was received a call from the 
main office would be made to ascer- 
tain if there could be anything done 
to have some warps dressed of par- 
ticular quality. As there were no 
warps suitable for this dressing a re- 
port was sent in accordingly, but the 
delay made it important that some- 
thing had to be done and some stock 
warps ill suited for the purpose would 
be prepared for the dyehouse and sent 
along. 

This preparation is expensive, as it 
will frequently entail a dressing in the 
grey, and as these warps replaced 
warps already ordered, ultimately 
warps will be coming in that probably 
will be of no immediate use on their 
delivery. To eliminate this condition 
and many others, the new man asked 
for more warpers that he might make 
his own chain warps, and this was 
ultimately granted. No. 225. 



CCXXVI. INCREASE OF EQUIP 
MENT. 

In addition to more warpers being 
added to this equipment a doubler was 
secured to make the warps from sec- 
tion beams. This doubler was a dis- 
carded machine by the cotton mill 
people, who had no liking for this con- 
tinuous process machine, but on being 
set up, it proved to be entirely satis- 
factory. In all there were twelve 
warpers added, three of them be- 
ing of an English make and also 
secured from the cotton mill. 
These warpers were driven by friction 
heads, but the heads were badly out 
of repair and did not work true. By 
putting on an American driving mo- 
tion, these warpers proved of equal 
value to the rest of the warpers in 
this department. 

The stop motion on these English 
warpers was of roller type. By put- 
ting ridders on each thread, when the 
thread broke, the ridder would fall 
between two running rollers and 
spread them apart. This would release 



564 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



a catch and the shipper would ship 
the belt on to the slack pulley, stop- 
ping the machine quickly. Another 
feature was two drop rolls instead of 
one. Th-ey promptly took up all slack 
in the warp when the machine stop- 
ped, both motions doing very effective 
work. 

NEW WARPERS. 

There was ultimately added to the 
equipment of this department 12 warp- 
ers, making in all 22, three 
doublers and two chain beamers, and 
instead of buying yarn in warps, the 
yarn was bought on spools, preferably 
on tubes, as by a re-arrangement of 
warper creels, tubes ran better than 
spools, and contained a great deal more 
yarn, and the pieces were easily emp- 
tied, as they would unwind from 
either end when set up for that pur- 
pose. 

In warping for chain warps needed 
in the department, the control of yarn 
going into warps was obtained. The 
finding of wrong yarns in bought warps 
is of too common an experience, and 
it is not difficult to understand the 
cause, but the wrong yarns would 
sometimes get by the dresser and 
into the cloth before being noticed, 
producing an effect that would some- 
times make seconds of the cloth woven 
with these warps. 

In all yarn mills making warps for 
the trade the warping to the number 
is done to the tie-up in a series of 
warps until the yarn on the spools is 
run off to a given point, leaving about 
two ounces of yarn on spools. These 
are tied out and taken to the spoolers 
where they are again filled up. If, 
as it sometimes happens, the length, 
of warps wanted will run the spools 
down, some will be emptied and all 
spools in set run very low. The 
chances are that some of the pieces 
will contain yarn of a different num- 
ber, which may have been on the spools 
for years, and thus several hundred 
yards of wrong yarn will get into the 
warp. 

It was 

THE COMMON EXPERIENCE 

in this mill where all spools received 

from outside had to be returned empty 

to find wrong yarns at bottom ,vhen 



unwinding. On going more largely 
into buying yarns on spools, the new 
overseer arranged to have pieces dress- 
ed up on a Scotch warper (mill) in- 
stead of wound off on a spooler, and 
using these warps for purposes where 
wrong yarn could not do any 
harm, such as fancy warps, etc. 
Of course, all extreme numbers, very 
heavy or very light, were taken out 
by the man on the mill. This practi- 
cally eliminated all wrong yarns on 
warps, but our equipment of Scotch 
warpers was overloaded with over- 
line work, and two Davis & Furber 
dressing frames were secured and they 
did the work just as well as these 
mills. 

As in the case of the slashing de- 
partment, all orders for warping in- 
tended for the hand dresser were made 
out on a warper ticket. Pounds as- 
signed for the warps called for would 
be credited to stock card of the yarn 
wanted, and on receipt of an order 
fi'om the main office calling far any 
particular warps, there would be no 
delays, as the supply of yarns was 
easily kept up, and still far less stock 
was carried than had heretofore been 
done. This latter stock was in warps, 
and the extra cost of having our yarns 
in this form had very frequently to 
be supplemented by the extra charges 
for repairing and splitting, exceeding 
the charges usually allowed for yarn 
shipped to us in warps. No. 226. 



CCXXVII. BALL BEARING ON TEX- 
TILE MACHINERY. 

Improved construction features and 
manufacturing processes have now 
made ball bearings practical for such 
a wide variety of load and speed con- 
ditions, and over such an unlimited 
field of application, that textile ma- 
chinery manufacturers are to-day 
giving thorough consideration to the 
employment of ball bearings on their 
machines. 

Aside from the improved methods 
of machining and heat treatment of 
the steel in ball bearings, perhaps the 
greatest advance toward perfect serv- 
ice has been the provision within the 
bearing itself for complete and auto- 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



555 



tnatic adjustmen,t to shaft deflection. 
The sectional illustrations show the 
construction in which such self-align- 
ment has been accomplished. 




Fig. 1. Normal and Deflected Posi- 
tion of a Ball Bearing, Illustrative 
of the Action in Conforming to 
Shaft Spring. 

The bearing illustrated has two 
grooves on the inner race, each 
ground to a radius slightly larger 



tion of deflection without binding the 
balls or races, and without introduc- 
ing any obstacles to immediate and 
automatic compensation for shaft 
spring or deflection. Ihis adjustment 
involves a pure rolling motion with- 
out sliding friction, and is facilitated 
by the distribution of the load over 
a large number of balls. As the load 
is automatically and equally divided 
between both rows of balls, the most 
favorable working conditions are at- 
tained. 

Belt-driven machines offer some un- 
certain conditions of bearing load, due 
to belt tension adjustment, overloads 
on motors or the working of poor 
stock' in the machine. Gear-driven 
machines, or chain-driven machines, 
are also subject to such vibrations and 
variations on account of the gear back 
lash, slight inaccuracies in machining, 
or conditions of shock which may 
come from 

FREQUENT REVERSALS 
of power on the machine. 

Due allowance for practically any 
condition of speed or load can readily 
be made, and- the experience which 



-^RDLL DR IVING PULLEY: 



^ ■ ■ "••• " 



NAPPER RDLL 



>////////////////////////////////. 




Fig. 2. Ball Bearing on Napping Machinery. 



than the radius of the balls, while the 
outer ball race is ground on the arc 
of a circle, whose centre is the centre 
of the bearing. 

The balls, retainer, and inner race 
are -free at all times to 

ROTATE AT ANY ANGLE 
within the spherical outer race, and 
will adjust themseilves to any posi- 



has been had on ball bearing applica- 
tions has shown that they are fully 
capable of overcoming such difficul- 
ties where plain bearings have failed 
to stand up under adverse operating 
conditions. 

In the matter of 

LIiBRICATION, 
it Piaj b^ pointed out that ball bear- 



556 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



ngis require but very little attention, 
ordinarily lubricant need be replaced 
not more than three or four times 
a year, and the frequency of inspec- 
tion will be indicated by working con- 
di lions. The lubricant should contain 
neither acid nor alkali, inasmuch as a 
neutral lubricant is essential for the 
proper protection of the highly pol- 
ished bearing surfaces- against cor- 
rosion. For high speeds it is cus- 
tomary to use a good grade of light 
mineral oil, but for speeds less than 
1,000 revolutions per minute, mineral 
grease or vaseline may be effectually 
employed instead of oil. 

Figure 2 illustrates an application 
of a ball bearing, which ha's met 
with marked success in the worker 
roils of napping machines. The inner 
races of the bearings are securely 
locked against the shoulder of a sta- 



ings, approximately 100 inches, are 
subject to a certain '"whip" or "throw" 
which can only properly be compen- 
sated for by the use of a self-aligning 
bearing. Thirty-six rolls on the per- 
iphery of the cylinder require tight 
belts, accurate machinery, and bear- 
ings of high capacity. The mountings 
here have effected cleaner produc- 
tion of goods, with 

REDUCED OPERATING COSTS, 
and have also shown a decided in- 
crease in running efficiency over plain 
bearing machines — the power saving 
on the worker rolls alone amounting 
to from 40 to 45 per cent on the total 
driving horse power of the machine. 

Figure 3 shows types of mountings 
which are applicable to countershafts 
or loose pulleys, the latter plainly 
illustrating the simple method which 




bz^S 



'^ZZZZ 



Fig. 3. Mounting of Radial Bearings on Loose Pulley Coujitershaft Illus- 
trating the Feasibility of Using Ball Bearing Mountings Where 
Shaft Sizes Cannot Readily be Altered. 



tionary stud, on the periphery of the 
worker roll cylinder, the outer races 
having a sucking fit within the rolls. 
By plugging the inner section of the 
roll, as shown, and providing a dust- 
proof casing over the stud adjacent 
to the stud cap, a large lubricating 
chamber is provided for, with the 
lubricant feed direct through the stud. 
These rolls operate at a speed of 
1,500 revolutions per minute, and in 
view of their len'^tb between bear- 



can be employed to overcome "run- 
ning light" charges; that is, power 
bills incident to running loose pulleys 
when poAver machines are shut down. 

The running friction of ball bear- 
ings, as compared with cast iron or 
babbit bearings, can be taken very 
conservatively in the ratio of 1 to 7. 

It may be argued that the power 
saving on one loose pulley is a mat- 
ter of little consequence to the pro- 
ducer, but the cumulative saving 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



557 



in thie use of ball bearing mountings 
brings about a decided reduction in 
the shop power bill. They give much 
greater durability and longer life over 
the plain type of either iron or anti- 
friction mietal. Loose pulleys or 
countershafts mounted on ball bear- 
ings minimize repairs and losses due 
to shut downs from hot journals and 
assure the most economical employ- 
ment of power which would otherwise 
be entirely wasted. No. 227. 



CCXXVIII. SCOTCH WARP MILL. 

The warp mill has a traveling head 
which contains a reed which swings 
on a centre to control the width of 
the section as it runs on to the reel. 
Sometimes a raddle is used instead of 
a reed on this head, and next to the 
reel is a roll, over which the section 
passes as the reel runs downward. 
This head, when the reel is running, 
is moved by a screw which gives a 
taper to the build of the section. 

The purpose for which this taper of 
the section is effected is to prevent 
the sections from falling over as they 
are built upon the reel. There is an 
arrangement or device on the reel bars 
to provide a taper upon which the 
first section of the warp may rest as 
it builds up to the length wanted, the 
second section building up on the 
taper of the first section, and so on as 
each section, is run on. This 
TAPERING DEVICE 
is sometimes arranged to be 
controlled from a central point, the 
control affecting all the reel bars col- 
lectively. Sometimes it is applied to 
each bar separately, and the adjust- 
ments also made separate, but in either 
case no readjustment is necessary as 
long as the warps dressed contain the 
same weight of yarn to the inch. The 
same taper is suitable to all lengths of 
warp run on to the reel of the same 
weight of warp to the inch. 

Tbe distinguishing feature of this 
machine in comparison with the ma- 
chines used in this country is that each 
thread comes from a separate spool 
and all have the same tension, which 
prevents slack and tight threads. In 
this country we put our yarn on to a 



jack spool 40 to 60 threads to its width. 
This method is fruitful of tight and 
slack threads to an extreme degree, 
and would not have been adopted in 
this country only becausje of the lower 
cost. It will have to be discarded if 
the manufacturer wishes to make a 
fabric as good as his foreign compet- 
itor. 

The reel is some eight yards in cir- 
f,umference, whereas we dress with a 
four-yard reel. A section built on a 
four-yard reel would be nearly twice 
as high as a section built on the reel 
of a Scotch warper, and this eliminates 
or at least modifies the probability of 
high and low sections, as far as dry 
work is concerned. Pin marks are un- 
known in warps made on a mill, as in 
the operation of the section head re- 
ferred to above there is no need for 
pins. In dressing fancy warps there 
is the greatest convenience provided, 
as, for instance, a large pattern could 
be dressed from a small number of 
bobbins by repeating a group in a sec- 
tion by inverting and reversing the 
sections. There are many such fea- 
tures that could be mentioned that 
contribute to almost perfect warps. 

The item under the heading of 
HAND DOUBLIiNG 
refers to a method of handling gassed 
warps. The doubling was done from 
section beams, sometimes two and 
sometimes three beams in a set, but 
this was only an expediency and would 
not have been resorted to if conditions 
had been normal. These gassed warps 
were expected to be dressed in a dry 
slasner, but the excess of twist in the 
yarn made ir impossible. The long 
reach in the slasher permitted the 
yarns to tangle up. In the dressing 
frames the section beams could be put 
up very close to the loom beam and 
prevent all rolling or tangling of yams. 
The extra expense in dressing these 
warps, as stated, was at least three 
times greater than if slashed. 

Doubling was resorted to frequently 
when dressing fine grades of work. 
There was a rule in the dressing room 
that all warp dressed from fine num- 
bers for special qualities should be 
dressed from forr pairs of roads oi 



558 



COTTON MIDL MANAjGBMENT 



dressed to the half warp on separate 
beams and doubled in re-beaming. 
This was resorted to, to thoroughly 
equalize the tension of each thread in 
the warp. It was the intention of the 
overseer to cut this rule out after the 
stock warps on hand had been worked 
up, as the warps made in his own de- 
partment met all requirements without 
the extra treatment above mentioned. 
The heading, 

RUNNING IN OVERLINES, 

refers to a condition which would 
sometimes come up when special over- 
line had to be dressed in. Heading, 
Dressing Overlines, refers to dressing 



suits were wanted in a particular 
quality and a special examination 
would be made to have all imperfect 
yarns taken out. Most worsted yams 
were examined on examining frames, 
but when hard pushed the hand dress- 
er would do some examining from 
loom beam to loom beam. 

The heading, Long Chain Beaming, 
referred to the beaming of colored 
bleached and mercerized chain warps 
onto section beams to be slashed. 
There is also a list of general room 
help which should bear a relative value 
in wages to the production of the de- 
partment. Labor charges for prepar- 
ing samples for looms are also record- 




Fig. 92. Scotch Warp Mill. 



overlines on a roller or separate beam 
to be used separate in the loom. 
Heading, Redressing, refers to warps 
re-dressed which in their first dressing 
were not satisfactory, or when a warp 
of one quality was changed to anoth- 
er, yarn being added or taken out, 
or where a warp of one quality was 
changed to another and was wanted 
on a beam of a different width. 

The heading, Examining, refers to 
a time when exceptional re- 



ed, followed by a list of claims made 
for bad work and grand total for the 
hand dressing department. No. 228. 



CCXXIX. AMOUNTS EARNED. 

The following tabulated list of the 
earnings of hand dressers covering a 
consecutive period of six weeks was 
taken from the pay roll to illustrate 
each man's value on the list. 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



&59 



J.H 17.13 58 17.48 58 16.78 

J.T 16.00 58 12.90 58 15.97 

W.H 16.32 m/z 10.99 39% 3.72 

E.T 15.76 58 18.03 58 18.81 

T.T 14.37 58. 13.70 58 13.59 

P.T 15.08 58 21.78 58 18.64 

T.L 16.44 58 19.30 58 14.35 

T.C 17.31 58 15.33 53 15.15 

W.S 14.32 58 13.50 58 15.78 

A.S 18.28 58 15.24 58 15.15 

J.S 12.40 58 12.11 58 12.49 

F.K 16.13 58 15.94 58 9.50 

T.T 16.31 58 11.70 58 13.50 

'.S 17.57 58 15.36 58 16.06 

I.K 14.01 58 17.15 58 14.59 

J.M. 17.08 58 16.02 58 15.11 

C.R 9.21 58 13.54 58 13.03 

J.R 13.61 58 15.19 58 16.70 

J.T 16.79 58 16.61 58 13.24 

J.R 15.30 58 16.91 58 16.76 

L,.N 13.41 58 14.02 58 13.18 

F.K 13.70 58 15.31 58 15.29 

KM 13.92 58 6.82 32 12.54 

E.T 18.79 58 13.81 52'^ 

J.B 19.70 58 17.01 58 15.73 

H.R 13.69 58 15.84 58 13.85 

From this list a fair idea was ob- 
tained of the comparative efficiency 
of men in general. A summary of this 
is as follows: 

Per 

hour. 

2 men 5-21 

1 man 23 

4 men 24 

2 men 25 

2 men 26 

5 men 27 

3 men 28 

5 men 29 

1 man 30 

1 man 32 

The above indicates what may be 
expected of the average help paid by 
the piece. 

The difference between the lowest 
and highest earnings is 52 per cent. 
The average of the above is 261 cents 
per hour, the percentage of difference 
between the lowest and the average is 
about 21 per cent, and the difference 
between the average and the highest 
is 26 per cent. 

This tabulated list covers all sorts 
and kinds of goods hand dressed, dur- 
ing the six weeks mentioned. Shortly 
after the new man took hold, he 
wished to obtain data as to the rela- 
tive value of each man on dressing the 
same qualities. He, therefore, in- 
structed the second hand to observe 
closely the period of time each man 
took to dress each warp, and make 
record on dresser's book, and also 
make a report from day to day. The 
following is a tabulated list of data 
obtained, maximum time, minimum 
time, and average time taken to dress 
each quality, maximum, minimum and 



58 15.69 52% 12.27 65% 18.33 65% 27c. 

58 14.11 651/2 19.26 65% 16.29 63 26c. 

14% 17.11 65% 21.68 65% 9.28 36% 29c. 

58 20.08 65% 17.88 65% 14.51 50 30c. 

58 15.90 65% 17.20 65% 14.36 65% 29c. 

58 19.29 65% 24.06 65% 19.47 65% 32c. 

58 19.39 65% 13.74 52% 12.89 52% 28c. 

58 16.53 65% 17.44 65% 16.07 65% 27c. 

58 13.93 651/2 14.14 65% 14.73 65% 23c. 

58 16.12 65% 18.27 65% 16.74 65% 27c. 

58 17.40 65% 18.06 65% 15.18 60% 24c. 

58 15.74 65% 16.52 65% 13.95 65% 24c. 

58 13.03 63 16.16 63 17.58 65% 24c. 

58 17.44 65% 19.79 65% 18.45 65% 28c. 

58 17.14 65% 14.48 65% 17.36 65% 26c. 

58 16.42 65% 17.94 65% 15.99 65% 27c. 

58 15.07 65% 11.37 65% 15.48 65% 21c. 

58 33.99 65% 15.21 65% 13.63 63 24c. 

58 15.56 65% 18.23 65% 20.94 65% 27c. 

58 16.79 65% 20.24 65% 17.27 47% 29c. 

58 16.65 65% 18.98 65% 17.50 65% 25c. 

58 14.48 65% 17.74 65% 17.47 65% 25c 

68 12.19 65% 14.08 65% 9.87 47 21c. 

16 SO 58 29c 

58 19.21 65% 21.62 65% 15^24 63 290! 

58 19.61 65% 19.10 65% 20.01 65% 28c. 

average time computed on a rate of 
2f cents per hour, price paid for day 
work. By taking the first item, the 
price for dressing, $3.40 divided by 
eight hours equals $.425, the sum 
earned by the operator. If paid by the 
hour, the operator would have re- 
ceived 25c. X 8 equals $2. 

This table was of much value In 
dealing with a certain class of inef- 
ficient help who, when they got a poor 
job during the week, would play for an 
allowance; that is, they would hang 
back in all their work during that 
week. It had been the practice in for- 
mer times to allow a man the differ- 
ence that he was short of his rating, 
but with this table, if a man insisted 
on a claim, his work for the week 
would be looked over, and if he evi- 
dently had an opportunity to make 
pay, no allowance would be made. 

On the call for the data from whicn 
the above table was made, a general 

PEELING OF DISTRUb r 

of the purpose of the new 
overseer was manifested, , and 
the men thinking this was preparatory 
to a cut-down, got together, and agreed 
to what is called a stint. This meant 
that no man was at liberty to put in 
another warp on any week after he 
had made so much money. This mis- 
taken view on the part of the men was 
fruitful of a great deal of trouble 
among themselves. As an illustration 
in a stint of, say, $13, if a man had 
$12.99 made, he could put anothe? warp 



560 



COTTON MELL MANAGEMENT 



in and bring his pay up to about $16, 
tut the man who had made $13 was 

Maxi- 

60 yds. mum 

Qual. Cuts. Price. time. 

4129 20 $3.40 13.40 

4141 20 2.88 11.35 

4135 20 2.49 lO.OO 

3618 12 3.03 12.15 

3769 ....20 3.49 

4109 20 3.54 12.30 

3763 20 2.69 8.35 

4101 20 3.4G 

4142 20 3.36 10.45 

4151 14% 2.24 8.20 

G063 10 1.51 5.60 

4130 20 3.43 9.30 

4138 . ...20 3.62 11.00 

debarred from earning more. It ulti- 
mately became evident that there were 
far more disadvantages in the stint 
than advantages, and it became in- 
operative, as indicated in the above 
table of average earnings. No. 229. 



department from an administra- 
tion by suiferance to a well- 

25c. ratiiiK per hour. 



Minimum Average 



time. 

s.oo 

5.15 
7.15 
11.20 

10.10 

5.45 

5.45 
7.30 
3.30 
9.10 
9.15 



time. 
11.1 
9.20 
S.l 
11.6 
10.45 
11.10 
6.74 
8.45 
8.48 
7.75 
4.5 
9.7 
10.7 



Maxi- 
mum. 
3.32 
2.84 
2.52 
3.04 

3.08 
2.09 

2.61 
2.05 
1.40 
2.32 
2.80 



Mini- 
mum. 
2.00 
1.29 
1.79 
2.80 

2.52 
1.36 

1.36 
1.82 
.82 
2.28 
2.29 



a?e. 
2.77 
2. .SO 
2.02 
2.91 
2.61 
2.77 
1.68 
2.11 
2.12 
1.94 
1.12 
2.42 
2.67 



organized department. At this point, 
we find the new overseer saying that 
it would not cause any inconvenience 
to him if the department was increased 
to twice its size. The data obtainei 
through this organization made mani- 




Fig. 93. Re-Dressing. 



CCXXX IMPROVEiVIENTS EFFECTED 

Since the opening of "CCVIII, 
Importance of System", previ- 
ously published, we have de- 
scribed the developments qi ft 



fest all features of weakness in the 
department, and when a new idea to 
improve matters was being tried out 
the results were made apparent in the 
report in a way that could not be mis- 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



561 



understood, either for or against the 
experiment. 

In this mill, there frequently oc- 
curred radical changes in the fabrics 
made. Sometimes, it was what was 
called a slasher's season, and some- 
times a hand dresser's season. These 
radical changes had to be met as they 
came up. The treatment of these con- 
ditions may be illustrated by the 
change that took place when the de- 
mand for hand dressed work was 
greatly in excess of all previous ex 
perience in this mill, and a correspond- 
ing reduction of call for slashed warps. 

Expediency compelled the consider- 
ation of slashing of hand dressed 
warps. The difficulties to be met in 
slashing the many qualities were va- 
rious; most of the lone black warps 
were very thin sheets, and the slasher 
under ordinary conditions could not 
produce the best of level webs. The 
warp threads in these warps occupied 
one-fourth the space of that provided 
in the width of the web, and tho 
threads would run on to the beam 
bunched in groups of several threads 
forming ridges on the loom beam. 
SLASHING THIN SHEETS 

To obviate this condition a vibration 
cf the top roll of one-quarter of an 
inch was effected by putting a cam 
pulley on the delivery roll, a groove 
being cut in its face, describing a wave 
variation of a quarter of an inch, and 
a disk wheel being fastened on the top 
roll resting in this groove of the cam 
pulley, every revolution of delivery 
roll would cause top roll to move back- 
■v\ard and forward once. 

Each single motion changes the 
position of the threads of the 
warp as they run onto the 
loom beam one-eighth of an 
inch, this change taking gradual ef- 
fect during the running of about 
eight inches of warp. By means of 
this arrangement, these sheets were 
slashed, and the webs on the loom 
beams were superior to hand dressed 
warps. This idea of the new man's 
simplified his problem very much. 

ANOTHER INNOVATION 
he introduced, and which gave the 



balance of relief needed, was the rc- 
arrangment of the slashers to handle 
bleach and black warps, for black ard 
white goods. 

As these goods were filled with a 
bleach wool and a cotton black, it was 
essential that the white in the warp 
should retain its clearness of bleach. 
To retain this pure white, it v/as fuund 
impossible to size the bleach in the 
same vat as the black. To meet this 
condition, there were two size vats 
used. 

As has been mentioned before, the 
drying arrangements in these slashers 
were hot air chambers, and by car 
rying the bleach yarns through the 
aize of the nearest vat, and to the top 
loll of the drying chambers and the 
black yarns under the nearest vat and 
through the size of the second vat, 
and entering the drying chamber ai 
the second roll, each chain of black 
and bleach coming together on the 
second front roll, each having run sep- 
arate one length in the hot air cham- 
ber and setting the size. The change 
n^ade in the slashers was very small, 
consisting in a roll put under the near- 
est size box to carry black chain clear 
of the size box, under which it ran, 
and a re-arrangement of some of the 
carrying rolls. 

The warps for small checks were 
run through the raddle in the usual 
v/ay, and the colors separated when 
the loom beam was taken off and lease 
picked by girls, but the bigger pat- 
terns which were called for had to 
be picked-in in the raddle to get a free 
shed in the loom. As tnere were large 
orders on both of the above grades of 
goods, the hand dressers were free 
to handle the fancy grades, and the 
department was made to balance the 
hand dressing season. 

There are no appliances in use in 
the dressing room that have such far- 
reaching effect in the making of 
warps for the loom as 

THE EXPANSION RADDI E, 
comb or reed. These appli- 
ances are generally all made on a 
same common principle. The dividing 
wires are held in position by two sets 



562 



COTTON MILfL MANAGEMENT 



of double springs, one wire between 
single coils of eacb double coil. By 
stretching the springs, these wires are 
spread apart, the threads between the 
wires being distributed over a larger 
surface, supposedly equidistant from 
each other. 

The operator when winding out the 
raddle on warper should aid each wira 
into its correct place by running first 
finger and thumb along the front and 
back of wires from the centre to the 
sides. This is very important, as in 
raddling out, the wires nearest the 
side raddled from will spread out more 
than from the other side. If this Is 
not attended to, the beam will not bo 
level, and when in the slasher, the 
yarns will run off tight and slack, and 
cause bad work for the weaver. 

The tight threads will probably 
break of themselves ; the slack threads 
will tangle up in the slasher, and if 
they do not make a smash, they will 
at least cross up the warp for the 
loom. In addition to this, the cloth wo- 
ven from these warps will be relative 
ly bad. The same may be said of slash- 
er raddles, but not to such a great ex- 
tent, as the springs in these raddles 
are much stronger, and consequently, 
more accurate in distributing the wires 
of the raddle. No. 230. 



CCXXXI. SELVAGE SPOOLS. 

In this mill, there were a large va- 
riety of fabrics made that required a 
selvage of a different take-up than of 
the ground or warp. This made it nec- 
essary that the selvage for these 
warps be put on separate rollers or 
spools. 

The winding of these spools had 
been done on a frame of very 

CRUDE CONSTRUCTION. 
The front part of an ordi- 
nary hand dressing frame was used 
for the drive. A shaft containing some 
five or six narrow drums extending 
the width of the dressing frame, was 
fastened in the socket of the driving 
shaft. On these drums, the selvage 
spool was placed and supported in po- 
sition by a spindle attached to a lev- 
er. This lever being fastened to a 
cross-brace on the frame, the threads 



Vfere spaced by a raddle placed ai 
the back of the fiame, and at the rear 
of which a stand was placed, arranged 
to take spools. To the above lever, a 
weight was hung, when a thread 
broke, the big weight had to be taken 
off to secure the end to tie up. 

One raddle had to do service for 
selvages of various numbers of 
threads, and the t^pacing was in mo-ot 
C' ses very uneven, making high and 
low places. The winding was, on that 
account, very unsatisfactory, am The 
operator would endeavor to level his 
spools by guiding the yarns to the low 
places in his spool with his hand. Low 
places would sometimes be caused by 
the weight which hung on one side of 
the spool, and caused the latter to 
be lopsided. It may easily be conjec- 
tured by the above the condition 
selvage spools were in when sent to 
the weave room. 

These selvage spools were a source 
of a great deal of trouble and annoy- 
ance, as thej"^ involved the question of 
who should be responsible for the mak- 
ing of them, the old overseer con- 
tending that the weaver should pre- 
pare his own selvage spools. 

THIS ATTITUDE 
of the dresser prevented any 
improvement being effected. With 
the advent of the new man, this mat- 
ter was gone into fully, and although 
it took a long time, he devised a wind- 
er that met all conditions to the high- 
est point. 

The frame of an ordinary jack spool 
er was used; the drum rolls and al> 
cross bracings were removed, and thi* 
two outer frames were braced togeth- 
er, 12 inches apart. Rolls, Figure 94, 
v;ere made to suit this width, and a 
drum, 12 inches in diameter, and a 35- 
inch face width, also shaft of drum to 
width of machine, with inside collars 
en shaft to keep drum centred. A split 
back roller guide was made, and cun 
'•'2 spaces to eight inches. This guide 
was 14 inches long, and had a slot at 
one end, two inches long, in which 
a thumb screw was put to hold the 
guide in position. This slot enabled the 
operator to change the position of the 
threads on the roller, and prevent the 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMEJNT 



563 



rollers becoming ridgy through too 
much wear on any one point. 

The spacing of the yarn, as it ran 
on to the spool, was done by a special 
device; there was no room for the 
traverse of guide, nor was a traverse 
needed, as the yarn run on was very 
compact, but it was important that 
expansion and contraction of the spac- 
ing should be effected, so that the 
same guide could be used to make 
all selvage spools calling for various 



On the above mentioned bar, a met- 
al strip, C, was fastened at its centre, 
with a bolt passing through the bar, 
and engaged with a thumb nut, D. 
This metal strip was eight inches long, 
and had 33 pins, E, IJ inches long, 
spaced one-quarter of an inch. This 
strip could be adjusted at any angle, 
and could group threads in a uniform 
spacing of from eight to 32 
threads in the spool width of four 
inches. 





FRICTION ROLLS 



Fig. 94. Drum and Rollers. 



numbers of -threads to the same width, 
and that the guide should be 

SUSCEPTIBLE TO ADJUSTMENT, 
latterly, both these requirements were 
met. 

The device. Figure 95, consisted of 
a square inch bar, B, about 12 inches 
in length, one end fitting in a square 
inch hole in the frame, A, of the ma- 
chine. At the opposite side, this bar 
v/as engaged by a screw, F, this 
screw passing through the frame. A, 
of the I machine, and having a collar 
on the inside, and a head, H, on the 
outside, by which the operator could 
make all necessary lateral adjust- 
ments. This was necessary, as a large 
play was required by the spools in 
winding because of their large heads, 
which frequently became more or less 
warped, thus changing their centre. 



At each end of the top roll was 
fastened to the roller spindle grooved 
pulleys smaller in diameter than the 
roller body. Around these pulleys, a 
friction rope or string was put to reg- 
ulate the tension of the yarn. At the 
back of the frame was placed a stant^ 
to hold spools from which the yam 
was taken as it was wound on the 
tielvage spool. This stand or creel was 
of the type used in worsted jack spool- 
ing, and had a light wooden lever 
resting on each spool to prevent the 
spool running too free. A clock could 
be used, if desired, and measurements 
made to the exact length wanted. This 
was done, but it was found to be of 

NO PARTICULAR ADVANTAGE, 
and it required a higher efficiency on 
the part of the operator and more un- 
necessary care in running the ma- 
chine. 



564 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



With this machine, an excellent sel- 
vage spool was made, and the facili- 
ties that it provided the operator se- 
cured a production equal to all the 
needs of the weave room. With the 
original machine, it was frequently 
found necessary to put on extra help 



by two rows of rolls of five bars on 
the top, and four bars on the bottom 
row. (See Figure 97.) These bottom 
bars are all fastened in the frame, all 
but the first of the top bars resting in 
square seats, and are used to 
regulate the tension on the 



^ 






^LJ 



Fig. 95. Thread Guide. 



to get out sufficient selvage spools, to 
lieep the looms going, and this, at a 
time when there were fewer looms on 
qualities taliing a separate selvage 
spool. 

Figure 96 is a sketch of a selvage 
spoo) This spool, containing yarn, 
was hung on the loom in such a po- 
sition to work free on a spindle, and 
allow the yarn to pass to the roll from 
which it passed into the harness. The 
tension of the yarn was regulated with 
weighted strings placed in the groove 
A of spool head. If practical, the yarn 
was made to run around the warp 
beam, but this eliminated separate ten- 
sion control. No. 231. 



chain. The first top roll. A, 
is fastened, and around it the chain 



V- 



CCXXXII. FRICTION RACK. 

With the purpose of obtaining exact 
data, a series of tests were made to 
ascertain the relative value of the 
frictions obtainable in a dressing 
frame. Friction is created by cross 
bars in the friction rack overhead, 
and the cross bars on the back frame. 
The chain passes first into the friction 
rack, and then to the back rack, and, 
if needed, the chain will be brought to 
the front frame again, and passed 
around a roll, and then to the back 
frame, where the different parts may 
be distributed over the various bars. 
The friction of the rack is obtained 



Fig. 97. Friction Rack 

first passes as it leaves the floor, and 
then under B, and it may pass to bar 
H, and be carried to and over Bar I, 



COTTON MILL, MANAGEMENT 



565 



to the back stand, or it may be car 
ried to K, and then to back stand top 
bar, bringing the chain to the front, 
and passing it around Bar J and 
again to the back. The latter arrange 
ment is called a double reach. 

In either case, the friction rack may 
be manipulated to increase the tension 
on the warp by carrying it up and 
around C, E or G bars, and by test, it 



Full rack and double reach .48 pounds. 

3 bars and double reach ..36 pounds. 

Z bars and double reach 30 pounds. 

1 bar and double reach 27 pounds. 

Full rack or double reach ...24 pouri'ds. 

3 bars single reach ..12 pounds. 

2 bars sing-le reach 6 pounds. 

1 bar .single reach 3 ■pounds. 

1% pounds. 

Without doubt, the same results 
may be obtained in exactly the same 
conditions, but there are so many fac- 
tors to be considered that will affect 





Fig. 96. Selvage Spool. 



was proven that a warp in a double 
reach, running clear in friction box, 
had the same tension as a warp on a 
single reach, with a full rack, that is, 
the warp passes around all the bars 
in the rack; 

The test referred to was made with 
a gray warp of 1-30 carded, 835 ends, 
which was not only put through the 
friction bars mentioned, but "was car- 
ried to and around the bottom bar on 
•he back atand, and again, to the front 
and over a light roller at that p'^int, 
weighted to offset the friction resis- 
tance with the following results. 

With a full rack, or with a double 
reach alone, it took 24 pounds to start 
the chain moving. By taking out any 
one of the top rolls, 12 pounds would 
start the chain, by taking out any two 
rolls, six pounds would start it, any 
three bars, three pounds and all four, 
one and one-half pounds. By manipu- 
lation of friction, the following may be 
obtained : 



results, for instance yarn in the i^rey, 
bleached, black or colored will bite 
the bars differently, and variations will 
be found in the amount of size on 
warps, which will also change tne 
results, but the value of these tests 
consists in showing the relative value 
of each arrangement of friction batrs, 
and enable the dresser to make his 
adjustments intelligently. No. 232, 



CCXXXIII. FILLING WINDERS. 

The quiller referred to in a pre- 
vious section of these articles are 
sometimes known as filling winders. 
They are adopted to run from skeins, 
as well as from bobbins, and have a 
variable wind, which is affected by 
two eliptical gears. (See Figure 98.) 
This variable wind is essential when 
winding from skein, and is important 
when winding from spools. 

By way of explanation, it may be 
said that as the bobbins have a taper- 
ing head upon which the wind is 



566 



COTTON MILL MANAGEOVtENT 



made as the guide travels from back 
to front, the take-up of the yarn by 
the bobbin would correspond to the 
diameter of the bobbin at the point 
on which it was winding, and the 
take-up would vary proportionately, 
and as the guide performed its travel, 
there would be about six times more 
yarn wanted at the head of the bob- 
bin than at the bottom of the taper. 
By the use of eliptical gears, an 
arrangement is effected whereby, as 



suitable tension on the yarn as it 
was wound. 

This method of contracting the ten- 
sion has some very good points. The 
usual method to develop tension in 
winding is to cause the thread to 
run around a series of cross rods or 
wires, themselves causing a restrain- 
ing friction on the yarn as it is 
wound, and when correctly done, the 
tension will give good results in pro- 
ducing evenly wound bobbins, but 




Fig. 98. Skein Winder. 



the guide passes from the head of the 
bobbin to the bottom of the taper, 
the spindle increases its speed, and 
as it recedes back, decreases its speed 
and a consequent uniform take-up of 
the yarn from either skein or spool. 
This simple arrangement has made 
it possible to wind on filling bobbins, 
and most tender yarn, which would 
otherwise be impossible. 

TENSION OF YARN 
is governed by an angle iron 
swinging on a pivot pin at 
about its centre, the outer curved 
end resting on the spool, the rear 
end being weighted by a slid weight 
and placed at a point where it would 
give the desired friction to effect a 



when yarn is rubbed much, it becomes 
shiny; particularly is this so with 
worsted yarn. This is very undesirable 
and objectionable, and is to be avoid- 
ed as much as possible. 

In the Altemus winder, the yarns 
run free from the spool to the bobbin, 
with but a little friction from the lev- 
fcr mentioned above, not on all sides 
of the thread, as with the cross rods, 
but only at one point of the spool. 

On the cross beam on the top of 
the machine is a row of spindles to 
hold the twister bobbins, from which 
the filling is wound. Each of these 
spindles rest in a casting free to ro- 
tate. Friction may be obtained by 
banding the base of each spindle to 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



567 



the extent desired. Figure 99 shows 
the same machine as Figure 98, rigged 
up for skein winding. The barrel sys- 
tem is used to hold the skein. This 
is preferred by a large nuntber of 



taut as it unwinds. By the lever ar- 
rangement, it is very easy to put on 
a skein, putting first on top barrel, 
and by raising the bottom barrel the 
skein slips on very easily. No. 233. 




people as being more convenient than 
the swift system, as the latter re- 
quired continual adjustment. 

The top barrel is a fixture; the 
bottom parrel is fastened on the end 
of a lever with a weight adjustment 
which automatically keeps the skein 



CCXXXIV. 



MEASURING 
SLASHER. 



ON 



It seems strange that manufactur- 
ers should be content with the meas- 
uring attachments, which are found 
on slashers in general. Whatever the 
arrangement of gearing, the constant 



568 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



in use will not give length to the 
net yards, but will invariably give 
5ards, and an inconvenient decimal 
fraction. Try, for example, the con 
stant 2,000 which is in common use 
to be divided by either yards wanted 
or gear, say a 31-gear: 2,000 divided 
by 30 equals 66.66 yards, or 2,000 
divided by 31 equals 64.51. 



of each warp, as the weaving pro- 
ceeds. 

It is recognized as 

AN IMPORTANT FEATURE 
in the weaving of cloth that 
the tension of the warp yarns be at 
all times the same, not only through 
the weaving of a warp on one beam 
in the same loom, but also the same 
tension in all warps of the same 




Fig. 100. Elevation. 



The difficulties to be met in a 
fancy mill, where it is found expe- 
dient and necessary to put warps on 
more than one beam, to obtain ac- 
curate relative length under this con- 
dition may be easily conjectured. In 
the case of two-beam work, after the 
warp beams that have the cut marks 
are slashed, the second beams may 
be slashed to the aggregate propor- 
tionate length, the gearing arranged 
accordingly. This entails a good deal 
of figuring, and exceptional care on 
the part of the slasherman, and it 
prevents a very essential provision — 
a provision which enables the weav- 
er to regulate the tension of each 
beam, that is, by having cut marks 
en each beam of relative length, which 
provides an indicator of the take-up 



goods. Yet, there is a marked difEer- 
ence in the way weavers, when left 
to themselves, will regulate the ten- 
sion of their warp. Some will want 
their warp easy in tension, and others 
will want their warp as tight as a 
drum's head. This disposition will 
continually manifest itself with all 
weavers. 

To weave a warp with an easy 
tension will cause the warp to bend 
over the filling and produce cloth 
that is not balanced, the warp being 
too prominent. The reverse would be 
the effect if the warp was woven in 
loo tight. These points may seem too 
nice to receive consideration from 
some men, but it is just such nice 
points that determine the distinguish- 
ing difference between the product 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



569 



of the efficient workman, and that 
of the inefficient workman. 

This reference to warp tension in 
weaving is done to emphasize the im- 
portance of 

EXACT MEASUREMENTS, 
and the necessity of having correspond- 
ing marks on each warp where there 
is more than one warp used in the 
weaving of the cloth, but this is not 
all nor the only reasons why cuts 
should be made of any desired length, 
but the simplification of all features in 
the making of cloth calls for a more 
easily calculated measurement and a 



render the action of the mechanism 
clear. Figure 100 is an end view ol 
the arrangement; Figure 101, a plan 
of the same; Figure 102, an eleva- 
tion of the reversing gear, color bowl 
and box; Figure 103, a plan of same, 
and Figure 104, elevation of improved 
marking bowls. 

The first motor in this arrangement 
is the ordinary measuring roller. A, 
Figure 101, 14.4 inches circumference, 
in use in nearly every "slasher" siz- 
ing machine. This rollor at the off- 
side of the machine carries a spur 
wheel of 36 teeth, gearing with a spur 




Fig. 101. Plan. 



gearing to provide cut lengths to any 
measurement desired, without any ab- 
truse decimal fractions to deal with 
but to the inch. No. 234. 



CCXXXV. ADJUSTABLE MEASUR- 
ING INDICATOR. 

At this point we will describe a 
slasher adjustable measuring indicat- 
or, which met all of the above re- 
quirements, and was used in the de- 
partment on one slasher, while the 
other slashers were all equipped with 
the usual cloth system of gears. This 
adjustable measuring indicator was 
CO constructed that by making an ad- 
justment, any length could be meas- 
ured to the cut or warp without 
changing gears. 

The following figures — elevations, 
sections and plans — will help mate- 



wheel, B, of 35 teeth upon the first 
rially to elucidate the details, and 
of two "sheeting" rollers, which wheel 
gears into another of the same size 
upon the sheeting roller. The use of 
these rollers is 

TO PRESS THE THREADS 
of the warp into an even sheet as 
their pass upon the beam. 

These sheeting rollers upon their 
opposite ends carry the spur wheels 
C and CI, each containing 30 teeth, 
which alternately enter into the gear 
with a small pinion or reversing 
wheel D, containing 15 teeth, upon a 
small shaft or arbre, the opposite 
end of which carries a small driver 
E, of seven teeth, which gears into 
and drives the dial-plate wheel, F, 
containing 100 teeth. This short shaft 
or arbre and its two wheels are cast 



570 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMEiNT 



in one piece. The dial-plate, 
Figure 100, tlie periphery of 
which forms the spur wheel 
F, is marked and figured in two cir- 
cles. The divisions of the outer ot 
these circles are smaller in value than 
those of the inner one, being 100 in 
number, in sections of five, and rep- 
resenting one inch for each division. 
This outer circle is read by the po- 
fcition of the figures as they stand in 
opposition to the dial-plate driving 
wheel E. The inner circle is numbered 
up to 36, and its figures in succession 
represent 100 inches. Thus, when the 
pointer registers 36 on the inner cir- 
cle, it shows that 3,600 inches (equals 




Fig. 102. Elevation. 

100 yards) have passed upon the 
beam. 

We come now to what may be 
termed the second portion of the 
mechanism, the functions of which 
are to operate 

THE DIAL-PLATE POINTER, 
and alternate the direction of the 
revolution of the dial-plate. The short 
shaft, carrying the wheels D and B, 
runs in a bush afiixed to the top of the 
angle lever G, an enlargement of 
these parts being shown in Figure 102. 
The opposite end of this single lever 
forms an open fork, in which the 
cam H intermittently revolves. Be- 
hind the index-plate wheel are a num- 
ber of additional wheels, not yet de- 
scribed. 

The dial-plate wheel F is keyed up- 
on the boss pinion wheel 1, contain- 
ing 37 teeth. This wheel actuates a 
carrier-wheel K, which in turn does 



the same for the wheel L, which con- 
tains one tooth less than the wheel I. 
The index pointer P is mounted on 
the boss end of the small centre 
wheel L. On the boss of the carrier 
wheel K is an adjustable wheel M, 
giving motion to the corresponding 
loose wheel N. Each of these wheels 
has a projecting tooth RRl, which, 
by its conjoint action, depress the 
wheel M on the end of the lever S, 
when its opposite end releases its 
cam, and allow^s the cam H to make 
about half a revolution. 

This gives one change to the revo- 
lution of the dial-plate, by lifting the 
reversing wheel D out of gear with 
cne wheel, and placing it in gear with 
the other, revolving in an opposite 
direction. This brings back the 

MEASURING MOTION TO ZERO, 

or nothing, when a correspond- 
ing pair of projecting teeth in 
the wheel T, which is mount- 
ed on the middle part of the balanced 
lever U, depress the hook end of the 
latter from the cam V, and give a for- 
ward movement to the measuring and 
marking mechanism. By this means a 
continuous automatic reversing mo- 
tion is kept up, turning and reversing 
the dial wheel and its pointer from 
any position to which it is set. 

To insure an understanding of the 
operation of this indicator, we will 
refer back to wheel I, which is keyed 
to dial-plate P, as has been said. The 
dial has 100 teeth, each tooth repre 
senting one inch in measurement 
Wheel I has 37 teeth, and engages car- 
rier-wheel K, which also meshes with 
wheel L. This wheel contains 36 
teeth. 

Pointer P is mounted on the boss 
end of centre wheel L. Each revolu 
tion of the dial and I wheel leaves 
the pointer attached to L wheel, con- 
taining 36 teeth, one tooth or point 
ahead on the dial, each point on the 
central figure representing 100 inches, 
and one revolution of the pointer on 
the dial 3,600 inches, or 100 yards. 

No. 235. 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



571 



CCXXXVI. SETTING THE CLOCK. 

When starting a new measurement, 
the index pointer is placed at zero 
on the dial. This is done by bringing 
gear E out of the mesh with the dial 
gear. This is provided for, and is 
easily accomplished with this gear 
out of mesh, the setting of the clock 
at zero being effected promptly. By 
tunning the machine to the length 
wanted, and setting projecting tooth 
of gear M into reverse motion, the 
cut marks are put in, and the next 
cut will be measured back to zero on 
the clock. 

The marking of the warp at the 
point in length desired is effected by 
the marking hammer W and the cam 
lever X, which are actuated from the 
shaft carrying Y and Z. 

Figures 102 and 103 show in eleva- 
tion and plan enlarged view of C, CI, 
D, E, the lever G, and cam Z. The cam 
Z is mounted on the shaft Al, driven 
by a continuously running belt on 
two loose pulleys, Bl and B2, between 
which is fixed to the shaft a narrow 
pulley, Dl. The driving force obtained 
from this narrow pulley is easily held 
in subjection for giving the neces- 
sary changes of the reversing motion 
by the cam and its two levers. On the 
same shaft is also mounted the cam 
that strikes the mark at every half 
of its revolution. 

In Figure 104 is shown a marker, 
consisting of three bowls, geared to- 
gether, and 

OPERATED BY ONE DRIVER, 
and constructed and arranged in ruch 
a manner as that when the centre one 
comes up, a single mark shall be 
struck, this being intended to indicate 
mid length of "middling marks", as 
the case may be. For heading marks 
at the end of the pieces, or "cut 
marks," a double mark will be made 
by the two outside bowls being struck 
ty the hammer. Along the space left 
between these, it is intended that the 
weaver should cut the cloth at the 
ends of the pieces. It will be obvious 
that the marks are made when the 
bowlp present their flat gections to 



the stroke of the hammer, the rounded 
portions not being prominent enough 
to come into contact with the yarn 
when the hammer strikes, wh'ch is 
bhown by the position of the centre 
one m the illustration. 

Of course, the hammer is construct- 
ed with three faces to meet the re- 
quirements of the change. It will be 
obvious that this will be, in this line, 
'r: considerable improvement quite do- 
ing away with the liability of the weav- 
er to cut out at the wrong mark, owing 
to having lost count, or making a mis- 
take from weaving too much cloth on 
the roller at once. It will further, by 
its boldness, better define the mark, 
and diminish the risk of inadvertent- 
ly weaving it in, leading to the mak- 
ing of short length pieces, and will 
thus prevent the mischief and annoy- 
ances resulting from these. 

MEASUREMENT IN METRES.' 
By putting on a dial which can be 
provided, and replacing the measuring 
roll by a roll of proper dimeusicrs, the 
measurements may be done in metres. 
All in all, this measuring indicator 




proved itself to be very acf urate and 
convenient, and it is of great value 
v/hL;re there are a great variety of cut 
lengths. It is extremely simple to op- 
erate, no abstruse formula^ and QOU- 



572 



COTTON MILL MANAGEME3NT 



slants to be used in figures, and it 
gives a measurement to the inch; 
svhereas, in the gear slashers, there 
are few gearings that will give exact 
yards. 

There need not be any waste of 
yarns of warp because one of the 
beams runs short of the other, the bal- 
ance of which is made into waste, and 
nobody knows who is at fault, the 
weaver or the slasher. With this indi- 
cator, the weaver will have corre- 
sponding marks on each warp, which 
should weave in together, and he 
is provided with conditions that will 
compel his attention, and make it 
nearly impossible to find an excuse for 



ticularly true where large quantities 
are used, but the smaller lots will con- 
tinue for some time to be colored in 
the skein. Although reeling is a very 
simple process, the overseer of a cot- 
ton yarn mill finishing department does 
not find it profitable to neglect to give 
reeling its share of consideration. 

The customer who wants his yarn 
reeled his own particular way, and 
the spinner who makes the yarn, and 
the operator who runs the reel, fur- 
nish each their quota of annoyance. To 
protect himself from the mistakes of 
the customer, the overseer will be 
sure to use for bands twist yarns that 
will not only be strong, but of such 




Fig. 104. Marking Bowls. 



a beam running out before its mate, 
and, in effect, securing from him a 
cloth uniformly well balanced. 

No. 236, 



CCXXXVII. REELING. 

To provide the dyer with conditions 
suitable to color yarn, reeling was re- 
torted to almost exclusively, but in 
these latter days, chain warp dyeing 
has very largely taken the place of 
skein dyeing, by reason of its greater 
fagiUtieg, in most respects. This is par- 



a combination that he could readily 
identify them. In this mill, the skein 
bands were made of 16 single filling 
twist twisted in the double 7, 20 
turns per inch. 

Aside from the possibility of 
A COMPLAINT 
being manufactured, is the prob- 
ability that mistakes will be made. 
This may be expected of customers 
who get their yarns from various mills, 
or from commission houses who sell 
yarns for various rnills. Although in 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



573 



error, complaint is made in good faith 
and without a check such as is men- 
tioned above. The complaint will ap- 
pear substantiated, and an allowance 
made. 

A close scrutiny of yarns received 
from the spinning room is important, 
to see that the yarn is not only clean, 
but free from kinks, and that the bob- 
bins are well wound. Great care should 
be taken to see that the 
wet cloths put upon the mule spun 
yarn are not allowed to stay too long 
or mildew will result, and yam be 
spoiled. Yarns should not be allowed 
to remain in cloths longer than 36 
hours. 

TWISTED YARNS 
to be reeled are invariably twisted 
wet, and are already conditioned. 

The usual 54-inch reel was used and 
run at a speed of 150 turns, and was 
tquipped with 50 spindles. The usual 
production totals are of little value, 
as they are figured proportional to 
the number. The following table of 
averages will illustrate this: 

REELING PRODUCTION TABLE. 

Pounds Pounds 

No. of per No. of per 

yarn. 58 h'rs. yarn. 58 h'rs. 

17 1,600 28 1,180 

18 1,539 30 1,140 

20 1,420 38 1,110 

22 1,335 38 1,096 

24 1,250 40 1,066 

26 .'...1,212 45 1,030 

Diamond lease. 

28 800 38 366 

30 727 40 640 

36 698 45 620 

Average earnings per operator, $8 per week. 
This table Is made up from actual results 
per 100 spindles. 

Take the convenient figures of No. 
20s and No. 40s, according to table of 
reel production. 20s continuous run 
would give 4,660 pounds in 58 hours; 
actual production shows 1,420 pounds, 
or 30 per cent of the continuous run; 
40s for the same time would show a 
2,330 continuous run, and actual pro- 
duction to this number shows 1,066 
pounds 45 per cent of the figured 
pounds production. 

When reeling to the half of the 
spindles, ap in the case where the 
t>keing are mq.d§ iri q. di^mon^ leag^. 



the production was cut in half, or 
nearly so, as the traverse of the guide 
is twice the usual length. This is done 
tc spread the yarn, and results in the 
production of a skein which has the 
appearance of a series of leases, and 
diamond shape, and unwind in perfect 
form. No. 237. 



CCXXXVIII. DEFECTIVE SYSTEMS. 

A line of samples was produced with 
yarns that were in stock of single 20s 
cotton mule spun mixes for warp and 
single worsted yarn for filling. The 
warp yarn required was to be made 
lofty and with as little twist as pos- 
sible. 

This line was a very good seller, 
and there were some very good or- 
ders. Mixed cotton yarn was not 
made in this mill, but had to be 
bought in the yarn market. Orders 
were filed with the treasurer for 
the amount of cotton yarns wanted. 
These orders were transferred 
to a yam agent who, on his 
part, placed these orders in a 
mill making the kind of yam wanted. 
In all, there were about ten shades. 
The first delivery was to be of 100 
pounds of each shade to enable us tc 
get out the short lengths for the sell 
Ing end. 

On receipt of 

THE FIRST SHIPMENT 
of yams the dresser on the Scotcn 
warper was given orders to proceed 
to dress short lengths. After tieiug 
In his yarns and on starting to run 
his reel the yarn broke down so badly 
that he reported that he could not 
use this yarn. 

On testing the above, it was ascer- 
tain that there were only 16 turns to 
the inch of twist, where there should 
have been 18. The condition of the 
yarn as referred to above was report- 
ed to the superintendent at the main 
mill office, and was immediately re- 
ferred to the treasurer, who called the 
yam agent's attention to the com 
plaint, on receipt of which, the yarn 
agent took the matter up with th^ 
mill that made the yam, 



574 



COTTON MIUL MANAGEMENT 



After one week the reply was re- 
ceived back through the same chan- 
nels that a mistake had been made. 
That the yarn sent was intended for 
hosiery and 

SHIPPED BY MISTAKE, 
and that the error had been correctea 
and shipment of yarn that was going 
forward was all right. As each 
case was opened, an effort was made 
to do some dressing, but it was futile. 

About the time the advice mention- 
ed above was received, there had been 
already delivered about 1,000 pounds 
of each of the shades ordered. 
This was reported to the treasurer, 
and by him to the yarn agent, and 
forwarded to the mill, the manage- 
ment of which could not understand 
what was the matter. 

Before an understanding was ob- 
tained in which all imperfect yarns 
were to be returned, there were some 
56,000 pounds of yarn on hand impos- 
sible to use in a warper, and that had 
to be returned to the spinner. 

Throughout these freak negotiations 
fivery bit of the yarn that showed any 
strength was made use of, as we were 
heavily pressed for the delivery of 
goods. No. 238. 



CCXXXIX. CURTAILED PRODUC- 
TION. 

The following is an accurate state- 
ment of actual conditions in this 
mill, and suggests the extreme dif- 
ficulties that in some mills confront 
the superintendent and overseers. It 
covers a period of two years up to the 
time when the depression of 1907 
came along. 

The weave room at the time re- 
ferred to had the following different 
kinds of loonjp: 



Name of loom. S S S "2 ® 

i ^ ^ i S 

^ S n « m 

46" C. dob 280 20 6X14X1 43" 145 

46" C. cams 227 H" 146 

BO" C. dob 281 20 48" 1«> 

60" Knowles 119 20 55%" 130 

64" K. cams 209 63" 140 

82" Know. F. H.... 128 20 4X4 78" 120 

62" Eng. cams 36 60" 130 

72" Eng. cams 24 69" 12S 

f.6" Dra. cam. auto. 240 63" 125 

50" Crompton 2 6X1 48" 130 

46" C. & T 80 43" 

72" Know. F. H.... 204 16 69" Iffi 

64" Know. F. H.... 46 16 4X4 60" IK 

64" K. cams 24 4 4X4 60" 125 

66" C. T 98 20 4X4 63" 125 

75" C. cams 24 72" 125 

52" C. jacq. double 

lift 142 48" 145 

52" C. jacquard.... 178 6X1 48" 125 

48" C. jacquard.... 96 43" 125 

2,638 

Also the following qualities on order, 

each quality with varied styles. 

No. of loomg 

No. of pieces on each 

Quality. to be woven. quality. 

3618 4 4 

3769 82 12 

3778 20 

3795 741 34 

3862 293 62 

3867 50 21 

3872 409 27 

3874 875 16t 

3878 42 U 

3879 81 

3887 945 40 

3891 128 13 . 

3909 4,373 80 

3910 316 11 

3924 26 16 

3940 135 30 

3943 15 4 

3945 1.601 77 

3972 30 8 

3977 83 8 

3982 6 

3984 65 7 

3987 449 61 

3989 -.. 166 43 

3991 151 20 

3993 17 6 

3994 932 81 

3997 181 14 

3998 8 2 

3999 122 14 

4167 346 

4170 115 

6983 184 30 

6086 18 1 

6093 609 67 

6094 224 85 

6095 26 2 

6097 235 14 

6098 22 6 

6100 711 31 

6102 64 24 

6103 2 1 

6105 266 31 

6107 23 1 

6108 20 

6109 247 2 

6110 466 7 

7001 ,....,, T. 55 »3 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



575 



7005 318 40 

7009 .. 53 3 

7011 53 5 

7012 1,443 60 

7013 6 9 

7014 4 1 

7015 78 6 

7018 12 7 

7023 42 10 

7026 60 10 

7027 116 IS 

7028 112 11 

7030 45 13 

7031 2,279 39 

7032 11 

7038 253 7 

7039 202 6 

7041 39 6 

7043 263 44 

7045 73 8 

7046 186 2 

7047 19 2 

7052 193 7 

7053 33 

7054 16 8 

7055 134 1 

7056 9 4 

7057 27 2 

7060 10 4 

7063 288 12 

7064 381 76 

7076 120 

Orders were received at the dress 
ing room for so many pieces withou; 
specifying the number of pieces want 
ed per week or giving a loom assign 
ment. To better appreciate the sit 
uiation, it is necessary to understand 
that this mill made yarn for sale as 
well as for their own weave room, and 
that they controlled the sale of theii 
doth and yams. 

A weave room with such a variety 
of looms and the numerous fabrics call- 
ed for would need to be thoroughly 
organized and carefully administered, 
and the agent and the selling end 
should endeavor to simplify con- 
ditions as much as possible. On the 
contrary, not only was there no loom 
assignment, but the selling end at New 
York from day to day sent in orders 
calling on the superintendent to put 
more looms on a particular quality, or- 
dering warps of different qualities to 
be taken out of looms regardless of 
what provisions had been made to pro- 
vide filling or warps to take their 
place. 

The selling end also was 

CONTINUALLY INTERFERING 
with the spindle assignment foi 
filling. For instance, there were 
200 looms with warps taking the 
same filling. A report was received 
from the filling room that there wai 
not enough filling coming from the 



spinning room to keep looms active, 
and that the stock on hand was go- 
ing fast. The overseer phoned the 
spinning room to ascertain what was 
the matter, and was advised that the 
spinning room had received orders 
from Boston that as a particular yarn 
customer wanted a larger delivery of 
yarn than he was getting, they were 
to take off so many spindles of the 
filling yarn wanted for the above 200 
looms, and put these spindles on to 
make the yarn wanted by this yarn 
customer. 

Complaint was made to the super- 
intendent and by superintendent to the 
agent and then to Boston. Sometimes 
under such circumstances relief was 
given by a reastiignment of spindles to 
keep looms going, but more often, as 
in this case, the order was to take 
the warps out of the loom. But be- 
fore these instructions were received 
many looms were waiting. 

This was no incident, but a condition 
of 

COMMON OCCURRENCE, 
and it is a known fact that 
warps have been in looms and 
taken out of looms as many 
as four times in the weaving out of a 
warp. The bad effect of such man- 
agement is not confined to loss of pro- 
duction and the extra unnecessary la- 
bor, but to thft weaver run- 
ning 2, 3, 4, or 8 looms, who, 
on finding his loom stopped 
for filling, wanted to know if he was 
going to be paid for the time lost, and 
so to keep the help an allowance was 
frequently made by the overseer. 

This reduced production, increased 
cost and made accurate cost finding 
impossible. Was it any wonder that 
the president would speak of the cloth 
department of this company as un- 
pix)fitable, and at times started into 
doing things, not by rectifyng the con- 
ditions referred to above, but by dis- 
charging good, capable men who were 
the victims of these disgraceful condi- 
tions above cited, men of ability, who 
had worked under impossible limita- 
tions. 

As an illustration of the wisdom 
shown when the discharging took 
place, the president called lupon the 



576 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



agent at the mill, and there was a 
stormy scene in which the proa/rieties 
were somewhat forgotten. The superin- 
tendent was called in. He was too big 
a man to permit any indignity or admit 
he was responsible for conditions cre- 
ated by the selling end, and 

TENDERED HIS RESIGNATION. 

This was not what was expected, but 
eventuated in the retirement of the 
weaver also. The quality of the 
managemenit's judgment was illus- 
trated in the way they selected men 
to fill the places made vacant. The 
superintendent who was appointed had 
his training in a woolen mill, and pre- 
vious to this promotion had charge of 
a wool room for some years, in fact, 
had absolutely no training or expe- 
rience of the most rudimentary knowl- 
edge of the making of ladies' wear, 
such as cream lustres, mohair Sicilian, 
chiffon Panama, batiste, voiles, checks, 
Scotch plaids, alpaca, etc., the fabrica 
this mill makes. 

In the new arrangement, this super- 
intendent was expected to confine him- 
self to the office end of the manage- 
ment, getting out designs, cost ac- 
counts, taking care af the 
orders as they come in, re- 
cording the same and ordering 
yarns forward for w^arp and Tilling, 
regulating the delivery of finished 
goods, etc. Associated with this man 
was another superintendent, or boss 
weaver, who siipervised the making of 
fabrics, the dressing, weaving and the 
grey room. For this position a man 
was selected who had absolutely no 
knowledge of the fabrics made in this 
mill, his experience being confined en- 
tirely to cotton mills, in none of which 
was he a brilliant success, and when 
hiied, he had been on the waiting list 
for some time. The advent of this man 
was a very unhappy experience to all 
the employes of the department. 

Has it ever been the inisfortuue of 
any one of our readers to be in a po- 
sition of responsibility, in which they 
were thoroughly 

VERSED IN ALL DETAILS 
under their charge, but had a man put 
over them who knew absolutely noth- 
ing about the work, and who, to ac- 



centuate his importance, would be con- 
tinually interfering with the details 
of the work, thus making it necessary 
for you to be continually putting him 
right when he would show his ig- 
norance of the various proc- 
esses which you had under your 
charge? For instance, some yam from 
the worsted department came in mix- 
ed. One of the bobbins was 2-50s 
worsted territory wool and the other 
was 2-;32s worsted made of South 
American crossbreds and pulled wool. 
When these boibbins were shown to 
him he said that he didn't see the diff- 
erence. He had never seen a thin sheet 
of a cotton warp dressed which was 
to be filled with worsted lustre yarn 
cloth for ladies' wear. These warps 
having been previously hand dressed, 
he would have it that this process was 
entirely imnecessary, and would have 
them dressed as gingham warps by 
chain beaming and slashing. 

With such administrative equipment. 
Is it any wonder that for the last four 
years this m.ill has not run more than 
25 per cent of its looms, or is it 
any wonder that the stock of this com- 
pany is not in demand. Is it any won- 
der that the president asks why the 
mills that buy yarn from his plant run 
their mills night and day, wMIe 
his own looms are stopped? 
Is it any wonder that the fine 
staple fabrics mentiioned above are not 
called for from this company, and in- 
stead, almost all orders received are 
for coarse serges? Is it any wonder 
that the Atlantic Mill, of Providence, 
and the Pacific, of Lawrence, have tak- 
en up the business of furnishing the 
market with these fine fabrics to the 
exclusion of this mill? No. 239. 



CCXL. WARPER AND SLASHER 
RADDLES. 

It is the objective point of all bright, 
wide-awake men in responsible posi- 
tions to eliminate, as far las possible, 
the need for nice judgment on the 
part of the ordinary operator. This 
was the reason wiiy the new 'man in- 
troduced the saw tooth expansioin rad- 
dle, trying out tMs raddle on both 
slasher and warper carefuUj" and arriv- 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



577 



■ng at definite ooinclusions as to its 
^'sdiie under all conditioms. 

In these experiments it was proven 
that this raddle save a uimform and 
equal disttributian of wires and retain- 
ed its positiO'n at all points to where 
it was wound, showing desirable rigid- 
ity. This oan easily be understood 
when its construction is examined. 
SPRING RADDLE. 

The drdinary spring raddle is mot ex- 
act in its distributiOin, and unless care- 
fully manipulated will produce many 
defective conditions. It must be well 
racked out so that the spring will have 
a certain amount of keenness or the 
pins will not be evemly distributed, and 
the yarns wall raddle out heavier at 
O'ne point than a.nother. Even with 
the spring at its keenest tension, it is 
always found necessary to aid the 
wires to equal spacing with the finger 
and thumb. 

If the spring raddle is racked out to 
a keen point, the variation of adjust- 
ment will be very small, and to prop- 
erly meet this condition, a large vari- 
ety of raddles should be kept on hand. 
This is not generally doime, and the 
warper girl has to be conitinually on 
the alert to prevent bad work in warp- 
ing from irregular spacing. Particu- 
larly is alertness needed oin the part of 
the operator when the raddle spring is 
easy in its tensioin. 

UNEVEN RADDLING. 

Warpers are large factors in deter- 
mining the value of the product of the 
loom. If the yarns are raddled heav- 
ier at one point than another, that is, 
if more threads to the inch are spaced 
to run onto the beam at one point 
than another, these threads will come 
off the beam easier 'and probably sag 
in slashing. This will give trouble at 
front raddle producing crossed-up 
"varps and frequently short lengths by 
reason of s-mashes caused by the sag- 
ging yarn. The yarn may run onto 
beam slack, but it will have the ap- 
pearance of coarse yarn in the cloth. 

These conditions and inany others 
not mentfoned emphasize the impor- 
tance of a correct distribution of 
threads through the width of the sec- 
tion beam. To put it conjCiise^ly, the 



raddles in general use are not exact, 
in fact, they require considerable cara 
to prevenit what mjight be called con- 
gestefi '"T unequal spacing of threads, 
and the care of these comditioins de- 
volves upon the operator, and a higher 
standard of efflcienoy is required 
which is unfortunately not easily ob- 
tained. With the adoption of the saw- 
tooth expansion raddle, ibhe warping 
problems were lessened to a very 
large extent, and the exceptional skill 
required to run a warper was much 
modified. No. 240. 



CCXLI. SAW-TOOTH EXPANSION 
RADDLE. 

A saw tooth expansion raddle, a 
section of which is shown in Figure 
105 is so constructed that an equal 
distribution of dents to any width is 
secured. It is entirely mechanical in 
its action, having no springs with 
their variableness in its construction. 

The body of this raddle E is similar 
to the ordinary spring raddle, but in- 
stead of springs occupying the space 
in the centre a screw runs the full 
length. From the centre to the side 
the screw is cut right and left, O'n op- 
piQsite sides. On each side an 
elongated nut fits on the screw. 
This nut is so ooinstructed 
that any section of the raddle may 
engage it. On turning this screw, 
which is provided with a handle, ex- 
pansion or contraction is eft'ected. 

CONSTRUCTION OF RADDLE. 

By referring to Figure 105, the fol- 
lowing description of the construc- 
tion may be readily understood. A is 
a high and left hand screw run- 
ning the full length of the 
raddle, and controls the spacing of 
each dent. B is a situd which not only 
supports metal strips D, but is made 
of a size to make a close fit of the 
space occupied by screw A, and ex- 
tends down in this space to the screw 
engaging the screw nut, at any point 
desired. C is the hinge of D metal 
strips. These metal strips are three- 
quarters of an inch deep, three-six- 
teenths of an inch wide and about five 
inches long, containing 27 pins two 
mches long, -^M threie-§ij?te©nths of an 



578 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 




injoh. apait. This metal strip 
sets on a support which is au exten- 
sion of stud B, and acts as a swivel, 
leaving the strip free to work lat- 
terly. F is the centre stud which is 
fastened to the centre of the raddle, a 
point of rest from which all expansion 
and contraction is made. 

Figure 106 sihows in two positions 
the metal strips i3, illustrating the 
way strips are fastened together with 
hinge C. The hinge pin also consti- 
tutes a raddle pin equalizing the re- 
lationship of all the pins on each and 
all sections. This arrangement se- 
cures a perfect distribution of pins 
when tihe strips -are at amy angle, 
the limitations of the angle being to 
a point where the spread can be ef- 
fected by the screw in expansion or 
comtractlon. 

The angle of the strips in Figure 105 
described above will give a spacing of 
863 dents to a 54-inch section beam 
width. The shadow expansion shown 
dotted gives a sipacing of 343 dents to 
the same width. To obtain this, the 
stud B would have to be engaged by a 
screw nut at a different point, or the 
raddle would extend beyond the width 
of the warper, but provisiDm is made 
that each section can be folded back 
and will not in any imamner oome in 
the way of the operator. 

150% EXPANSION. 
Exact, equal distribution is not only 
secured by the raddle, but the extent 
of its expansion is an exceptional and 
desirable feature as given above and 
illustrated in Figure 105. The figures 
given show a difference of not less 
than 150 per cent, that is, with the 
width raddled to the width of a sec- 
tion beam. The spacing would be 863 
spaces, or say, threads, to the beam 
width, and when expanded to retain a 
convenient angle of each section the 
spacing is reduceu to 343 spaces or 
threads to the width of section beam, 
or as has been said before, a differ- 
ence of 150 per cent. 

With a raddle as above described, 
there is no changing of raddles nec- 
essary. It would be difficult to think 
of a combination of conditions in a 
mill where there would be greater ex- 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



579 



tremes in the warping to tlie number 
of threads. Even if such an unusual 
condition should be found where No. 
100 and No. 10 yarns were used, they 
could both be warped on the same 
warper and every condition could be 
met, particularly as far as the spac- 
ing of the yarn by the raddle to its 
number is concerned. No. 241. 



CCXLil. DRY SLASHER. 

In a previous chapter in our "Studies 
of Mill Management" brief allusion was 
made to dry slashers. These maohines 
are used to dress warps for looms from 
section beaans. This work is oonflned 
to grades of goods taking twisted 
yarns in the warp, and that do not 
need to be sized for weaving, such as 
cotton duck and worsted voiles. 

The sets are handled the same as in 
the wet slasher — so many beams to the 
set — 'and when the set is put in, the 
yarns of each beam are latched onto a 
leader and pulled through to the front, 
having strings between the yarns of 
each beam to provide a line in which 
the dividing rods in front may be put 

C. 

r-fl \ 



Fig. 106. Metal Strips. 

to keep the yarns of each section beam 
separate. These rods continue in their 
respective position during the running 
out of the whole set. 

The raddle lis struck in the same 
manner as on the wet slasher. Altei 
the threads have bieen spread to their 
normal section beam width, the raddle 
is brought up from under the sheet 
(warp). The spacing of the raddle 
wires is done to provide for expansion 
or contraction as desired, each wire 
separating the j^anns in groups. These 
groups should all contain the same 
number of threads all the way across 
the sheet. 

POOR SLASHER MAN. 

The ability oif the operator is indi- 



cated by the way he strikes his raddle. 
A poor slasher man will always have 
to spend a good deal of his time in 
transferring threads from heavy to 
light groups' to obtain an equal dis- 
tribution of warp yarns, so that the 
looira beam will wind on the yarns 
uniformly, and this cannot be done if 
the threads are not spaced off prop- 
erly to the full width. 

The measuring is dome by a back 
roll arouiud which the warp passes, and 
is made to hug the measuring roll to 
half of its circumference by being bent 
inward through having to pass around 
a roll before reaching the measuring 
roll. This prevents the possibility of 
slippage, and secures accurate meas- 
urement. The clock is a chain clock, 
each link of which represents one 
yard, and each link can be put on or 
taken off with ease and. facility. 
A raised link uplifts the lev- 
er that operates the cut marker, and 
there is also a dial that indicates the 
number of cuts as they are run onto 
the beam. 

As a general mile, a dry slasher 
meets every ooinid:ition satisfactorily, 
but there are warps wanted which take 
twist yams which do not warp on at a 
uniform tension. To equalize the ten- 
sion of the yarn before reaching the 
loom beajm the big wet slasher is fre- 
quently used, as it .provides a much 
1 Ginger stretch of yarns between seotlon 
beams and loom beam. 

UNIFORM TENSION. 

This is satisfactory as far as it goea, 
but the yarns are not quite free enough 
as they pass around the cylinder to 
make adjusitments of the individual 
tension of each thread. To remedy 
this defect it is recognized that a long 
reach between beams must be provided 
to allow each thread to properly ad- 
just itself by equalizing its tension, 
that lis, the thread at its tight places 
will draw on the slack places when 
they are free within the length or 
reach. 

The importance of having warps in 
which the tension of each thread is 
uniform is exceedingly great, aa 
it w^ill, in a measure, determine the 
value of the fabric woven. Reputa- 



580 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



tions have been built up by close at- 
tention to just sucb matiters. Tihe fab- 
rics referred to are heavy duck sail and 
tire cloths that primarily require 
strength, and a slackr or tight thread 
is juist so much weakness Id the cloth. 



CCXLIII. 



CHAIN WARPS IN THE 
DYEHOUSE. 



In preparing chain warps for the 
dyehouse, whether they are intended 
to be colored, bleached, mercerized or 





Fig. 107. Improved Dry Slasher. 



To meet this condition and to se- 
cure an evenly balanced warp, an im-. 
provement has been effected o:n the 
dry .slasiher whereby a long reach is 
secured without taking up any extra 
floor space. A dry slasher with this 
arrangement is illustrated in Figure 
107. This slasher provides for six 
extra reaiahes, and ome more cduld be 
arranged for, and the length of the 
reaches will only be limited to the 
height of the ceiling. 

This miachine is capable of meeting 
all the objectionable conditions refer- 
red to above, and produces a warp for 
the loom which has each thread of 
an even tension all through its 
length. No. 242. 



only sized, it is necessary to consider 
not only the requirements of the fab- 
ric in number of yarn, grade, threads 
and length, but the conditions und-^^r 
which the chain warps shall be han- 
dled in the dyehouse, not only in re- 
gard to economy of costs in the proc- 
ess, that is, saving of dyestuffs and 
labor time, but also in regard to re- 
sults obtained. 

It is too often apparent that if the 
warps sent to the dyehouse had been 
prepared differeutly there would have 
been much better results from the 
work done. This is in the face of the 
fact that where chain warps are used 
either in hand dressing or chain 
beaming, therf is provided all the 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



581 



necessary facilities to meet almost ev- 
ery condition. 

CHAIN DYEING. 
To make clear to the reader the 
condition in the dyehouse that com- 
pelled the dressers' consideration, we 
will describe the usual chain warp 
dyeing machine, so far as it con- 
cerns the dresser. (iSee Figure 108, 
which is a section of dyeing machine). 



containing one or more warps. If the 
strands are all of the same heft — bulk 
or weight — they will enter the feed 
rolls and pass down to the bottom, up, 
over and under the whole series of 
rolls, and if every other condition is 
met, the warps will reach the dress- 
ing room in good shape. 

UNIFORM STRANDS. 
If the dresser should send waips 




Figure 108. Dyetub. 



This machine can be used for both 
long and short chains. The difference 
in the processes is that in the opera- 
tion of dyeing short chains the solu- 
tion is prepared to complete the color- 
ing of the warp, whereas the colorin.'? 
of a long chain of, say, 9,000 yards re- 
quires constant feeding of dyestuffs 
to the liquor or bath. 

This machine is suitable for both 
dyeing, washing, sizing and what is 
called boiling out. Of course, bleach- 
ing and mercerizing have their spe- 
cial machines. Boiling out is always 
done as a preparation for practically 
all dyehouse processes, therefore, the 
conditions are the same in all proc- 
esses when preparing a set. 

Warps are usually run into the ma- 
chine in four strands, each strand 



to the dyehouse in such a manner that 
a combination could not be made to 
have each strand of a uniform heft, 
the warps as they ran through the 
machine would not have a uniform 
tension. The small strands would 
bite the feed and squeeze rolls less 
proportionately to their relative small- 
ness, and as the larger strands would 
spread the rolls apart, greater space 
between the rolls would be pi'ovided 
than small strands would occupy. 
Neither the feed nor the squeeze roll 
would control or regulate the tension 
of the small strand, and these condi- 
tions are likely to produce badly brok- 
en warps, as a slack strand is very 
likely to get tangled on one of the 
rolls, and not infrequently torn apait. 
Sometimes a warp containing a 



582 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 




a 
to 



s®0 



COTTON MILL MANaGEMEiNT 



583 



Shiall number of threads, say, 120, is 
to be dyed. It does not matter how 
it is handled in the dyehouse, the 
probabilities of its getting torn are 
great, even if the strand to 
which it is attached is the same 
weight as the other strands of the 
set. This small bit, as it is usually 
called, will run in tight regardless of 
every precaution taken, and it will 
be strained and have at least many 
BROKEN THREADS. 

Threads broken in a dyeing ma- 
chine are prone to get tangled around 
the carrying rolls, and if the warp is 
small it will sometimes break the whole 
warp and wind it all onto the roll. 
If this occurred to a large warp, the 
ends would ultimately reach a lease 
and break away. We are aware that 
if there was a string around each 
strand the bad effect would be min- 
imized but to a small extent. These 
conditions, with many others of a 
similar nature, are too common, are 
no end of trouble and inexcusable. 
As we have said before, every facility 
is proA'ided to enable the overseer 
to steer his work clear of such trouble. 

We admit that there are unusual 
conditions when a small warp or bit 
is to be colored, but it would be far 
better to double this as a skein. What 
we are particularly referring to is a 
circumstance which requires a piece 
to be colored to make up the balance 
of threads which are short to produce 
warps of a particular style. If for 
hand dressing, it is best to dress it 
into the warp it is intended to go 
with in the grey. No. 243. 



CCXLIV. 



METHOD OF WARP AS- 
SIGNMENT. 

When the overseer of the dressing 
room proceeds to provide chain warps 
for a particular style, he makes his 
combination from warps availalDle in 
stock, giving due regard to all condi- 
tions, including the convenience of 
the dyehouse. Suppose these styles 
called for 2,500 threads of 1-50, and 
the available warps on l^and were 
two warps of 1,800 threads, two warps 
of 1,600, one warp of 1,500, one warp 
of 1,000, and one of 700, the combina- 



tion for the dyehouse would be three 
strands. First and second strands, 
one warp 1,600, one warp l.SOO and 
third strand warps containing 1,500, 
1,000 and 700. This combination 
would give four warps of 2,500 threads, 
and when returned from the dyehouse 
the warps would be counted and split 
as follows: 1,000 plus 1,500 equals 
2,500; 700 plus 1,800 equals 2,500; 700 




Figure A. Coiler. 

plus 1,800 equals 2,500; the remaining 
1,800 thread warp split in two 2-900. 
Two combination, 900 plus 1,600 equals 
2-2500 threads; in all 4-2500 threads. 

There are many much more com- 
plicated combinations than the above, 
but there need be no difficulty in ar- 
ranging them, and in providing the 
best conditions for all concerned, 
where there will be neither small bits 
nor unequal strands to bother the dye- 
house, and the dressing room will get 
warps in best form under the circum- 
stances. One feature must always be 
Kept in mind when preparing warps 
for the dyehouse, they must not be 
too large. It is safe to say that a 
strand would be all right if it did 
not exceed one and one-half ounces to 
the yard. 

SPLITTING MACHINE. 

A splitting machine is indispensa- 
ble to both chain dressing and quill- 



584 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



ing departments. The conditions un- 
der whicli the dressing room is called 
upon to work are to be found to a sim- 
ilar extent in the quilling room, perhaps 
more so, as all chain warps to be 
quilled contain only 378 threads, and 
consequently, more splitting to the 
pounds quilled than to the pounds 
warped. 

By referring to Figure 109, the read- 
er will more easily understand the 
following description of a splitter. 
This machine consists of three prin- 




Figure B. 

cipal parts, namely, friction rolls, rock- 
ing separator and the main frame, 
which contains the driving mecha- 
nism. The chain warp to be split is 
on the floor under an overhead eye 
bole, through which it passes, and 
from which it proceeds through a guide 
found in front of the friction stand 
and under the first, over the second 
and then under the third friction roll 
and then over a carrying roll to the 
separator, which is equipped to di- 
vide a chain into 24 parts, each part 
separated, then passed under one of 
the six rolls, resting on bottom rolls 
which carry the warp forward. Over- 
head in the same frame, there are 
four separate driven rolls, over which 
each section chain is carried, 
passing to the floor through pot eye? 
fastened to a frame which has a guid- 
ing motion describing a circle, each 
chain running onto a separate pile. 



The operator stands beside the 
separator by which he starts and stops 
the machine. The separator is con- 
nected with the shipper and when the 
separator is carried forward, it ships 
the driving belt onto the loose pulley. 
This arrangement acts as an automa- 
tic stop motion, should the warp come 
up tangled. 

DEFECTIVE PILE. 

One defect of this machine is the 
way the chains are piled when they 
reach the floor. The guide describes 
a continuous circle, and as it piles, the 
walls it forms cave in and tangle the 
warp. We have heard of several de- 
vices invented to remedy this defect. 
The best that has come under our ob- 
servation is the device as illustrated 
by Figure B. This coiler, as it is 
called, forms laj^er after layer, produc- 
ing a compact mass. (See Figure A.) 
This device is described as follows: 

There is a long steel stud, No. 1, 
running from the top to the bottom of 
the coiler, on the lower end, a gear No. 
2, is cut, and on top of gear is a coiler 
No. 3, pinned to said stud. Over stud, 




Figure C. 

No. 1, a brass pipe is placed, No. 30, 
as far up as casting No. 4, where stud 
No. 1 is fastened by screw No. 5, 
and gear No. 6 is screwed to pipe No. 
30, also casting No. 7. On the end of 
casting No. 7, there is hung a large 
gear No. 20, said gear meshing with 
gear No. 2. Near the rim of gear 



COTTON MIDL MAjNAGEMENT 



585 



No. 20, there is a stud, No. 8, wMcli 
guides the pipe frames with the pot 
eyes No. 9. Now when roll No. 10 
starts this turn pinion, No. IL, there- 
by causing all of coiler motion to re- 
volve round stud No. 1, and gear No. 2, 
which you will remember are sta- 
tionary, as it turns, it is obvious 
that stud No. 8 will work over to 
gear No. 2. bbetch shows stud No. 8 
on the outside, at which point it is 
traveling in its widest circle, but ag it 
gets nearer No. 2, it grows smaller, 
and when it passes gear No. 2, it is 
traveling in the smallest circle. 
COMPACT PILE. 

As stud No. 8 guides the pipe with 
the pot eyes, you will readily under- 
. stand that the yarn will be placed on 
the pile in exactly the same circles 
as m.ade by stud No. 8, revolving all 
the time in the same direction, but 
gradually working from the inside to 
the outside of the pile, and then back 
again, etc., thereby making a solid and 
compact pile. 

Changing the position of gear 2 
and 20, and adding to stud No. 8 a 
crank half the length of the large 
gear's diameter, an entirely different 
coil can be produced. (See Figure 
C.) In coil illustrated, there 
are eight inner coils within 
the circle, and by chaaging the gear- 
ing, the layer of chain warp could be 
made to occupy a different point with- 
in the circle of the pile at each revo- 
lution. It has been claimed that 
where these coilers have been used, 
an unusually large saving has been 
effected in quilling, as the warp leaves 
the pile at all points perfectly free, 
and not a thread is disturbed or out of 
place. The mechanism is simplicity 
itself, and also adjustments can be 
made as may be desired. No. 244. 



CCXLV. TUBE WINDING. 

In substituting tube winding for 
spooling in the preparation of yarn 
for warping, there is one feature that 
will attract the immediate attention 
of those who are in charge of the 
department, that is, the importance 
of having all tubes of a uniform size 
and weight and containing as near 



as possible the same yardage. 

The pieces tied out from a warper 
when tieing in a new set are usually 
returned to the spooler, and are filled 
up with the same kind of yarn they 
contain. This, in the case of yarns 
standard to the mill, will be repeated 
in most spools numerous times during 
a number of years. This practice is 
a matter of convenience, and 
results in more knots getting into 
the cloth than if this practice could 
be avoided, that is, if the spools could 
be entirely run off. 

The tube wound on the winder 
when tied out of the warper creel, 
cannot be again conveniently filled up. 
The probabilities are that the traverse 
of the guide of the spindle on which it 
was first wound will have a different 
adjustment than the spindle you wish 
to refill it on, and will probably guide 
the thread over at one end of the 
tube, that is, run over, and when 
warped down to this point, the tube 
would give trouble to the operator. 
We are perfectly aware that the wind- 
ing of the tube tends to spread the 
bottom layers of yarn, but the 

CARE REQUIRED 
in putting on a piece would need more 
skill than can be secured from the or- 
dinary operator. 

Conceding the feasibility in prac- 
tice of filling up small pieces, it 
would be impossible to fill up pieces 
that were of any great size, and this 
brings us to the method adopted in 
this department to overcome this dif- 
ficulty by securing tubes of a uniform 
size. 

The usual practice is to provide a 
stick about six inches long. For about 
four and one-half inches of its length, 
this stick is one and one-half inches 
thick, and a notch is made at this point 
by cutting away one-half an inch of 
its thickness to the end of the stick. 
The operator uses this stick to gauge 
the size of the tube by resting it upon 
the paper tube on which the yarn 
is wound. When the yarn measures 
up to the notch, the tube is con- 
sidered full, but seldom are the tubes 
of uniform size, and most frequently, 
they are too large. 



S&6 



COTTON MILL, MANAaBMEOSfT 



To meet this condition, a casting 
was made and fitted on to the cone 
arm of each spindle. On this casting 
was fitted a wheel or disc, and in 
such a position that when the tuhe 
was of the proper size, it would touch 
the disc, and cause it to rotate. This 
disc was painted half black and half 
white, and was 

EASILY SEEN 
by the operator, who was expected to 
stop the spindle and take off the com- 
pleted tube. This contrivance was a 
great convenience, and at the time, 
relieved the difficulty which had given 
much concern. 

In addition to the advantage se- 
cured with reference to smallness of 
pieces, the unformity of the tubes ob- 
tained made it possible to make a 
larger tube. The space allowed each 
tube in the creel is what determined 
the limit of the size of each tube — 
with uniform tubes a clearing was se- 
cured for each tube of a larger size, 
otherwise the large tubes were tied 
in next to the unusually small tubes 
to get a clearing. This was the cause 
of time being wasted in the rearrang- 
ing of the tubes in the creel. 

Although the size indicator men- 
tioned above gave relief, It did not- 
prevent the operator from making 
mistakes. Subsequent to the above, 
the Foster Machine Company, which 
are the makers of the winder referred 
to above, got out a size stop motion. 
This device acting automatically, elim- 
inated the possible error of the op- 
erator. 

This device. Figures 110 and 111, 
is a very simple attachment. No. 6, 
the size adjuster, swings on a cen- 
tred stud, and is weighted in the rear 
of the centre. On depressing the point 
of the adjuster, it causes No. 7 catch 
to release No. 8 drop, which engages 
the rocker, and stops the winder by 
throwing the spindle up off the drum. 
The size adjuster is depressed by a 
projection on the ratchet handle. This 
depression takes place when the tube 
is " full. The ratchet bar is at- 
tached to a lever, which in itself 
forms a fixed part of the cone arm, 
and is held in place by the tube yoke 



No. 3, on the stud of which the whole 
arm works freely. 

ADJUSTMENTS EASILY MADE. 

By referring to Figure 110, which 
is an illustration of the relation of 
the parts when the winder is wind- 
ing, you will note the position of the 
handle and ratchet bar, also the size 
adjuster. The adjuster is free, and 
the relative catch engaged. The han- 
dle of the ratchet arm Is not In con- 
tact with the adjuster. By referring 
to Figure 111, the position of the 
above parts are changed. The projec- 
tion on the ratchet handle has de- 
pressed the adjuster and released the 
relative catch and stopped winding. 
This is effected by the position ob- 
tained through the tube in the wind- 
ing. Having attained a given size, a 
tube of practically any size can be 
made, and adjustments are easily ar- 
ranged. 

The practice of returning the pieces 
tied out from the warp creel to the 
spooler referred to above has several 
bad features, and in addition to the 
accumulation of knots on each spool, 
there is the probability of yarn get- 
ting mixed. It is also not only possi- 
ble, but probable, that most spools 
will not be emptied in many years, 
and not only will the yarns become 
mixed in numbers, but also In the 
stock used in the making of the yarn 
that was first wound on the spools. 

These features are well known to 
the overseer of dressing, and most all 
of them wish that each spool could 
be emptied each time before being 
filled again, but the difficulties that 
are in the way seem insurmountable, 
For instance, in rewinding pieces 
from spools, the tension on the yarn 
is very great, and this strains the 
yarn and weakens it. 

In mills which buy their yarn on 
spools, as in this mill, all spools have 
to be emptied, and it is recognized 
that at least 10 per cent of all yarns 
bought on spools have to be rewound. 
This does not mean that there is 10 
per cent of yarn left on each spool, 
but includes the repeated rewinding 
that takes place before the yarn of 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



587 



each tie-over is completely exhausted. 
For instance, in a warper set 



left will have to be rewound again. 
Fifty of these pieces will be larger. 




Figure 110. 



of 500 spools, the pieces o^ 
a tie-out will, on being re 
wound, make at least 50 full 
spools. These 50 spools will have to 
go in the creel again, and the pieces 



as they were rewound with a keener 
tension than when first wound, and 
on rewinding, there will be at least 
ten spools of the original set to go 
back in the creel. By following the 



588 



COTTON MILL MAiNAGBMENT 



course of these spools, it is further 
suggested how much the yarn is like- 
ly to be impaired by the repeated re- 



tube — a tube runs off as free when set 
up on end as a mule cop, and at no 
greater expense than at the first 




ASSEMBLED VIEW -"-'™> 
Relation or Pot-rs wirh Cone wound Xo Size.and Size Stop Mo d 



Figure 111. 



winding from spools, and the expense, 
which will not be less than twice the 
original cost of spooling. 

These difficulties are not found 
when taking care of pieces from the 



winding. When considered .in 
relationship to the fact that 
a tube of a size to occupy the same 
space in a warper creel as a spool 
will hold nearly twice as much 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



589 



yarn, it may be readily understood 
the great advantage in using tubes in 
warping in preference to spools. 

Warping from tubes bas not re- 
ceived the consideration it is entitled 
to. This method of warping has the 
following features to its credit. Warp- 
ing is done at double the speed with 
an easier uniform tension from tubes 
throughout the unwinding of the 
whole length of yarn on tubes, and 
contains twist as must yarn as 
on spools of the same size. There are 
no heads on tubes to break, and con- 
sequently, no waste of yarn in that 
direction. The economy in space re- 
quired to carry the yarns in transit 
is large. Wooden tubes themselves 
take up but little room. 

One of the features that will par- 
ticularly commend tubes to mills run- 
ning on extreme numbers is the easy 
tension with which they unwind, 
there being no reason why the same 
size of tubes should not be used for 
yarns as low as the coarsest numbers 
required, or as high as the finest, say, 
from 7s to 120s. No. 245. 



CCXLVI. TWISTING DEPARTMENT. 

The series of articles now running 
in the American Wool and Cotton Re- 
ported are intended to cover all 
phases of work in the textile mills. 
In the earlier articles, the attention 
of the reader was particularly direct- 
ed to the various defective conditions 
of machinery and process work. Con- 
ditions were specified and sugges- 
tions offered how to remedy the de- 
fects and improve on methods. In 
the later articles, the writer 
has taken up the administrative side 
and on leaving the dressing room will 
direct attention to the twisting depart- 
ment, which is closely allied to the 
dressing room, and will describe how 
the new man took up the lines laid 
down by his predecessor. 

The twisters were Fales & Jenks 
and were in two separate rooms with 
two lines of shafts having different 
speeds. There were also various 
sizes of pulleys on the line shafts 



that were used in twisting the va- 
rious numbers, taking from 5.75 to 
27.04 twist per inch. 

SIMPLIFYING THE WORK. 
To simplify the work as to assign- 
ment. Table 1 was drawn up, 
the first column of which is the 
serial number to 15, each of which 
is a different combination of pulleys. 
The second column is the shaft speed, 
the third column is the diameter of 
the various pulleys on the main shaft, 
the fourth column is the diameter of 
the three-change cylinder pulleys, the 
fifth is the spindle speed on each 
combination, and the sixth is the roll- 
er constant to each combination. By 
dividing the constant with the num- 
bers of twist per inch, the roller 
speed will be ascertained, and by di- 
viding the constants in column seven, 
the yards production per spindle will 
be obtained. 

TABL.E3 1. 





■d ■ an 


.Is 








i>:.E = m 


I-i 


spee 

Mai 
sha: 


-p 




m g o 
a" 


1 


475 


26 


10 


6918 


1466 


11250 


2 


475 


18 


10 


4788 


1016 


7960 


3 


475 


24 


10 


6384 


1353 


10640 


4 


475 


23 


10 


6118 


1297 


■ 10196 


5 


575 


25 


10 


8000 


1700 


13333 


6 


475 


26 


12 


5765 


1221 


9610 


7 


475 


18 


12 


4000 


846 


6666 


8 


475 


24 


12 


5320 


1127 


8866 


9 


475 


23 


12 


5100 


1080 


8500 


10 


575 


25 


12 


6666 


1416 


11110 


11 


475 


26 


14 


4940 


1047 


8233 


12 


475 


18 


14 


3420 


725 


5700 


13 


475 


24 


14 


4560 


966 


7600 


14 


475 


23 


14 


4370 


926 


72S3 


15 


575 


25 


14 


5714 


1215 


9523 



By means of Table 1, the assign- 
ment of the lots to be twisted was 
Intelligently accomplished. The table 
was figured out as follows: Taking 
the first combination, the diameter of 
pulley is 26 inches. This, multiplied 
by 3.1416 equals 81.68 inches of cir- 
cumference, and multiplying this by 
the speed of the shaft 475 revolutions, 
we get 30,798. This, divided by the 
circumference of a 10-inch cylinder 
pulley 31.41, equals 1,235. These fig- 
gures multiplied by 22 the circumfer- 
ence of a 7-inch cylinder equals 27,- 
170. This latter figure divided by 
3.9, the circumference of IJ-inch 



590 



COTTON MILL MANAGEiMENT 



whorl, gives a speed of 6,918 inclies 
per minute, and multiplied by 60 
equals 415,080 inches per hour. These 
inches dividend by 36 equal 11,250 
yards per hour. By dividing by 4.71, 
the circumference of roller, 6,918, 



making too much or too little yarn. 

No. 246. 



CCXLVII. GEARING OF TWISTS. 

To promptly meet the various small 




Fig. 112. The Twister. 



inches per minute equals 1,469 roller 
speed constant. 

The twisters were all of the same 
make with four different equipments. 
All of these were built for twisting 
wet or dry with this winding motion 
for filling or warp. The four kinds of 
frames were equipped as in Table 2. 

TABLE 2. 

Lbs. on Lbs. 

Spindles. Ring. each bobbin. per set. 

300 1% .1 30 

194 1% .1 19.4 

128 2 3-16 .1875 24 

102 2% .4375 44.6 

The first column is the number of 
spindles, the second column diameter 
of ring, third column the decimal frac- 
tion of pounds on each bobbin, and 
the fourth column pounds per set. 
These two last columns were impor- 
tant in this mill, as each order for 
twist yarns was very small, and care 
had to be exercised to keep a check 
on pounds twisted to avoid error in 



orders referred to in the preceding 
chapter, a table of standard twists 
to the numbers of 2-ply yarns used 
was drawn up, as in Table 3" 



TABLE 4. 
Front roU l\i In. 
Wliorl Dim. 1% 
Cyl. Dim. 7. 



gear, 80; cyl. gear, 
30, twist gear. 



6.24 
6.36 
6.49 
6.62 
6.76 
6.90 
7.05 
7.21 
7.38 
7.55 
7.73 
7.91 
8.11 
8.32 
8.34 
8.77 
9.02 
9.27 
9.ti4 
9.83 
10.14 



35 
34 
33 
32 



J. gear, 112; cyl. gear, 
24, twist gear. 



10.92 
11.13 
11.36 
11.59 
11.83 
12.08 
12.35 
12.62 
12.91 
13.21 
13.52 
13.85 
14.20 
14.56 
14.94 
15.35 
15.77 
16.22 
16.70 
17.21 
17.75 



52 
51 
50 
49 
44 
47 
46 
45 
44 
43 
42 
41 
40 
39 
38 
37 
36 
35 
34 
33 



COTTON MIDL MANAGEMENT 



591 



10.47 
10.82 
11.19 
11.59 
12.02 
13.48 
12.98 
13.62 
14.11 
14.73 
16.45 
16.23 
17.08 
18.03 
19.09 
Constant 



31 


18.32 


30 


18.93 


29 


19.58 


28 


20.28 


27 


21.03 


26 


21.84 


25 


22.71 


24 


23.66 


23 


24.69 


22 


25.81 


21 


27.04 


20 


28.39 


19 


29.89 


18 


31.55 


17 


33.40 


324.50 


Constant 



31 

30 
29 
28 
27 
26 
25 
24 
23 
22 
21 
20 
19 
18 
17 
567.87 



able gear may be selected. 

Orders on twisters for pounds were 
transferred from the order book to 
a card in the following form, Table 5: 

TABLE 5. 
TWISTERS NUMBER. 



Also the selection of suitable gears 
was simplified by using Table 4 : 



Number. 
40/2 

□ 5.5 
J. Gear. Cy. ■ 

112 
Sets. Lbs. 

42 24 

Made for- 



Kind. 
C.P. 
Turn 
24.59 



In. Order. 

Skein 2228 

Actual 
24.69 



Gear. Tw. Gear. Traveler 
24 23 16 

Lbs. ord. Spdl. speed. 
1,000 6 
Date 



TABLE 3. 
Under- Under- 

wear Hosiery wear 

twist. twist. twist. Merc. Warp. Thread. Thread. Lisle. Square. 

3 SVz 3% 4 5 51/2 6 41/2 root. 

10 6.71 7.83 7.27 8.94 11-18 12.30 13.42 10.06 2.2361 

11 7.04 8.22 7.63 9.38 11.73 12.91 14.07 10.55 2.3452 

12 7.35 8.57 7.96 9.S0 12.25 13.47 14.70 n.02 2.4495 

13 7.65 8.92 8.29 10.20 12.75 14.02 15.29 11.47 2.5495 

14 7.94 9.26 8.60 10.5S 13.23 14.55 15.87 11.91 2.6428 

15 8.22 9.58 8.90 10.95 13.fi!) 15.06 16.43 12.32 ' 2.7386 

16 8.49 9.90 9.19 n.Sl 14.14 15.56 16.97 12.73 2.8284 

18 9. 10. 9.75 12. 15. 16. 18. 13. 3. 

20 9.49 11.07 10.28 12.65 15.81 17..S9 18.97 14.23 3.1623 

22 9.95 11.61 10.78 13.27 16.58 18.24 19.90 14.92 3.3166 

24 10.39 12.12 11.26 13.86 17.32 19.05 20.78 15.59 3 4641 

26 10.82 12.62 11.72 14.42 18.03 19.83 21.63 16.23 3.6156 

28 11.22 13.09 12.16 14.97 IS. 71 20.58 22.45 16.84 3.7417 

30 11.62 13.55 12.58 15.49 19.37 21.30 23.24 17.43 3 8730 

32 12. 14. 13. 16. 20. 22. 24. 18. 4. 

34 12.37 14.43 12.40 16.49 20.62 22.68 24.74 18.55 4.12''1 

36 12.73 14.85 13.79 16.97 21.21 23.33 25.46 19.09 4.242-; 

40 13.42 15.65 14.53 17.89 22.36 24.60 26.83 20.12 4,4721 

45 18.97 4.7431 

50 15. 17.50 16.25 20. 25. 27.50 30. 22.50 5. 

55 15.73 18.35 17.04 20.98 26.22 28.84 31.46 23.60 5.2440 

is 13.08 15.26 17.44 17.44 21.80 23.97 26.15 19.62 4.3590 

In the table of gears, Table 4, This order is for 40-2 combed peeler 

every twist used in this mill is pro- to be shipped in the skein on 2228 

vided for with a graduation of twists order. By referring to table of twists 

from 6.24 to 33.40 per inch. If an — 5.5 as the multiple of the square 

order was received, either specifying root of the number 24.59, the nearest 

the yarn twist, the square twist or twist to be had by gearing is 24.69, 

twist per inch, and all customers have jack gear 112, cylinder gear 24, 

their own ideas in this direction, twist gear 23, and traveler used No. 

Tables 3 and 4 will meefl all require- 16. As there are 1,000 pounds ordered 

ments. and as each set from the twister aver- 

REFERENCE TO TABLES. ages 24 pounds 42 set 1,008 pounds. 

If an order was received for 20-2 these yarns are twisted serial number 

mercerized twist, by referring to 6, Table 1. (See Chapter 246.) 

column 5 Table 3, the twist indicated On nearing the completion of this or- 

there is 12.65 per inch. Gearing, Table der, when tiiere are still five or six sets 

3, second column, will give jack gear to do, which information may be ob- 

112, cylinder gear 24, twist gear 45 tained from back of card, Table 5. each 

and twist per inch 12.62. If the specfi- set being checked off as it is doffed, 

cation as to twist in this order should the second hand reports for a tally, and 

call for square four, the twist and a checking of pounds reeled will be 

gearing would be the same. If num- made. By this means, the balance re- 

ber of twist per inch was specified, quired can be ascertained and 

then reference is confined to gear made to almost the net pounds, 

table, Table 4, where the most suit- preventing too much yarn being 



592 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



made, and also providing a record on 
this order in detail of the making 
of these yarns which will insure a 
correct repeat of this order should 
it be called for. No. 247. 



CCXLVIII TWIST STANDARDS. 

The limit of twist that a given num- 
ber of yarn will take is determined 
by its diameter. 

To ascertain the diameter of a given 
number of cotton yarn extract the 





Figure 113. 

square root of yards to the pound. 
For example, 6s. 

6 X 840 = 5,040 yds. 



V 



5,040 = 71 threads. 



These threads will sit side by side 
in the space of one inch. One-fourtu 
(4) of the diameter will give the limit 
of twist. 

In specifying the twist, required m 
a given number of yarn, figures are 
used. These figures are used as the 
multiple of the square of the number 
and indicate exact twists per inch. 
The standard which these figures rep- 
resent is known by names such as 
underwear □ 3, filling 3 Si. hosiery 
a 31, mercerizing d 4, lisle n ii, 
warp D 5, thread d 6. 

The accompanying samples illus- 
trated in Figure 113 are of twisted 
yarns made from 2/'38s C. P. twisted 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



593 



as described. The single yarn tias a 
twist to n 5 in all cases. 

LIMIT OP TWIST. 

Sample 1. This illustrates the limit 
of twist n 7.2, 30.83 turns to the inch, 
and shows the black and white run- 
ning at an angle of 45 degrees. This 
twist is not commonly used. The 
writer knows of only one fabric that 
requires so much twist to be put in 
the yam and this is French voiles, 
a worsted line of goods. The sum of 
the multiple of n 7.2, multiplied by 
4, gives the diameter of the number 
of yarn. 

Sample 2. Sample of yarn, twisted 
25.81 twists per inch, illustrates the 
standard of thread twist used in the 
making of sewing thread, which is □ 
6 and figures 26.15. 

Sample 3. Sample of yarn, twisted 
21.84 twists per inch, illustrates the 
standard of warp which is the n 5 
and figures 21.80. This is the most 
uniform thread of all these illustra- 
tions as the single is twisted to the 
same d number as the twisted thread. 
This indicates a principle which ex- 
pediency overrules. This warp twist 
standard is not universal. The va- 
rious goods require a diversity of 
warp standards. 

Sample 4. Sample of yarn, twisted 
19.58 twists per inch, illustrates the 
standard of lisle twist which is n 4J 
and figures 19.62. This is yarn for 
lisle hosiery. 

Sample 5. Sample of yarn, twisted 
17.75 twists per inch, illustrates the 
standard of mercerizing twist which is 
D 4 and figures 17.44. 
STANDARD OF HOSIERY TWIST. 

Sample 6. Sample of yarn, twisted 
15.35 twists per inch, illustrates the 
standard of hosiery twist which is 
n 3i and figures 15.26. 

Sample 7. Sample of yarn, twisted 
14.20 twists per inch, illustrates the 
standard of filling which is d 3J and 
figures 14.17. This filling of standard 
twist is distinctly different from the 
above warp standard twists in that it 
is practically universally recognized. 

Sample 8. Sample of yarn, twisted 
12.98 twists per inch, illustrates the 



standard of underwear yarns which is 
a 3 and figures 13.08. 

Sample 9. Sample of yarn, twisted 
8.77 twists per inch, is n 2 and figures 
8.72. Most spinners agree that this 
is the least number of twists that can 
safely be put in a single thread for 
any practical purpose. 

In twisting ply yarn the best results 
are obtained when the single yarn is 
spun to the same square as twist re- 
quired. With the exception of Sample 
3 none of the illustrations conform 
to this requirement. No. 248. 



CCXLIX. THE MODERN-OVERSEER. 

It is diflicult for the modern over- 
seer to understand how a twisting 
department with varied lines of work 
can be run without some such method 
as is here described, but the ' men 
of the old school did not have the 
variety of yarn in number and twist 
to the inch to deal with, nor did they 
have the exacting requirements. An 
approximate twist would easily pass 
at one time, but to-da}'^ it must be more 
exact. Sometimes, the twist in the 
single requires a specified number or 
twists to the inch. The yarn made 
for the same purpose, weaving, knit- 
ting or even lace-making, should have 
the twist in the single as well as in 
the double uniform. 

Streaky dyeing is very frequently 
caused by yarns being mixed, which 
in the single received a different 
twist, but in the double were twisted 
to the same number of turns to the 
inch. This is a feature that is not 
heard much about, because if looked 
into too closely by the cloth makers, 
they would insist in having their 
yarns uniform, and this would entail 
on the spinners a great deal of bother 
and inconvenience. 

It is the common practice that if 
an order calls for 2-40 C.P. warp twist, 
the single yarn would be taken out 
of a lot of yarn spun, perhaps hosiery 
twist. To understand this properly, 
let us say that if the above order for 
2-40 C.P. warp twist was a repeat or- 
der, and the first order was filled 
with the single yarn twisted warp 
twist, and although receiving the same 



594 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



twist in the double, can it be im- 
agined that if mixed in the goods 
these two lots of yarns would color 
the same? By no means, for it may be 
said with complete assurance that the 
goods would color streaky. 

STREAKY CHAIN WARPS. 

The writer has seen streaky chain 
warps delivered from the dyehouse. 
These warps were made out of 2-40 
carded yarns which were known to be 
uneven in twist. As the yarn was 
bought from an outside yarn mill on 
spools, the extent of the mix-up could 
not be obtained, nor was it pos- 
sible to establish a claim, but the va- 
riation in the doubling twist was some 
20 per cent and we may readily con- 
jecture that the same carelessness in 
the twisting was exercised in spinning 
the single yarns. Unfortunately, there 
was a large amount of this yarn in 
stock. 

The dyer was entitled to sympathy 
In his efforts to get level shades in 
these warps of this yarn sent from 
the dressing department. He was not 
informed of the condition of the yarn, 
but made many remarks which indi- 
cated that he was suspicious that the 
twist was irregular. 

The question may be properly asked, 
why was the dyer not informed as 
to the true condition of the yarn? The 
explanation is of a kind too conspicu- 
out by itis presence in the mills. It 
is a case of shirking responsibility 
and of a kind that seems to a cer- 
tain extent justifiable. 

If the dyer knew that the yarn in 
the above warps had various twists 
a claim would have been made against 
the dressing room by the dyer for the 
extra cost entailed in the dyeing of 
these warps, and the claim on the dye- 
house for the loss in seconds woven 
from these warps would have been re- 
pudiated, and all claims and extra 
charges would have had to be met 
by the cloth department and seeming- 
ly there would be no way of estab- 
lishing claims on the maker of the 
yarn, who was the one at fault. 

No. 249. 



CCL. WEAVE ROOM. 

Good warps are absolutely neces- 
sary in the weave room if we are to 
have good production, and let us say 
right here they cannot be too good. 
What is meant by a good warp? By 
showing what bad warps are, the in- 
ference can be drawn as to what a 
good warp is or ought to be. In 
one mill where a new man had 
taken charge of one-half of the weav- 
ing, from the first day of his 
charge to many weeks afterward, it 
was a common sight to see warps cut 
out for faults in the dressing room, 
ends, coming up broken, tie backs, 
soft run selvages, soft sized warps, 
glazed warps, the last cut on the 
beam run on in bad shape, and what 
is possibly the worst of all, roiled 
threads, that is, threads crossed and 
twisted, so that when the weaver had 
apparently straightened -them after 
weaving several yards, they would 
come up crossed again. These were 
not isolated cases, but were so com- 
mon that out of several hundred looms 
it would have been a hard task to 
have found one hundred v/arps that 
did not have one or several faults of 
greater or lesser extent. 

The cutting out of these 
warps, which was necessary to 
stop the faulty v^ork, eventual- 
ly caused friction with the dressing 
department. Although the warps were 
shov/n to the overseer of that depart- 
ment, he advised cutting them out. In 
addition to the foregoing faults, a siz- 
ing compound was being used that did 
not lay the fibres, and the result from 
such is very well known. Of course, 
some low-grade cotton was being used 
as well. Now the superintendent of 
this mill was supposed to be a weav- 
er, and one who used to spend a great 
part of his time in the weave room, 
but, as already pointed out, 
he could see faults where none 
existed, but failed to discover them 
where they did exist. The result was 
that there were many changes made 
in the department that was least to 
blame. 

THE KNOTTING MACHINE. 

Once in a while the knotting ma- 



COTTON MILL MAjNAGBMENT 



5d6 



chine would get out of order, the re- 
sult being flat p-laces in the warp. 
This meant either the ends had to be 
crossed over from the selvage or a 
number of small bobbins with yarn on 
them used. Thirty crossed ends have 
been found on more than one warp, 
and as many as twenty bobbins used 
on other warps. These statements are 
not exaggerated, and surely the in- 
ference can be drawn as to what a 
good warp ought to be, and it is a 
pleasure to state that there are mills 
which take great care with the dress- 
ing of warps, realizing that even the 
cutting out of one warp means consid- 
erable loss in production, and even 
though bad warps may not be cut 
out, they increase production costs. 

The words "cut out" are very easily 
spoken, but let us consider what they 
mean-. There is the cost of drawing- 
in, the warp attendant's time carry- 
ing back and forth, the fixer's time 
putting the warp in and then taking 
it out when other looms may be wait- 
ing for him, the room girls' or weav- 
er's time starting up the Avarp, loss 
of yarn and most certainly loss of 
production. In addition, these hap 
penings do not tend to a better feeling 
in the weave room. 

HoM'' careless some persons are 
with harnesses and reeds, yet 
how necessary good harnesses and 
reeds are to good weaving; one crack- 
ed harness eye will cause lots of 
trouble, and even one wire in the 
reed a trifle forward of the rest will 
make the shuttle run crooked. Fix- 
ers themselves are sometimes to 
blame for 

BAD HARNESSES A.ND PdHlEDS, 
for when they take them out of the 
loom they throAV them on the floor, 
or when they should put them on the 
hooks provided for them, just simply 
throw them on, instead of taking half a 
minute longer to place them on right. 
Especially should care be exercised 
with harnesses that are used in con- 
nection with stop motion wires, for 
they are so easily tangled, and in jus- 
tice, we must say that some badl> 
drawn, knotted or twisted warps com- 
ing into the weave room are really 



caused by the careless fixer, but as 
often happens, the latter does not get 
the bad warp. 

When taking out the lease from the 
loom it is necessary to tie it tight and 
allow sufiicient length of yarn at the 
back of the harness, especially if a 
knotting machine is used, hecause if 
the lease is loose, the wires get tangled 
in the yarn, and it takes the twister 
some time to straighten them out, or 
there are flats at the machine, or if 
the yarn is short in length, the opera- 
tive does not have sufficient leeway. 

The beam heads ought to be over- 
hauled quite often, and lack of at- 
tention to this spoils many good 
warps, for when the flange works 
loose, the threads at the side drop 
down and bad selvages are the re- 
sult. Strange as it may seem to 
many overseers, the fact is that in 
some mills leather is not tacked onto 
the cotton harness shaft around the 
harness eye. There being no protec- 
tion for the cotton harness at this 
particular place, it is the most fruit- 
ful source of damage to the harness, 
and sometimes the weaving of one 
warp is sufficient to destroy a set of 
harness. Scrap-roller leather is gen- 
erally used for this purpose, and the 
cost is small but the saving is great. 

A warp should not be too wide on 
the beam for the harness, two to six 
inches wider than the harness being 
all that is necessary. If too wide, 
there is too much strain on the 
threads at the sides, and while they 
may weave, they are likely to give 
lots of trouble, and besides, there ia 
the tendency to make ragged selvages. 

No. 250. 



CCLl. THE FANCY MILL. 

Many dollars are lost in the fancy 
mill through wrong figures relat- 
ing to the number of ends for 
each warp. These are often 
anywhere from ten to a hundred 
or more than is necessary to make 
the cloth. This does not refer to the 
using up of old warps, but to the 
actual making of new ones for new 
orders. Particularly is this so with 
regard to top beams, or where more 



696 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



than ODe warp is used; it is also true 
of repeat warps. The extra threads 
do not help the weaver but rather 
are a detriment, as the loose ends have 
to be constantly wound up or they 
will be dragged around. It is possible 
for a ball of yarn to cause uneven 
cloth, for if the yarn has been allovv- 
ed to drop on the floor for a while and 
then wound onto the ball, there is, 
naturally, added weight against the 
friction. 



in the weave room. 

Every make of loom is not adapt- 
able to every style of fabric, in fact, 
every make of cotton loom cannot be 
adapted or changed over to make all 
kinds of cotton cloths profitably, yet 
j^ou possibly would gain the impres- 
sion tbat some people believe they 
can make a loom turn out any kind of 
fabric the way they manipulate or 
add parts to their looms. Now there 
are looms that can be changed over 




Fig. 114. Two-Harness Automatic Loom. 



Careless handling of empty beams, 
both in the weave and dressing room, 
will cause much trouble for fixer 
and weaver, bent gudgeons causing 
the beam to run unevenly. Sometimes 
the beam head is not balanced, which 
will have the same effect as a bent 
gudgeon. One cannot be too careful in 
the handling of these things that are 
so necessary to obtain the best results 



and have parts added so that the 
majority of fabrics can be made on 
them, but they are not many. It most 
certainly is 

NOT GOOD JUDGMENT 
to take old looms and add dobbies 
to them, say, twenty harness-dobbies, 
without considering first whether the 
loom will hold the harness or not, 
yet such changes are made, and even 



COTTON MILL MANAiGEMENT 



697 



after the crank arm has been length- 
ened, there is not sufficient space for 
the harness to move freely. The re- 
sult is that stronger springs ha\'e to be 
used, which means added weight for 
the dohby to lift, and there never was 
a dohby fitted up under such condi- 
tions when using the full number of 
harnesses that gave decent results, 
the agent using these patched- 
up machines is not a prac- 
tical weaver, and he wonders why his 
mill cannot make as good cloth and as 
high production as other mills. 

Attempting to make cloth too wide 
for the harness is also another fault 
common with some changed-over 
looms, and these changes most al- 
ways occur in mills that have former- 
ly been making plains, twills and sa- 
teens, and because 40-inch cloth has 
been made on a cotton harness, without 
thougjht of the difference in take-up, 
etc., forty-inch cloth is ordered to 
be made on the converted loom. Some 
cloth 40 inches wide on the roller can 
be made with harness frames meas- 
uring 43 inches inside measurement, 
but as a great many 40-inch cloths 
made on dobbies-spread to at least 42 
inches in the reed, and often to 423 
inches, there is not much room left, 
and it is a rare thing for a harness to 
lift absolutely straight without any 
swinging at all. So what must be the 
effect on the selvages under such con- 
ditions, and yet, some of the higher 
powers wonder at the variance in 
width and weights. 

Another 

VERY SERIOUS FAULT 
is that it takes much longer 
to draw in thread at the side 
when the full width of harness is be- 
ing used, and of course, this means 
loss. It is not a pleasant thing for the 
weaver to be constantly catching the 
knuckles of his hand in the top of 
the harness, yet this is a common oc- 
currence with some looms when the 
full numbers of harnesses are used; 
this is caused by the dobby or hand 
motion being fixed too far forward so 
that when the lay goes back the 
reed cap strikes against the harness. 
and the fault cannot be overcome, fe- 



cause the last harness is a.gainst the 
crank shaft when it has been pushed 
back of the lay cap. 

The faults mentioned with 
regard to the converted fancy 
loom have been seen on the 
converted cam loom. Trying to make 
a loom weave five-harness cloth when 
originally irtended for three at the 
most, does not seem like sound judg- 
ment, because more space is required 
proportionately to run the harness by 
means of cams than by dobbies, first, 
because of the space occupied by the 
roll top motion, second, because of 
the swinging of the jack underneath, 
and when cotton harnesses rub to- 
gether, there is trouble. The harness 
hook is a trifle voider than the harness 
shaft, and the results have already 
been mentioned. There have been at- 
tempts made to weave five-harness 
cloth and the reed cap has struck the 
harness at everj- backward movement, 
and the harness jack has actually 
stuck and sometimes caught on the 
brace in the loom. 

The instructions given when we first 
set up dobbies or any other motion 
are, throw the lay to the back centre, 
drop a line to the first harness, set 
motion so the line will be a half incli 
back from the reed cap for these two 
reasons: the weaver has room to put 
the fingers on lay cap, and the less 
the harnesses move, the less friction 
on the yarn. 

TOO MANY HARNESSES. 
It is not always an advantage to 
use a large number of harnesses when 
a smaller number can be used, say, 
multipljang on four, six, eight or ten 
harnesses, with the thought in mind 
of less crowding of the heddles. Eight 
or even twelve are not too many in 
a general sense, but when sixteen, 
eighteen or twenty are used, it takes 
much longer to draw in the yarn, and 
the reaching over is not easy for 
the woman weavers. There is also an- 
other great fault incident to a large 
number of harnesses, that is. the far- 
tlher off the harness is from the fell of 
the cloth, the higher the harness must 
rise to give proportionate shed; this 
increased lift adds strain and chafes 



598 



COTTON MILL MANAGBiMENT 



the yarn, but there is also another 
evil that must be avoided if possible, 
that is, crowding the heddles; Ihp 



eight to twenty-four on an old-fash- 
ioned head motion, and since the time 
that head motion was made, the har- 





probabilities are that the lesser evil 
is increasing the harness to avoid 
crowding. 

We have in mind a case 
where the harness was increased from 



ness shafts had been increased in 
thickness, with the result that twenty- 
four harnesses occupied at least one 
and one-half inches more space than 
•the harness straps; and a further 



•COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



599 



result was that the harness straps 
were constantly riding, and the press- 
ing of the lay against the harnesses 
prevented them working freely up and 
down, so that the yarn was in the path 
of the shuttle, and the final result is 
very apparent — a flying shuttle is dan- 
gerous to the operative. There is an 
advantage in increasing the amount 
of harnesses to a certain number, to 
decrease the crowding of the heddles, 
yet not to the point of increasing the 
work of the weaver or crowding the 
harness space. 

Dratting down a pattern is all right 
when a large numher of harnesses are 
involved, but when only ten or twelve 
are required without reduced draft- 
ing, it is not advisable to reduce the 
draft, because this fact must be con- 
sidered: the more the harnesses are 
reduced in drafting the more complicat- 
ed is the drawing-in of the draft, both 
for drawing-in hand and weaver, and 
this occasions loss of time. No. 251. 



CCLII. MAKE-UP OF A LOOM. 

To the casual observer, there is no 
material difference in the make up of 
a loom (we speak more particularly 
about the new loom), yet there is a 
vast difference not only in the quality 
of the workmanship, but also in the 
weights of cloth a loom will weave. 
Some are made for high speed and 
light-weight cloths, others are made 
for medium weights, and yet 
others are made for heavy-weight 
cloths, but there are one or two makes 
of looms that will weave a wide range 
of cloth and give good satisfaction. 
Fine lawns have been made on a cer- 
tain loom, which was then changed 
to nine and a half ounce goods, 
and possibly a heavier cloth could 
have been made. On another style 
of loom of the same make, the writer 
has woven three-ounce cloth, then 
changed over to 12-ounce goods, 
and there has been very little 
trouble with the loom. Now 
take other makes of looms on which 
prints have been woven: We have 
been ordered to make drills 
Aveighing six and seven ounces, 



and after weaving a few yards. 
the loom has been almost in pieces. 
'1 he result was, the order had to be 
cancelled so far as the mill was con- 
cerned. The trouble was in try- 
ing to make cloths the loom was 
never intended to produce, and it took 
a long time to convince those who 
ought to have known better. 

If this fact was kept in mind, it 
would save much friction between over- 
seer and superintendent and also save 
loss of time. It requires weight with 
power to make a solid cloth. For ex- 
ample, take a medium weight loom 
of a good make, and add an iron brace 
under the lay, also increase the ec- 
centricity by raising the lay or ex- 
tending the lay, and a cloth of sev- 
eral times the original weight can be 
made on that loom. 

Some looms are made for high speed 
and they run better if the loom is 
kept up to high pressure; it is much 
easier for the fixer and this, of course, 
means higher production. Looms are 
also made to run about 160 picks per 
minute, and it is unreasonable to run 
these looms at 180 picks and expect 
good results. High speed is not al- 
ways consistent with the best of pro- 
duction, and for one, the writer is 
glad to see there is a reaction in 
favor of slower speed, that is, speed 
consistent with the build of the loom. 

No. 252. 



CCLIII. CONCERNING THE LOOMS. 
Referring back to the re-arranging 
of the loom to make cloth it was not 
intended to make at first, the follow- 
ing will possibly be found of value: 
With the majority of looms, when the 
lay is on the front centre, the lay 
sword is perpendicular. It will be no- 
ticed with such looms tliat when tlie 
lay is moved to the back centre the 
yarn rests heavily on the front edge 
of the race plate, but is off the plate 
at the back edge to a greater or less 
degree. When fine yarns are being 
woven, the fault mentioned chafes 
the yarn, and if the latter does not 
break, a rough cloth is the result; 
also, the shuttle cannot run true un- 
der such conditions, and the faults 



600 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



from a crooked running shuttle are 
well understood by all connected 
with the weave room. To remedy 
this fault, a strip of packing, wooa, 
leather, or paste-board, one-eighth to 
one-quarter of an inch thick can be 
placed between the lay and the back of 
the lay sole. After the packing has 
been inserted, the protection mo- 
tion must be examined, because 
the protection rod has been 
thrown forward to the extent of the 
thickness of the packing, and one of 



not decrease the eccentricity of the 
lay, but actually increases it, and, of 
course, this gives a greater value to 
goods generally woven on such looms. 
Second, there are some looms made, 
and generally with back binders, 
that have a bad tendency to pinch the 
shuttle if the loom happens to vary 
off with the shuttle in the shed, mak- 
ing a thin place, and often breaking 
the yarn, and if the brake is set to 
overcome this fault, the loom locks 
when it bangs off. A word regarding 




Fig. 116. Lower Box Motion Known as Pin Gear Motion. 



two things will have to be done, 
either shorten the dagger or fix the 
binder to raise the protection rod 
sooner. This change will be found 
beneficial in the- weaving of a great 
variety of cloths. 

TWO OTHER VALUES 
are obtained from this fixing: First, 
it lengthens the distance between 
crank shaft and back of lay, giving 
more space for the harness, yet does 



the eccentricity of the lay may be of 
value to some one having such looms, 
or desiring to overcome other faults: 
Without raising or lowering the lay 
the eccentricity can be increased, or 
decreased by lengthening the lay and 
decreasing or lengthening the crank 
arm. 
In some mills there is found a 

LACK OF INTEREST 

in the fine points of producing cloth; 



COTTON MILOL MANAGEMENT 



601 



that is, a warp is put in and so long as 
it starts up all right, and the cJoth 
appears to be pretty fair, it is allowed 
to pass. The fact as to whether the best 
is being obtained or not is no concern 
of the fixer's, and sometimes those 
higher up. We refer especially to 
what is termed cover — a. polish or fin- 
ish to one side of the cloth; yet the 
value of the cloth is materially ad- 
vanced if such is obtained, and it costs 
no more when done right. The s^m? 
setting of the harness will also 
remedy reed marks. The following is 
a particular instance: An agent said 
to a new overseer, "Have you seen 
those cloths?" pointing to certain 
looms. "Not yet." "Well, let us have 
a look at them." To say the cloth 
was hardly fit to be seen was giving 
it all it deserved. It was bare looking, 
had reed marks and was decidedly 
poor. The cloth was intended for 
light-weight fiannel, but, of course, 
it had been objected to. Now the 
superintendent of this mill knew 
all there was to be known about weav- 
ing, at least he said so; but he did 
not know what to do in this case. The 
fixer stated he had tried to remedy 
the fault, but instead of obtaining 
what was wanted, the warps were 
made to weave poorer, and the shut- 
tle kept fiying over or out, and he told 
the overseer it was useless to do any 
more. "All right," said the overseer, 
"let us see. Raise up the whip roll 
arm a trifie and bring in the roll to 
the next notch. There will be 

LESS ACTUAL MOTION, 
but we will get what we are trying 
for — a top shed looser than the bot- 
tom, yet not too loose to cause the 
shuttle to skip; set the shed level 
with crank shaft just forward of bot- 
tom centre, so that the shed will be 
fully open or nearly so when the reed 
comes in contact with the cloth, then 
try the loom; raise the false breast 
beam a trifle, set the lease rods in a 
little, then adjust the weight and 
the result will be just what was 
wanted." The setting of the harness on 
a lower level than a line drawn from 
breast beam to whip roll with other 



parts adjusted to their right re- 
lation is all that is needed, and the dif-' 
feremcein the cl|otlh is surprisinjg when 
this rule is followed, no matter what 
kind of fibre is being woven. If a cloth 
is being woven with the largest num- 
ber of harness raised, the whip rotl 
often has to be set in the opposite 
relation, that is down below the level 
of the harness. 

REGARDING THE WEAVING 

of a warp satin or a warp twill and 
other cloths of like description the 
tright side up, it is often possible 
to weave such cloths filling side up 
and obtain just as good a warp effect. 
Many object to this, but the writer 
has made warp-cloth filling side uP; 
An imported three and four har- 
ness twill had to be duplicated, 
and we did not have cams to 
make the cloth warp side up, so made 
them filling side, and by adjusting the 
harness and whip roll a cloth was 
produced equal to the sample and was 
accepted. The lighter the lift, the less 
strain there is on the harness motion, 
the less power required to drive the 
loom, and naturally increased pro- 
duction and less cost in supplies. 
Where it is at all possible to weave 
cloth with the lightest lift of harness 
it ought to be done. Bobbins play 
an important part in the pro- 
duction of cloth, yet it is sur- 
prising what- the overseer of weav- 
ing has to contend with sometimes: 
Filling run down into the ring on the 
Draper bobbin; too much yarn on for 
the size of the shuttle; bad threading 
up when starting the spinning frame: 
uneven open bobbins, and possibly the 
worst of all, if such a thing is 
possi'ble, different lengths of bobbins. 
Now, strange as it may appear to 
some overseers, such things do exist, 
and there are cases where the over 
seer was held responsible for bad 
cloth resulting from bobbins such as 
described. . We are not referring 
to a few bad bobbins, but 
thousands of them, say, one 
to three large cabs full every day. 
When the rings are covered with filling 
it is a risky thing to put them in the 



602 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



hopper, for there is always the possi- 
bility of a smash, which is costly 
both in 

PRODUCTION AND QUALITY 
of cloth, and bobbins just the 
least bit too large with the filling on 
them so that the weaver does not no- 
tice them, invariably cause a smash. 
Bad threading up is the cause of more 
poor cloth than possibly any other 
fault, and if this is not th3 
trouble, it requires considerably more 
work on the part of the weaver or 
battery filler, for the filling Is constant- 
ly breaking, and this means one bob- 
bin to be placed in the battery several 
times before all the filling is wound 
off. Bobbins too short are a 
costly nuisance, and some super- 
intendents, wise enough to see it. 
realize that every defective bob- 
bin is liable to cause a smash that will 
have lost more and cost more than a 
number of new bobbins. It is conced- 
ed to be good judgment, and this 
means in the last analysis good man- 
agement, when the overseer or superin 
tendent realizes the limit of useful- 
ness of supplies or parts of machin- 
ery, yet there are mills using bobbins 
that cause losses by the dollar, and 
many overseers have lost their posi- 
tions through the person higher up 
not realizing that certain supplies 
have become useless and not the over- 
seer's abilitJ^ As a great deal, e\'- 
erything, in fact, depends upon the 
condition of the bobbin that enters the 
shuttle, so the aim ought to be to 
giive the weaver the very best bobbin 
possible both as to build of yarn and 
physical condition; but there are some 
people who act as if the opposite were 
better. You who are allowing such 
stuff to go in the weave room, just get 
down to business, give your weaver a 
chance to see how much he can in 
crease your production. No. 253. 



CCLIV. BATTERY FILLERS. 

It is a much mooted question as to 
v\rhether it is better to have 
battery fillers or the weavers fill 
their own and the locality is often the 
solving of the problem. If young help 



is to be obtained, battery fillers are 

beneflcia.1, because the weaver's whole 
attention can be placed on the loom 
with a consequent increase of produc- 
tion, and in addition, weavers are be- 
ing trained, for if the battery fillers 
are not too hard pressed they will very 
sr.on have learned to weave. This al- 
lows a supply of home talent who 
know the workings of the mill. 

The matter of supplies is one that 
requires careful consideration, and it 
is much better to follow a system in 
dispensing with the major part 
of the supplies; we do not say 
all, for reasons that will be 
considered later. In some mills 
picking sticks, shuttles, pickers 
and all general supplies are given out 
at certain times, the supplies checked 
up and amounts placed on a specially 
printed sheet, the same sheet being 
exposed in a convenient place, and if 
a fixer exceeds a certain quantity a red 
mark is put against his name, and he 
is also told about the excess. A good fix- 
er takes pride in the low cost of sup- 
plies, but the indifferent man requires 
jacking up and this exposed sheet meth- 
od is a good way of jacking him. Other 
mills check the supplies, but do not 
expose the amounts each fi\f-r re 
ceives, which tends to indifl'erence. 
There are few mills to-day that do not 
check up supplies direct to the fixer, 
and if there were none at all it would 
be better. Now there is a difference 
between checking supplies and check- 
ing everything a fixer needs. For in- 
etance, there are places whore the fix- 
er requires a note to get even a bolt 
that may be worth five cents, and a 
great deal of time has been 
lost finding the second hand, store 
clerk, etc. In other places every cast- 
ing required has to be obtained 
through the clerk, and you may judge 
what that means. Now it is possible 
to keep track of the wasteful fixer 
in a better manner than tying up ev- 
erybody else, and it always has been 
found to pay best to trust a little. The 
no-account fixer is found out in other 
ways beside the waste of castings, for 
his other supplies pretty soon tell the 
story; so we believe it best that 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



603 



castings and bolts be free for the tak- 
ing. 

THERE ARE TWO WAYS 

of charging the machine shop cost 

against tlie weave room : First, by hav- 
ing men set apart to do that work and 
their wages charged; second by check- 
ing the time for each job. The first is 
by far the better, as will be seen by 
the following: A fixer had a 
pulley not working right. The 
person assigned to the weave room 
jobs spent a whole day on and off 
dickering with that pulley; the ma- 



the same thing occurred each time; 
eventually the case was reported 
to the overseer, as notice had 
been given to that effect, and on In- 
quiry, it was found the roller had been 
locked up, as the repairer said, so that 
he could find out who the fixer was. 
Happily, such cases 

ARE NOT COMMON 
but we believe it a much better sys- 
tem to assign a man who feels he is 
hired to do some work for his pay, and 
believes the quicker and better he can 
do a job, the better satisfaction it 




Fig. 117. Diagram of Gearing, Box Loom Motion. 



chine shop was five minutes walk from 
the loom, and the number of t'm?'^ 
the m-Achinist travelled back and forth 
would have required considerable 
marking up to keep an accurate num- 
ber. Eventually, the overseer saw 
there was omething wrong, made in- 
quiries and found that the repairer was 
not trying to fix the pulley; several 
bushings had been spoiled, and this 
was charged to the weaving depart- 
ment. The incident noted caused thp 
overseer to inquire a little closer and 
also watch out for such dealings 
Now, a fixer took out a take-up roll-^r 
to have the perforated tin fixed up and 
the roller turned up; a short time after, 
he went for the roller, could not find 
it nor the man supposed to do the 
work. He went several times, and 



gives, and his pay and the cost of ma- 
terial charged to the weave room. 
Naturally, the overseer takes an inter- 
est in whatever is charged against him, 
because it is a question of how much 
it costs him to produce, and whether 
everything, castings or anything else, 
should be charged direct to cost per 
pound in the weave room is a question 
for each mill to decide for itself, but 
it does not seem right to charge 
new beam stands against the weaver, 
for those ought to be added to equip- 
ment, yet there was a case where 
a mill took orders for several beam 
works, and the castings for the addi- 
tional beams were chaiged against 
the weaver and figured in his cost of 
production. Not only were the stands 
charged as stated, but the cost was 



604 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



distributed over tlie whole production, 
which, gave a false cost to the entire 
product, for added cost was assigned 
to styles that did not require the ad- 
ditional parts. Some readers may 
think the above a trifle overdrawn in 
an article on good management, but 
the writer wishes to assure you that it 
is one of the factors that enters in the 
making or marring of an overseer or 
superintendent's record, for there is 
no man of any account but watches 
very closely his cost sheet, and a good 
manager is very jealous of what is 
charged up against him; and there is 

A TREMENDOUS SATISFACTION 
in feeling that his cost of pro- 
duction is at least lower than his 
predecessors. "Where is the man who 
does not feel better when he knows 
the main ofiice is charging him for what 
are actually supplies or legitimate 
costs? He then knows it is up to him 
to make good or make room for some- 
one else. Some of the higher officials 
have an idea that it spurs on the 
overseer to do better if they charge 
everything against him, but this is not 
so, for a self-respecting man desires 
to see his cost as low as it is possible 
to bring it down, of course, consistent 
with the good running of his room. 
This brings out another feature that 
can well be considered under good 
management namely: Is the overseer 
allowed freedom in the running of his 
room, or is he held in very restricted 
bounds? Some mills allow their over- 
seers to hire the help that they feel 
is necessary for the upkeep of the 
room both as to cleanliness and good 
production, and no restriction is placed 
on the amount to be spent for odd help, 
that is, other than piece workers, and 
in these mills they demand high pro- 
duction, and generally they get it. 
Other mills, or rather a few superin- 
tendents allow the overseer so much 
to run his room, and he must not ex- 
ceed this amount no matter what the 
circumstances are. Now the latter 
method may be good in some cases, 
and with some men, but when the 
amount does not allow for changing 
over, and covers only the help required 



to run the room based on the very 
best conditions conceivable, it most 
certainly 

IS NOT GOOD MANAGEMENT 
and it cannot be said that trust 
is being placed in the overseer. 
An instance will best illustrate this 
fact: In a certain mill the overseer 
was allowed an amount sufficient to 
hire help to fill positions absolutely 
necessary when everything was going 
well and help plentiful. There came a 
time when considerable changing of 
take-up gears had to be done, and, of 
course, this takes time, especially if the 
gear has to be changed on the first cut 
mark; then it came a question of 
changing cams and the roll top motion, 
but still no extra help was allowed, 
nor even extra pay to the fixer, and 
there was no spare fixer. A little later 
on through some fault or other the 
yarn commenced to chafe in the drop- 
wires and bunches formed on the yam. 
This, of course, meant loss of produc- 
tion, but the overseer had to balance 
his production against his cost. He 
pleaded for a spare fixer, and a little 
leeway with a spare weaver to help 
the weavers xo get out some one 
else's bad work, and showed where 
it was possible not only to increase 
the production but make better work 
and naturally lessen the cost, but no, 
"he must keep within the allow- 
ance." Eventually, the overseer did 
what he believed was right, he also 
wanting to prove his contention. He 
hired a helper for the fixers; of 
course, he exceeded his allowance and 
there was a row, but he reduced the 
cost of production three mills per 
pound that month, yet with this proof 
the higher power demanded that the 
room be run inside the allowance. 
The trouble was the allowance wass 
not enough to meet changing condi- 
tions. This is an absolute truism 
well known to all good managers, 
that high initial cost is not incom- 
patible with good returns, and low 
ultimate cost of production. No. 254. 



CCLV. THE DOBBY HEAD MOTION. 

The dobby head motion is the part 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



605 



of the loom that raises or lowers the 
harnesses according to the pattern 
desired. When spealiing of a dobby, it 
is customary to say it is a 12 or 16 har- 
ness dobby, which denotes its capacity. 
There are various malces of dobbies 



"single" and "double" index. The 
meaning of the terms single and 
double index refer to the index 
fingers. In a single index machine, 
there is only one index finger to each 
harness, or for the two jack hooks, 




Fig. 118. Twenty-five Harness Double Index Dobby. 



in use, all of which can be classed 
under two heads, "single" and "dou- 
ble" action dobbies. The double ac- 
tion dobby can be further classed as 



and there is only one row of pegs in 
each bar of the chain, one bar rep- 
resenting one pick. The double in- 
dex machine has two index fingers, 



606 



COTTON MILL MANAGBMEOSIT . 



one for the bottom hook and one for 
the top jack hook and has two rows 
of pegs in each bar of the chain, one 
bar equalling two picks. 

SINGLE ACTION DOBBY. 

Single action dobbies are used in the 
manufacture of fancy gauze patterns. 
One disadvantage to this dobby is 
that the loom has to be run at a low 
rate of speed on account of the har- 
nesses having to be raised and low- 
ered at every pick. Another disad- 
vantage is that the filling has to be 
beaten up into the cloth while the 
shed is closed, thus it gets its name — ■ 
a "closed shed dobby." The double 
action dobby is the most adaptable 
for all kinds of work. By using a 
"yoke" and a "jumper" motion a 
large number of leno patterns can 
be run on this dobby as well as on 
the single action dobby. 

The working parts of the single 
and double index dobbies are prac- 
tically the same, the only difference 
being in the way the jack hooks are 
worked from the index fingers. On 
the single index finger, there Is a 
groove or slot into which a needle 
rests, the upper portion of the needle 
supporting the top Jack hooks. On 
some of the older style dobbies, in- 
stead of this needle being at the 
curved end of the finger, there is a 
wire connecting the bottom index 
finger to another set of index fingers 
supporting the top jack hooks. When 
the bottom index finger is raised, the 
top one is raised as well, which per- 
forms the same work as the needle 
supporting the top hook. 

The dobby can either be driven 
from the pick cam shaft or from the 
crank shaft. When driven from 
the crank shaft, one method 
of driving is as follows: A 
gear on the_ end of the crank shaft 
sometimes a 30 gear, meshes with a 
gear with double this number of 
teeth in it. This giear is on a smaii 
shaft that has a bevel gear on the 
opposite end. This bevel gear meshes 
with another bevel gear of the same 
number of teeth, fastened to an up- 
right shaft. There is a worm at- 



tached to the upper end of the shaft 
working into the worm gear fastened 
on the end of the chain barrel shaft. 

On a number of dobbies instead of 
being driven through the two small 
shafts, there is a small horizontal 
shaft attached to the side of the 
dobby just below the worm gear of 
the chain barrel. On one end of this 
small shaft is a worm working into 
the worm gear. On the opposite end 
is a sprocket with a chain connect- 
ing from this sprocket to a sprocket 
on the same shaft to which the 60 
gear is fastened. This motion is not so 
easy and smooth as the previous one. 
When the dobby is driven from the 
pick cam shaft, the driving rod is 
connected from the rocker shaft arm 
to a crank fastened to the pick cam 
shaft. A pawl is sometimes used to 
turn the chain barrel when using this 
drive. This pawl is attached to the 
front rocker arm and rests on a 
ratchet on the chain barrel shaft 
SETTING A DOBBY. 

In setting! up a dobby, care should 
be taken to see that the dobby is 
set on the stands as level as pos- 
sible. The card rollers or sheaves, 
as they are sometimes called, are 
in a position so that the harness 
shafts will be suspended an even dis- 
tance from each side of the loom; 
also, have the first sheave adjusted, 
so that the front harness will be 
about one-half an inch from the lay 
cap when crank is on back centre. 
The spring blocks can be set in posi- 
tion on the fioor by dropping a line 
from the sheaves at the side on 
which the harness straps work. This 
will be the centre of the spring block. 

When starting up a new dobby, care 
should be taken to see that all the 
parts work free and that the harness 
levers are adjusted so that they will 
not bind, but will drop down on their 
own weight. When setting a double in- 
dex dobby, see that the worm is set 
on the right pick, that is, so that the 
dobby is set so that the top 
knife coming out will take the 
first pick. The first row of pegs In 
the chain is usually for the top hooks. 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



(jOi 




Fig. 119. Twenty Harness Single l.ndex Dobby Mounted on Loom Frarn*. 



608 



COTTON MILL MANAlGEMENT 



Should the dobby be set so that the 
bottom knife takes the first pick, then 
a broken pattern will result. The 
reason for this is that the second 
row of pegs in the chain comes un- 
der the index fingers that the bot- 
tom row of jack hooks rests upon, 
causing the harnesses that ought to 
he lifted on the second pick, to be 
lifted on the first; or, the picks are 
put in as follows: The second picks 
will be inserted as the first, and the 
fourth as the third, and so on. 



The 



SIZE OF SHED 



required on a dobby is just sufficient 
to allow the shuttle to pass through 
without chafing the yarn. There are 
a number of ways in which the shed 
can be regulated: First, by grading 
the harness wires in the notches of 
the harness levers; secondly, by 
changing the position of the driving 
rod in the slot in the gear; thirdly, 
by changing the position of the 
swivel in the slot in the rocker shaft 
arm, and fourthly, by having the knives 
either closer or farther away from 
the hooks. The grading of the har- 
nesses wires is claimed to be one of 
the best methods. By this method 
an angular shed is obtained, that is, 
the back harnesses descend corres- 
pondingly lower as well as rising 
higher. This allows the yarn in the 
back harnesses to be close to the 
race board and helps to make a 
clearer shed. Usually the back rock- 
er arm is longer than the front one, 
and this will increase the size of the 
shed. There is danger, however, of 
having the end of the knife working 
out too far in comparison with the 
front end. This will cause the knife 
and the hooks to wear also, and will 
bend the needles, thus causing mis- 
picks. ConsideralJle cloth is often 
spoiled on account of the condition 
of the dobby. For instance, in a 
number of machines the top and 
bottom jack hooks are of a different 
length and shape; still oftentimes a 
fixer will try and use one for the 
other, and continual mispicks is the 
result. 



When replacingi a broken grate, the 
new grate may be rough and if it is 
put in that way, will cause the 
hooks to bind, or not allow them to 
rise out of the way of the knife 
when the harness should be down, 
and the result is a mispick. Bent 
jack hooks are aniotner source of 
trouble. Among other things that 
will cause mispicks are the follow- 
ing: A worn stud on the harness 
lever will allow the jack to slip off 
instead of raising the lever; harness 
levers being bound by the set screws 
being too tight against the plates 
against the harness levers; short or 
broken pegs; barrel not being set 
true, either too far forward or too 
far back, too high or too low, or not 
being set level, one side higher than 
the other; worn knife; worn hooks; 
rough index fingers; the side of the 
groove on the under part of the index 
finger being worn away by the pegs, 
allows the peg to slip in between the 
fingers instead of raising the index 
finger; a weak spring on the chain 
barrel will allow the barrel to turn 
too far around; a worn lever bolt, 
which passes through the slot of 
the harness lever, allows the lever 
to come out from under a bar 
it is supposed to be always in con- 
tact with; the end of the lever pull- 
ing away from this bar will make a 
difference in the lift of the harness, 
it not being raised so high, thus 
threads are often broken out, causing 
rough cloth and thin places; oil and 
lint collecting in the index fingers 
will cause mispicks; the bars of the 
chain being too large for the barrel, 
when passing over the top they are 
forced into space and instead of 
dropping out from the barrel, are 
taken around, causing the chain to wind 
up; a worn knife slide or too much 
play in the slide allows the front edge 
of the knife to tilt up and will often 
throw off the hooks, or will be tilted 
high enough to catch tlie other hooks 
when the harnesses should be down; 
again the hooks may not be complete- 
ly on the knife and will drop off, 
making mispicks and thin places and 
cause the shuttle to fly out. Unequal 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMEINT 



609 



springs also will produce what would 
be called mispicks. 

SETTING THE HARNESS. 
Another important thing is to see 
that the harnesses are not set too 
near the lay cap. The front harness 
ought to be set about half an 
inch from the lay cap with the crank 
shaft on back centre. Should the 
chain barrel be set too high, the index 
fingers will jump, and this will have 
a tendency to make the hooks catch 
on the knives when they ought not 
to. When the barrel is set too low, 
the hooks will not be lowered far 
enough to set well on the knives and 
will slip off or they will be missed al- 
together by the knives. This will also 
happen if the hook is not bent suffi- 
ciently or the hook or knife is worn. 
The chain barrel must be set on cor- 
rect time, but there is no absolute time 
that can be given. A good setting 
and one that will answer for a ma- 
jority of cases is to have pegs di- 
rectly under the index fingers with 
the knife about a quarter of an inch 
from the catch of the hooks, when 
on the outward movement. The 
setting of the harnesses is often re- 
sponsible for thin places in the cloth. 
By one of the harnesses not being 
lifted so high as the rest and the reed 
beating up the filling, the slack yarn 
doubles between the last pick and 
the one that is being 'beaten up, and 
the filling cannot be beaten into 
place. 

It can readily be seen from the 
description of the dobby head how 
many things there are to cause bad 
■rt^ork — each one of which is liable to 
make the piece into a second. 

No.255. 



CCLVI. AVOIDING WEAVE ROOM 
WASTE. 

There are probably few rooms in a 
mill where more power can be wast- 
ed in the running of machinery than 
in the weave room. One may go 
through this department and an ex- 
perienced ear can detect the heavy 
running of a loom, gears grinding, 
shuttles striking in the boxes too 



hard or rattling, one side of 
the loom having considera;ble more 
picker power than the other. A glance 
at the loom would prohably show that 
on one side, if a cone pick motion is 
used, where ordinarily the lug strap 
dog would be about one-quarter of 
an inch from the bottom of the pick 
shaft arms, with the lug strap level 
on the picking stick, the lug strap is 
probably about one inch below level 
on the picking stick. Taking a look 
at the opposite shuttle box wculd dis- 
close the fact that the shuttle can 
scarcely be forced in the box on ac- 
count of the binder being set too far 
in. 

PRODUCTION SUFFERS. 

Not only is it costing more to run 
the loom, but the production suffers 
as well, the loom being stopped fre- 
quently for repairs, the shuttle being 
damaged and probably chipped, in 
which case it will take out the yarn 
as it passes through the shed across 
the race board. Another cause of 
shuttle chipping is due to the strik- 
ing of the shuttle against the mouth- 
piece as it enters the box. This may 
be due to one or more harnesses not 
being set even with the others, being 
higher from the race board, and caus- 
ing the shuttle to rise upward. Some- 
times the shuttles are split sufficient- 
ly to take the yarn completely across 
the warp, in which case the warp has 
to be lifted out and sent to the draw- 
ing room to be re-drawn. 

Flying shuttles are a bad defect to 
contend with in the mill. Sometimes 
this is not the fault of the loom and 
other times it is. Soft yarns will 
cause the shuttle to fly on account of 
chafing behind the reed. A picker too 
low on the picking stick will cause 
the shuttle to fly out. When the pick- 
er is too low, the outer end of the 
shuttle will be tilted up when deliv- 
ered from the box. It is advisable 
to have the hole of the picker just 
a trifle higher than the tip of the 
shuttle when the latter is in the box. 
An expensive item in the 
mill is the cost of reeds. Only 
recently the writer had occa- 
sion to investigate a report that the 



610 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



reed was cutting the yarn. Upon ex- 
amination, a decided ridge was no- 
ticed across the reed where the shut- 
tle had traveled back and forth. It 
was so deep there was no wonder 
that the yarn was being cut. Another 
loom showed the shuttles to be rib- 
bed on the back through the reed, 
being what is known as "underjack- 
ed." Temple marks in the reeds are 
often responsible for a good many 
of them being thrown away or sent 
to the repairer to be fixed over. Thest 
marks are caused by having the tern 
pies set too near the fell of the cloth 

Often the space between the tip ot 
the temple and the end is greater 
than the width of the lay sole, so it 
there is nothing put on it to make up 
the difference the temple will 
STRIKE THE REED 
every time it beats up the filling. It 
is customary to tack on a pick of 
leather to the lay so as to give the 
temple a little start. A rebounding 
shuttle on a loom will increase the 
cost of a room, not only in the way 
of supplies, by the amount of unneces- 
sary waste made by the cops breaking 
in two on the spindle of the shuttle, 
or if using bobbin filling, by having 
it shell off the bobbin. The loom 
will "bang off" often breaking the 
various parts which naturally means 
a loss of production. 

The causes of a rebounding shuttle 
are that the pick on one side is too 
strong, or the binder has become 
loose, so that the shuttle goes into 
the box with such a force that the 
picker stick is pushed against 
the back end of the shuttle box ana 
the rebound sends the shuttle to 
ward the mouth of the box, and the 
next pick is a weak one on account 
of lost motion. The slipping of the 
binder finger on the protection rod 
is also responsible for shuttle re- 
bounding. 

UNEVEN CLOTH 

is another evil one has to contend 
with in a mill, and it is a hard one to 
handle, especially where the humidity 
is not very even. This is particularly 
true where friction ropes are used. 
The latter will often bind in damp 



weather, becoming sticky, and the yarn 
will not be delivered from the beam 
evenly. In trying to overcome this it 
is often made worse by the dropping 
of oil or putting tallow on the ropies, 
as this collects the lint. The best 
remedy is to take off the ropes and 
clean them, then sprinkle ithem with 
powdered black lead, and sometimes 
soapstone or French chalk is used. 

Among other things that will 
cause uneven cloth are the following: 
When using the gear let-off motion, 
the spring behind the pawl becomes 
weak and does not hold it in con- 
tact with the teeth, causing it to slip 
over some. The breaking of this 
spring will often cause a smash, the 
take-up gears being set in too deep. 
A weaver will sometimes make thick 
and thin places in the cloth by holding 
on to the finger which is connected to 
the rod to which the take-up check 
pawl is attached. Instead of letting 
back a few teeth on the take-up gear 
after the filling has run out, he will 
start up the loom, thus holding the 
check pawl from engaging with the 
take-up motion. Thus, the loom will 
be putting in the picks without the 
cloth being taken down correspond- 
ingly. 

SHUTTLE MARKS 
in the cloth are a defect to be guard- 
ed against, because if the cloth is to 
have a white finish they will show in 
the finished goods. These are caused 
by the filling being caught between 
the shuttle and the binder. A cloth 
with a poor selvage, is to be avoided 
if possible. A cloth with a good sel- 
vage can often be passed for a first 
quality even though there are imper- 
fections in the body of the cloth, but 
take a cloth with a poor selvage and 
the chances are that it will be thrown 
out for a "second" every time. Among 
a number of things that will cause 
bad selvages are the following: Not 
enough friction in the shuttles, al- 
lowing the filling to curl on the sel- 
vages, harnesses too low on one side, 
filling catching on the fork, too small 
a shed, too large a shed, and the way 
the warps are run on the slasher. If 
the press roll does not extend all the 
way across the warp, the portion that 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



611 



the press roll does not toucti is mucli 
larger in diameter, and when the yarn 
is drawn off the beams these threads 
slacken. Another source of ex- 
pense is the changing of the bobbins 
in an automatic loom before the fill- 
ing is sufficiently run out, often 
leaving as much as 20 to 60 yards 
of filling, and sometimes more. This 
is all waste, needless waste, and 
means added cost. No. 256. 



CCLVII. WEAVE ROOM MANAGE- 
MENT. 

As production plays a very impor- 
tant part — in fact, the most important 
part — in the weave room, so will any 
machine or part of machine have an 
influence, to a greater or less degree, 
on that production; such being the 
case, the box motion and shuttle 
boxes ought to be thoroughly under- 
stood by those in authority; not only 
understood, but attention given to the 
upkeep of the motions; for great cost 
in supplies can occur through lack of 
attention. It most certainly is not 
good management for several times 
more shuttles to be used than what 
is necessary with careful attention; 
no more than it is good management 
to purchase box motions without due 
consideration of the fabric that has 
to be produced, and the speed of the 
loom. 

There are, 

ONLY TWO OR THREE 
real good box motions on the market, 
and not wishing to mention specially 
the makes, let us consider the essen- 
tials of a good box motion, inciden- 
tally illustrating by a little experience 
a very poor motion. A certain per- 
son was demonstrating a mo- 
tion, and evidently thought he was 
one who knew all about it. After de- 
scribing tbe parts very minutely he 
was asked, "At what speed can you 
run the loom with safety?" "Oh, up 
to 180 picks per minute." "That is, at 
180 picks per minute you will guar- 
antee the boxes' to change from and 
to any position, the shuttle being 
thrown true, and no fear of the shut- 
tle being thrown out?" "Oh, no, the 
motion will give entire satisfaction." 



"Well, how about fixing the motion 
if it gets out of order? Can an ordi- 
nary fixer repair it in reasonable 
time?" "Yes, and besides, the motion 
is made to stand up, not to be out 
of order" 

So much for the statement of the 
first interested party. What was 

ACTUALLY THE CASE 
was this: The boxes were net 
set up in the same arc of move- 
ment as the laj', consequently, the 
boxes were level with the race 
plate only at one particular point 
in the movement of the lay, and 
if the boxes were set level with 
the crank on top centre, they were 
not perfectly level when the shuttle 
was going in the box; this meant more 
or less chipping of the shuttle, and it 
took some time to locate this fault. 
Part of the motion was made up of a 
series of levers, one of them being a 
swinging lever imparting motion to 
the main box lever, which acted as 
compound and single at some part of 
its movements. It was started up at 
160 picks in the mill and for a time 
ran all right; but it soon commenced 
to show itself; broken shuttles, great 
amount of time required to re-set the 
motion, constant ''eplacing of parts, 
in fact, it was a costly motion. It 
was made to stand up, but only when 
it was stopped. Such motions as these 
consume a lot of the fixer's time that 
might be spent more profitably, the 
production is not what it ought to 
be, and there is also a big waste in 
supplies. 

REGARDING THE MOTION. 
A motion that will run steadily, that 
can be fixed readily when necessary, 
and that has few parts about it, is 
the motion worth installing, but the 
best motion is of no avail if not kept 
up. There are two things that can 
occur which probably do more harm 
than anything else to the box motion. 
One is that the boxes do not work 
freely in the slides, either through 
want of a little oil, or the slides not 
being straight. The other is, the hole 
in the picker is too large, so that the 
shuttle is held tight when the boxes 
are to pass up or down, or the picker 



612 



COTTON MIIjL MAJNAGEMENT 



may be too far back so that the shut- 
tle is caught between the guide plates. 
These faults cause undue strain on 
the 'box motion, and sometimes pick- 
ing sticks are broken. These defects 
can be readily detected by anyone 
passing" through the room, because the 
boxes have a jumping motion. It pays 
to watch for these little things, for 
many breaks can be prevented. 

Too often losses occur through not 
examining a new set of boxes before 
they are placed in the loom, for rough 
and sharp edges will be found on the 
inside; these 

NOT ONLY DESTROY 
shuttles, but cause false binding of 
the shuttle, and not cleaning olf all 
the grease will also cause a ?ot of 
trouble. 

This ghows the value of having a 
man in the machine shop devoting his 
time to loom repairs, for he can thor- 
oughly overhaul the boxes, saving val- 
uable time and the possible loss of 
supplies. Allowing the picking stick 
bunter to wear down too low is a bad 
fault, for picking sticks are unduly 
worn, and pickers are simply wasted. 
Not only that, but a worn bunter 
causes the stick and picker to be 
worn in such a manner that they are 
the cause of shuttles flying, and more 
than one lawsuit has been the result 
of these faults. 

While we do not favor the over- 
seer fixing looms, unless, of course, 
it is a small mill and part of 
his work, yet we do most certainly be- 
lieve it part of his duty to see that 
the machinery in his care is kept up 
to the best s'tate of efficiency. He can 
do this w'ithout crossing the temper 
of the fixers, if they are reasonable 
men; in fact, he must, at all hazards, 
if he would earn his pay. Delegating 
such duties to the second hand is all 
very well in general, but usually the 
second hand has all he can attend to 
and sometimes more than he ought to 
have. The 

FOLLOWING INCIDENT 
will illustrate this: In a certain 
mill where Draper and box looms 
are run, and the help is a chang- 



ing quantity, they have a fairly high 
cost of production, and a high supply 
cost. Of course, these two go hand 
in hand, the latter having a very 
marked infiuence on the former; and 
the question has been asked time and 
again. Why can't we reduce our sup- 
ply cost? Let us see. There is strong 
competition in that town on the help 
question, but in this particular mill 
they pay the lowest wages for odd 
help that is possibly paid in any mill 
for miles around. Odd help that is 
any good at all naturally is scarce in 
that mill, with what result? It is a 
common sight to see the overseer, but 
particularly the second hand, wheel- 
ing filling around, picking up bobbins, 
straightening out mixed filling, and 
other such jobs that are incident to 
such business. We do not speak of 
an odd time or so, but it is a constant 
practice. 

A well-regulated mill that has a 
true conception of the economy of 
labor does not expect, and will not 
allow those in charge to do the menial 
labor of the department, for they know 
full well it is impossible to get high- 
class production under such condi- 
tions. Not considering all the little 
details that enter into and cause these 
bad results, this fact stands out verj- 
prominently, and is a problem that 
some of our managers need to real 
ize, namely, when the persons in 
charge do menial work they lose 
prestige, there is a lack of respect 
for a,uthority on the part of the work 
people and there is constant friction 

How is it possible to prevent the 
small leaks that eventually become 
open faucets under the conditions 
mentioned? A number of persons 

HAVE BEEN INJI'RED 
by flying shuttles, and in almost every 
case the shuttle came from a box 
loom, and on examining the boxes the 
front edge was found to be dented 
through the constant jumping of the 
shuttle, caused in the main by bad 
pickers, picking sticks, and hunters. 
Now, if those in charge had been do- 
ing their proper work, they could 
have heard the shuttle jumping. 

What do we understand by the true 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMBlNT 



613 



economy of labor? Using the right 
labor for the right grade of work, and 
getting out of tiat labor the best that 
is in them. Is it economy to fix a 
wage at $5, when by paying $6 you can 
have the choice of a certain class, and 
not having the choice, a $15 employe 
has to spend the biggest part of his 
time helping the lower priced laborer 
while seconds are accumulating. Is 
it economy to have the regular fixer 
do all his changing over, especially in 
mills where quick changes have to be 
made, ^nd through this changing over 
have looms stopped two and three or 
more hours at a time? Is it economy 
to have a dirty room, through lack of 
help, especially if enough help can be 
obta;ined? 
Look at the 

VAST BENEFIT DERIVED 
when the overseer, if not the second 
hand in addition, has time to make 
a careful inspection of the cloth be- 
ing woven at least twice a week. In 
passing through the alleys he 
will readilj' detect little faults, and 
there are very few fixers but that 




Fig, 121. Worn Picker. 

are interested enough in their work 
to respect the person who brings to 
their attention the little things that 
would eventually lead to big losses. 
Of course, there is a way to do this 
BO as not to offend. This passing 
around and through the room may 
not appeal to all, but there is nothing 
which will reduce seconds so quickly 



as this form of management, for very 
few weavers like to have the overseer 
or second hand point out faults in their 
cloth at the loom, and in addition it 
prevents that obnoxious method of 
calling the weaver to the examining 
board, although such a step is nec- 
essary sometimes. 

Perhaps the above may appear 
foreign to the question of management 
as it is understood in these articles, 
but to the writer it is not so. The 
great and growing unrest among the 
work people demands consideration, 
and very careful consideration; and 
what ha»* been written already de- 
serves a place in the discussion of 
this mighty problem, for possibly mis- 
management and a wrong conception 
of the true economy of labor has much 
to do with the unrest of to-day. 

No. 257. 



CCLVIII. HANDLING SUPPLIES. 

Among the many things that enter 
into the management of a weave room 
is the giving out of supplies. Here 
a considerable amount can be wasted 
or saved, according to the -manner in 
which the supplies are given out. 
For instance, in some mills, no ac- 
count is taken of the supplies the 
second hand receives. All he has to 
do when his stock is low is to go 
and get all he wants, and the cost of 
said supplies is charged up to the 
weave room in general. 

Another way in which the cost is 
kept high is in the ordering of picker 
sticks. These are often ordered in 
the bunch for the entire room, and 
are placed by the fixer's bench so that 
the fixer can help himself. The result 
is that the picker sticks are scattered 
all over the floor, and the chances are 
that a num^ber will land near a steam 
pipe and get warped, and will have 
to be thrown away. 

AN EXPENSIVE ITEM. 

Shuttles are a very expensive 
item in a weave room. How often will 
a fixer get new shuttles before the 
old ones become worn out, or broken. 
Whereas, if he had to go to 
the second hand or the overseer, in 
fact, and show him the old shuttle 



614 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



before receiving new ones, a consider- 
able expense would be saved. A num- 
ber of mills have a central supply 
room, where all supplies are given out, 
an account taken of where the sup- 
plies are delivered, and at the end 
of the month a report is sent in to 
the office and a duplicate is sent to 
the weaA^er, and the report is marked 
if an excess amount of supplies are 
used on any of the sections. A sep- 
arate account is kept of supplies that 
are used for changing over. Usually 

1 



i I 




Fig. 



122. Worn Shuttle Caused by 
Loose Bindei- Bolt. 



when a mill decides to make a change 
from one style to another, advance 
notice is sent into the weave room 
so that the weaver can look up what 
he may need in order to make the 
change. The making of fixers is an 



important thing and one that is often 
lost sight of. In one mill that the writer 
has worked, the heads of the mill 
tried as far as possible to have their 
own fixers, giving encouragement to 
the young men employed in the mill, 
first by having them go around 
"smash piecing" and assisting the fix- 
ers in their spare time, then when 
a vacancy occurred or changes were 
needed, they were given a chance 
at changing over. 

Sometimes' when a regular fixer was 
out for a day or so, the changer was 
put on the section, thus getting expieri- 
ence not only in 

CHANGING OVER IHE LOOMS 
from one style to another, but in run- 
ning the section a,nd then when a regu- 
lar fixer was needed, one was raised 
up from the changers. In another mill 
an entirely difleront system was in 
use. Here they have fixers who do 
the changing over and who are paid 
more than the regular fixers. These 
changes are often what a boy or a 
learner could do, such as getting the 
harness straps ready, bending wires 
for the harnesses, etc., often not fully 
starting up a warp, but leaving it for 
the fixer on the section to finish. In 
this mill the majority of men on the 
sections have been weavers who were 
taken directly off their looms and put 
on a section without, practically 
speaking, any experience whatever 
The dilTerence between the two mills 
is that in the first one the 
sections are kept in good or- 
der, with a high production, and low 
cost of supplies; while in the second 
case the looms are continually stop- 
ped for want of fixing, and the third 
hand, instead of helping out the sec- 
ond hand, is helping out the fixers, 
the weavers not earning anywhere 
near what they would earn under ex- 
perienced men. No young men are 
employed in the rooms, because there 
is no encouragement for them, and 
the cost of the room is increased 
over what it should be in the line of 
repairs and supplies. 

STARTING WARPS. 

The above brings up the subject of 
starting up warps in which process 
considerable care should be taken. 



COTTON MILL, MANAGEME3NT 



615 



A warp that has been put 
in the loom without any thought of 
how the harnesses are set is bound, 
sooner or later, to give trouble. Take, 
for instance, lenos: The doups with a 
little care in setting can be made to 
run for quite a long time, while if 
care is not used, one side being high- 
er than the other, or the doup harness 
too high or too low, the 
doups can be spoiled in a 
very few minutes, so much so. that 
before one or two pieces have been 
woven the doups have to be replaced. 
This means loss of production, ex- 
tra added cost, more work for the 
section hand, and the chances are that 
he will get a few of these Jobs ahead, 
and will have to get a spare hand 
to help him out. 

While passing through a mill pro- 
ducing plain goods, I noticed quite a 
number of looms where the warps 
had been changed so that when the 
new warp was tied in, instead of 
using an apron to tie the yarn to, 
the fixer had torn the cloth so as 
to tie the yarn in order to start 
up the warp. It may not look to 
be a very large item, but when 12 to 
20 inches of cloth is wasted in this 
way on one loom, it is not going to 
be very long before it amounts to quite 
a sum. The question is often raised. 
how is it that the looms in one room 
will turn off. a larger production than 
the looms in another? Take, for 
instance, two rooms that have a cloth 
43x35, 30 warp, 12 filling, 6-yard goods : 
In one room, the looms run at a 
speed of 172 picks per minute, v/hile 
in the other room the speed of the 
looms is 18S picks per minute, and in 
each room a M'eaver tends to 5 and 
6 looms. 

THE PRODUCTION 
of the room with the 172 picks aver- 
ages 5 per cent more than the room 
with the 188 speed. According to 
theory, this should not be so but it 
is actually a fact. 

There are a number of things to be 
taken into consideration. There are 
more possibilities of the yarn break- 
ing out through the high speed than 
with the lower speed. The filling 
naturally will run out quicker, and 



unless the weaver is right on the job 
and the shuttles filled up, the looms 
will be stopped oftener, and will lose 
more than is gained by the higher 
speed. This is taking the room as 
a whole. Of course, there are a few 
weavers who will push the looms for 
all they are worth, taking advantage 
of higher speed to obtain more wages, 
but on the whole, these are excep- 
tions. No, 258. 



CCLIX. OBJECTS OF SIZING. 

The object of sizing is to strength- 
en the yarn, so that without breaking 
it will resist the fraying action of the 
harness and the strain exerted upon 
it in weaving. Yarns for bleaching 
and dyeing should contain very little 
size, and then only of the best qual- 
ity, otherwise the goods when fin- 
ished will be faulty in appearance, as 
the yarns and floury admixture are 
differently affected in these processes. 

Size to be applied to yarns should 
be of such a character that it will ad- 
here to the yarn firmly not only while 
wet, but after the yarn has become 
perfectly dry. It should also retain 
its attachment to the yarn, even when 
submitted to the chafing action of the 
working parts of the loom with which 
the yarn comes in contact. Although 
no two concerns may be using the 
same mixing, the above-named objects 
should always be borne in mind when 
making up a mixing of size, whether 
it is for light, medium, or heavy 
sizing. 

Many concerns seem to think that 
a mix of potato starch, or sago and 
water with a little tallow put in is 
good enough even for fine yarns and 
cambrics. A mix of this sort may 
be all right for coarse open weaves, 
constructed, say, from 20s warp yarn, 
40 sley and 40 pick, but when we come 
to use 36s yarn and finer we want a 
better mix, one that will make a 36s 
yam as strong as 26s, if possible. 

Some overseers I have come in con- 
tact with reduce the water a little 
and have the size a little thicker and 
put in an extra pound or so of tallow, 
and then when a few warps have been 
put into the looms they would be 
asked if they had been sized heavy 



616 



COTTON MIIjL MANAGEMENT 



enough, if not, they would be made 
a little heavier. I am speaking now 
of the aforesaid cheap mix when ap- 
plied to fine yarns. 

I often asked the superintendent to 
let us have 

A BETTER MIXING 
when using 32s yam or finer. For a 
long time I could get nothing done, as 
the general manager had given in- 
structions to each mill to use a 
special mix of his own invention. He 
always said they had no complaints 
from the other mills, which may have 
been perfectly true, as the other mills 
seldom used yams finer tlian 27s, 
while our mill, being the newest and 
equipped with the latest new machin- 
ery, got the styles with the fine yarns. 

Oftentimes we have made the fine 
cambrics with 38s yarn 90 sley and 
100 picks and had complaints com- 
ing from the head office about the 
large percentage of seconds. I should 
not be wrong if I said half the order 
was seconds or rejects. 

Beside the bad cloth, we were always 
sure to lose a few weavers when this 
order came round, as the v/eaving 
was so very bad from warp breakages. 
If a weaver had a pick out it was not 
often the loom could be started again 
without winding down until the soft 
place got through. I always contend 
that to cut expenses down to the low- 
est possible unit in the sizing depart- 
ment is false economy, as I said be- 
fore, "bad sizing is positively certain 
to cause loss to a concern." 

There is still 

ANOTHER EVIL 
arising from poor sizing, and that is 
the large amount of sweepings taken 
up in the weave room. This is due 
to the size not laying the fibres on 
the thread and holding them there 
until the yarn has passed through the 
reed and woven into the cloth. The 
sweepings are of very small value 
compared with their worth if they 
had been made into cloth. The size 
itself also falls off and will get into 
the bearings and dry up the oil, and 
very soon wear and clog the bearings 
and make the loom run stiff. 

The looms in some weave rooms 



are as thick with dust and lint in one 
day as they become in other weave 
rooms in three or four days. This is 
due chiefly to the poor quality of 
sizing. 

Another fault of the slasher man is 
the carelessness in the handling of 
the steam in the drying cylinders. 
When sizing coarse numbers, more 
steam is required in the cylinders to 
dry the yarn than in the case of fine 
ones. A good practical slasher 
man can tell from the feel of the 
yam, as it is running on the loom 
beam, how much steam to use and 
also how to regulate the speed of 
the machine to get the best results. 

If the yarn is run on the cylinders 
which are too hot and kept on the 
cylinders too long, there will be great 
difficulty in weaving the warp, as the 
yarn Avill have been "burned." The 
yarn will be 

TENDER AND BRITTLE 
and cause an excessive amount of 
breakages. On the other hand, if 
enough steam is not used the yarn 
is run on the loom beam damp. 
Should this warp lie in a warm damp 
room, it will develop mildew or fungi 
growth. Oftentimes this growth is so 
bad (almost black with it) that warps 
have to be taken out and the yam 
pulled off the beam, sometimes to be 
cut off with a knife, and thrown away. 

Too much care cannot be exercised 
in the amount of steam used and the 
speed of the machine. The quality of 
the loom beaui plays a very impor- 
tant part in the making of good cloth. 
The spikes or projecting shaft in the 
ends of the beams become bent 
through long usage and 

CARELESS HANDLING, 
the wood roller will become slightly 
warped, and this will throw the 
flanges or beam heads out of square 
with the roller. 

Beams of this kind ought not to be 
used until they have been put straight 
and square. We will, for a minute or 
two, look into what happens if a 
crooked beam is used. Should the 
spikes be out of centre, one-half the 
beam will be heavier than the other 
half. By half the beam I mean the 



COTTON MILL MANAGlEJMlEJNT 



617 




Fig. 124. Drawing-ln Frame. 



618 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



radius from the centre of the spike 
to the outside rim of the beam head. 
This will cause the beam to run around 
something like an eccentric cam 
When the heavy side of the beam is 
moving on the downward side of the 
revolution, the cloth will be weaving 
slaOk and when the heavy side comes 
to the going up side of the revolu- 
tion the cloth will be weaving tight. 
This will give cloth of uneven width 
all through the piece, beside differ- 
ence in appearance. 

If the beam heads are crooked, the 
yarn at the selvage will be 

PILED UP HIGHER 

than the bodj^ of the warp on one- 
half of the circumference and lower 
on the other half. Sometimes the 
higher part will be broken and cut 
by the press rolls under the beam in 
the slasher machine. In the weaving 
of a warp of this sort the selvage will 
weave tight when the lower side is 
coming off the beam, and slacker 
when the higher side is coming 
off. This will cause the cloth 
to look very bad when placed on the 
table, for a certain distance the sel- 
vage will be curly or crimpy and a 
corresponding distance tight and 
strained. 

There is one very bad fault that 
plasher men are prone to, and that 
is the long distance they run down 
with threads wrapping on the cylin- 
ders or section beams. This makes 
it necessary for the weaver to "bor- 
row" threads from the selvage, some- 
times for days. A little piece of 
waste or a thread or two accumulating 
behind the raddle will cause a smash 
that will bother the weaver for many 
a day. 

At two mills in which I have worked 
It was the custom for the slasher men 
to stop work at the end of a beam 
any time after 11 o'clock for their 
dinner. At 1 o'clock boil up again 
and start up, wasting about 10 
yards or more of warp that has been 
in the size box and on the cylinders. 
When a set is put in the machine it 
ought to be run straight through, if 
possible, to get good results. 

There is one more matter I want 



to touch on, and that is the 
striking of the combs for the 
use of the drawing-in room. 
In mills where a variety of styles are 
made it is necessary to have at least 
two counts of striking combs. A line 
one for fine and high sley work, and 
a coarse or medium count of striking 
comb for the coarser numbers and 
lower sley. 

Many times I have seen the slasher 
man, when he was running a fine set 
and not having a fine comb in his 
stand, put one of the coarser comlbs 
in, because he could not stop his ma- 
chine to go round and find a fine 
comb. This would put from four to 
eight ends in one dent, and when the 
drawers-in picked out their ends from 
this comb we found that when the 
warp was put into the loom there was 
a difficulty in putting in the lease 
rods on account of the crossed and 
twisted condition of the threads. 

This will cause many unnecessary 
breakages of yarn in the weave room, 
and be a source of trouble to the 
weaver all the time the warp is in 
the loom. Crooked and closed dents 
in the comb will also give the same 
trouble on account of too many ends 
getting into one dent. No. 259. 



CCLX. DRAWING-IN ROOM 

Very much of the success of the 
weave room depends on the careful 
handling of the warps in the drawing- 
in room. The system used largely 
for four-harness work is not the best 
one, that is, the one where the draw- 
ing-in girl hangs up the harness loose- 
ly in a frame, with the comb opposite 
the harness eyes, and after marking 
off the number of empty eyes on each 
harness stave, places her four fingers 
of her left hand through the open 
part of the harness underneath the 
eye through which the ends are drawn 
and with her metal hook proceeds to 
draw the ends In from the comb. For 
the first few ends she can get them 
straight, but the constant pulling out 
of ends from the comb has a tendency 
to slacken the other threads in the 
comb. 

This is where the mischief is done, 
as when the yam is slack it is al- 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



619 



most impossible to pick out the 
threads in their s'traight order from 
the comb. The girl is on piece work 
and cannot afford to stop every dozen 
ends or so to draw the yarn tight in 
the comb, hence we get crossed 
threads in the weave room, which 
are a source of trouble through get- 
ting caught behind the lease rods or 
behind the drop wires of the stop mo- 
tion. Seeing that all the threads are 
straight in 

THE SLASHING MACHINE, 

why not do everything possible to 
deliver the warps to the weaver in as 
straight a manner as when they left 
the s'lasher. 

In Figure 12-1 we show a 
frame that will give good re- 
sults. The framework is of cast-iron. 
The beam is wound up by means of 
a small traveling crane and put into 
the two bearings by putting up the 
beam, thus it is only necessary to 
have about half a yard of warp wound 
off the beam instead of having aJbout 
two yards wound off when the beam 
is on two low stands on the floor. 
When too much yarn is wound off, the 
beam, it does not always get put 
back in the same straight manner 
that it was taken off. 

Persons walking past the warp that 
is low down will sometimes acciden- 
tally rub against the yarn, causing 
it to roll over in the form of ropes, 
and if the warp is soft-sized and 
well-twisted yarn, it has a tendency 
to curl and twist in the form of 
ropes. Any number of harnesses can 
be hung in this frame and a thin 
wooden stave passed through 
the harness under the eye and drawn 
up by means of cord at each end 
until the right tension is obtained for 
the harness to slide on the wooden 
stave. A girl of about 14 years can 
do the work of picking the ends from 
the comb as well as an older per^n. 
The operative can use a double hook 
for the harness, taking in the first 
and third together and the second and 
fourth together. The reed can be 
drawn in at the same time by means 



of a thin piece of hard wood shaped 

as shown in Figure 12S: 




Fig. 123. Special Hook of Tiiin Hard 
Wood. 

This can be manipulated by the left 
hand and pulled through the two 
threads, while the girl behind is put- 
ting two more threads on the double 
harness hook. A very high rate of 
speed can be obtained with a little 
practice. 

Although the cost is a little more 
than for the single drawer-in, the 
quality of work is so much better and 
the extra production of weave room 
increased so that the little extra 
money paid for dra wing-in is consider- 
to be money well s-pent. When a draw- 
ing-in girl leaves her work, there is al- 
ways some one ready to promote from 
reachers to drawers, and thus the 
company is not bothered to teach raw 
recruits and have in a few days 
looms waiting for warps. 

The man in charge of the room 
should be careful that no bad reeds 
are put on the warps until all neces- 
sary repairs have been made. Unless 
the harness is well looked after and 
kept tied \ip in sets, there is danger of 
getting wrong counts of harnesses to- 
gether, and after a few hours' work 
and trouble in the weave room the 
warp must be brought back and 
drawn in over again. 

A careless man attending to harness 
can soon cause a large amount of 
mischief and expense. A harness 
room is one of those places "where 
there is a place for everything and 
everything in its place." Each har- 
ness shaft should be stamped in plain 
figures the 'number of eyes it contains, 
and the spread, and the shelf where 
they are hung should be plainly 
marked, so that, should at any time 
the help in that department be 
changed, the new man would be able 
to find what he wants on the first 
day of his employment and not be 



620 



COTTON MILL MANAiG-BMENT 



making blunders every day until he 
gets the hang of the thing. 

NO SYSTEM OF MARKING. 

I know of one mill that has 
no numbers marked on the har- 
ness, and the only recognition 
mark is a dab of paint of different 
colors on the end of the harness shaft 
or stave. Should the harness man 
leave and take his book with him, 1 
do not know what would happen. 

I do not know what the idea is for 
this system, unless they do not want 
anybody to know the counts of har- 
ness they use. The reeds were 
marked somewhat mysteriously, just 
the total dents on the end. The reeds 
ought to be marked with the number 
of dents per inch and the length in 
inches, beside the total dents. 1 
rather like the system in vogue in 
England. Beside the counts marked 
on the broad dent at the end, col- 
ored dents are used in the centre of 
the reed, chiefly blue steel wire dents. 
If the reed wa& 48s, the three dents 
would be placed so that there would 
be four dents between the first and 
second blue dents and eight dents be- 
tween the s'econd and third blue 
dents. This is very useful should the 
ends get lost or the figures be indis- 
tinct. Care should be taken when 
tying up the warp after drawing in 
to tie up the harness and reed firmly 
to the warp, so that there is no dan- 
ger of the harness slipping backward 
on the warp in the handling of the 
warp in the weave room. Should the 
warp have stop-motion pins or the 
long flat wire harness, much mischief 
can be caused through broken yarn. 

In some mills 

IT IS THE CUSTOM 
to employ a boy to clean the harness 
as it com.es from the weave room and 
pass it on to another boy, who re- 
pairs the ends and replaces broken 
harnesses (this is in regard to cotton 
harnesses). Suppose the boy who re- 
pairs the harnesses is careless and 
cuts off a few broken parts and does 
not replace them with new ones. This 
harness will not match up with three 
good ones, and Avhen the set is drawn 
in and goes to the loom the warp yarn 
is found to be breaking too frequently, 



and on looking up the cause, it will 
be found that the warp 3^arn toward 
the edge is not passing through the 
harness in a straight line, due to 
one of the harnesses having had a 
few harness threads cut off. The only 
remedy for this is to cut the string 
or cord at the end of the shaft and 
let the harness slide in sufficiently to 
allow the warp ends to pass through 
the harness in a straight line. I do 
not think it pays in the long run to 
have a harness repairer, but if the 
money spent on his wages was put 
into new harnesses it would often give 
better results in the weave room and 
better satisfaction to all concerned. 

No. 260. 



CCLXI. FAULTS IN CLOTH. 

The different kinds of faults that 
go to make a piece of cloth into what 
is called a "second" are numerous, 
and we will take them one by one and 
examine them closely and see if they 
cannot be remedied. The first we 
will deal with is one that is far too 
common, and is known in the cloth 
room and weave room as uneven cloth. 
Oftentimes the cloth will have a very 
cloudy appearance, as if some attempt 
was being made to make a plain cloth 
into a fancy cloth by varying the 
number of picks per inch of filling, 
that is, a stripe will run across the 
cloth from selvage to selvage very 
closely woven, and the stripe next to 
this will be very open and contain 
about half as many picks to the inch 
as the closely woven stripe. Without 
hesitation this can be put down as the 
fault of the loom and the loom should 
be stopped at once so that the fixer 
may put it right. 

Very often it will be found 
that the beam is sticking some- 
where, and when the tension of 
cloth becomes tighter, the beam, of 
course, has to go round, which 
it does with a lurch or jump and 
causes a thin place to appear in 
the cloth. If the loom has a friction 
let-off motion, the ropes may have 
become sticky and should be taken 
off and cleaned and a little powdered 
black lead rubbed on them. It 
may be that the ropes are put too 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



621 



many times around the beam head 
and the grip is too keen. If the col- 
lars for the ropes or chains are sep- 
arate from the beam head and fast- 
ened to the beam by screws, it may 
be found that one of the screws is 
coming out and catching a link of 
the chain or cutting into the rope. If 
the loom has an automatic 

LET-OFF MOTION, 
there may be some part bind- 
ing or the spring which holds the 
pawl in contact with the ratchet 
toothed wheel may be too weak to 
hold the pawl firmly and will allow 
it to slip over a few teeth. With a 
little thought on the part of the fixer 
it can soon be found out what is 
wrong. 

If the take-up gears are not work- 
ing right, through the wheels being 
put too deep in the gear so that they 
do not go round freely, or not put in 
deep enough, allowing the driven 
wheel to slip back a few teeth at 
intervals, or the pawl which works 
from the sley sword and pushes round 
the ratchet wheel one tooth at a time 
becomes loose, or is moved a little, 
so that it may be pushing the wheel 
around one tooth, and sometimes two 
and sometimes none at all — these vari- 
ations will cause the cloth to be un- 
even. 

Some years ago the writer v/as 
called to a loom that had been mak- 
ing a thin bar once in a while and 
for which the fixer had spent many 
hours trying to find the cause. After 
looking over the let-off motion and 
take-up gears, and finding nothing 
wrong, he happened to be watching 
the whip roll (it was one of those used 
on the Draper loom), and noticed it 
worked backward and forward like a 
rocker shaft. On making inquiries, 
it was found that previously the loom 
had had a 

STRONG CLOTH IN THE WARP. 
This may not seem to have any- 
thing to do with the making of 
this thin bar, but it had, in this way: 
The loom was 54 inches wide, and 
the whip roll was not very thick and 
strong. The extra tension required to 
make the strong cloth had caused 



the whip roll to bend a little in the 
middle, and prevented it revolving. 
This caused the ends of the whip roll, 
which are in the bearings on the 
arms, to wear on one side only, leav- 
ing the roll in a bent condition; but 
when the tension was taken off, the 
roll appeared to be straight enough, 
so that the trouble was not detected. 

Now that the loom had in a very 
light cloth, the whip roll would 
go around once in a while, and 
through the roll ends being worn on 
one side, it had a kind of an excen- 
tric movement. As will be understood, 
when the larger radius side got over 
the top centre, it allowed the yarn to 
slacken; hence, the thin bar. After 
having the ends of the roll turned 
down in the lathe, there was no more 
trouble. Sometimes on looking at un 
even cloth, it will be found that the 
filling is not level, but is thicker in 
some places than others. This should 
be reported at once to the spinner, 
along with the spinner's ticket with 
the number of the machine on which 
it was made, so that the machine can 
be overhauled, and the fault remedied. 

Far too many pieces are made into 
"seconds" 

THROUGH CARELESSNESS 
of the weaver. If the loom runs a few 
picks after the filling has run out, or 
broken, because the filling fork is 
bent and catches the sides of the 
grate, or the brake is not acting 
properly, a good weaver will get the 
loom fixed r'ight away, while a care- 
less weaver will continue with 
the loom out of order. When the loom 
stops from broken filling, or the shut- 
tle runs empty, the take-up gears 
should be turned back a few teeth, 
so that when the loom is started up, 
the first pick of filling may he beat 
up close to the last pick put in be- 
fore the loom stopped. If the wheels 
are not turned back, a thin bar will 
be made across the cloth, and if too 
many teeth are turned back, a thick 
or heavy bar will be made. It is the 
best policy to stop the loom just be- 
fore the filling finishes, and change 
the shuttles, thus adding to the weav- 
er's income, and making better cloth 
for the company. 



622 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



In the common and cheap grade 
of cloth, thick threads are not ot 
much consequence, and are not very 
often complained about, unless the 
piece is very bad. When we come to 
the finer grades, such as lawns and 
cambrics, then the thick threads are 
not wanted, and everything possible 
should be done to keep them out. 
Some thick threads will go for yards 
and oftentimes through a whole piec« 
and all through the whole of the 
warps in that set. When the thick 
thread goes through all of the piece it 
shows negligence on the part of the 
weaver in not having taken out the 
end and replaced it by one of the 
right counts or number. 

This thick thread got in at the 
warping frame through carelessness 
on someone's part, by which a wrong 
bobbin got into the creel. The thick 
threads of few or many yards in 
length are caused by an end or thread 
breaking down in the spinning frame 
and the broken roving being licked 
in by the next thread, making that 
thread of douible thickness and of a 
very hard and wiry feel. A good spin- 
ner will pull this thick part olf the 
bobbin, while a careless spinner will 
let it go, knowing that once she has 
got rid of the bobbins it will be a 
difficult matter afterward to find the 
culprit. The frame tenders in the 
card room are responsible for a grea1> 
er part of the thick threads that ap- 
pear in the woven cloth. When a 

BOBBIN RUNS EMPTY 
on the speeder frames it is necessary 
to join the finishing end from the 
empty bobbin to the starting end of 
the full bobbin by overlapping the 
two ends and rolling them together 
between the thumb and first finger. 

A good frame tender will not overlap 
the two ends more than half an inch, 
thus making a neat piecing, which 
cannot be found after it has gone 
through the different drawing-out proc- 
esses to get the finished thread, while 
otliers will overlap the two ends as 
much as three inches, just rolling to- 
gether in the middle. This kind of 
piecing will form an ugly looking thick 
place in the finished thread of any- 
where from six inches to half a 



yard in length, according to the 
stage of the process when the piec- 
ing was made. Careless piecing of 
the roving at the spinning frames will 
make a thick thread of a few inches 
in length, and however much an over- 
seer may insist on the weaA^ers break- 
ing out these thick threads before they 
are woven in the cloth, it is impossible 
to keep them all out. When tne 
weavers can take them out it is a 
good plan to hang them up at some 
convenient place and the fixer or sec- 
ond hand to collect them once a week 
and send them back to the spinner 
and carder so that they can take the 
matter up with their help and have 
this fault remedied so far as possible. 

SLUBS, OR LUMPY IlLLING. 
This is a fault that will often maJte 
a piece of cloth into a "second." The 
short slubs may be pulled out with 
care and the empty space scratched 
together by means of a steel comb, 
but the long slubs which reach all 
across the cloth, and sometimes for 
two or three picks, cannot be pulled 
out and the place scratched up, 
as the scratch-up often looks worso 
than the slub, no matter how 
much time is spent over it. There 
are various causes for lumpy fill- 
ing, the chief one being that the 
weaver does not put the cop onto 
the shuttle spindle firm and tight, 
or, in pushing the spindle through the 
cop does not put the spindle through 
the centre of the cop, thus causing 
a few coils of filling to be on the out- 
side of the spindle and when in weav- 
ing off, the filling does not break, but 
will come off the spindle in the form 
of a slub or lump. Oftentimes the 
point of the spindle will go through 
the nose of the cop a little on one 
side, and if the weaver does not pull 
a little of the filling off from the nose 
until it comes off the spindle 
straight, this will cause a long siuD 
to weave in the cloth. If the cops 
are wound too slack in the spinning 
room, thus making a soft, spongy cop, 
they will cause slubs and lumpy uu- 
ing. If the filling has not beea 
steamed at all, or not steamed long 
enough, this will cause slub§ to appear 
in the cloth. Too strong a pick on the 



COTTON MIDL MANAGEMENT 



623 



loom will knock off the fllling in 
bunches. 

SNARLS IN THE FILLING. 
Snarls are somewhat of the nature 
of a slub, and are most frequent in 
hard twisted yarns. They nearly al- 
ways appear on the opposite side of 
the loom to the starting handle, or 
on that side of the loom where the 
shuttle eye goes up to the top of the 
box. It is one of those faults that is 
very difficult to remedy. To give the 
filling a little longer steaming is a 
good remedy. To reduce the pick on 
the loom will help some, and open 
out a little the box front, so that the 
filling does not get pinched between 
the shuttle and box front, when the 
shuttle is coming out of the box. If 
the strength of the filling will allow 
it, put some lamb skin or a piece of 
flannel from the roller shop into the 
shuttle, so that a little drag may be 
ptit on the filling, in order that the 
snarls may be drawn out straight as 
the shuttle goes across the loom. 

No. 261. 



CCLXII. BAD SELVAGES. 

No matter how well the cloth may 
be woven, a bad selvage will spoil 
the looks of a piece. If one of 
the harnesses is too low down, and 
the warp threads' are hanging in a 
baggy fashion, when the shuttle is 
going across it will prevent the 
filling being drawn up tight to the 
selvage, and leaive a short loop out- 
side the cloth. Bad sheddiag, and 
not enough drag on the filling 
as it comes out of the shuttle, 
will make a bad selvage. Having 
the threads drawn through the har- 
ness wrong, or too many threads 
drawn through the last harness eye, 
will make a corded selvage, which, 
when put through the calender roll- 
ers, is liable to be cut and chopped 
by the pressure of the iron rollers. 
Some fixers believe in making a very 
large shed or opening for the shuttle 
to pass through. This will often cause 
a bad selvage, because the strain is 
so great at the fell of the cloth that 
it opens out the last few ends at the 
selvage, and prevents the filling be- 
ing drawn up tight to the selvage. If 



the selvage ends on the beam are not 
level, but are built up higher 
on one half of the beam, and 
lower on the other half, through the 
beam head being crooked, this will 
make a bad selvage, as the tension of 
the selvage ends will at one time be 
slack, and at another time tight. 

BOBBIN FILLING 
always makes a neater selvage than 
mule filling, because it winds off the 
bobbin with very even tension, com- 
pared with the mule filling, which, on 
account of the small diameter of the 
shuttle spindle, and the bow-shaped 
spring necessary to hold the cop on- 
to the spindle, causes the filling to 
wind off in a jerky fashion, noticed 
mostly in the latter half of the cop, 
and especially as the cop is finishing. 
The cloth woven at the finishing of 
a cop is slightly narrower than the 
cloth woven at the beginning. 
This causes the selvage to have 
a crimped appearance at the begin- 
ning of every cop. To remedy this 
fault, the shuttle spindle should be 
put as straight as possible with the 
shuttle eye and the spring flattened on 
the s'pindle as much as it will allow to 
grip the cop, or a thicker spindle 
should be used with the spring nearly 
flat. In this way the drag at the bot- 
tom of the cop will be reduced, which 
will prevent the cloth being pulled in 
narrower. 

REEDY CLOTH. 
Reedy cloth is that which shows an 
empty space every two warp threads 
all across the cloth, or if the warp is 
sleyed three in a dent, a mark will 
be seen every three ends. Sometimes 
it is necessary to draw in the warp 
one end per dent of the reed to over- 
come this fault, but this only should 
be done on coarse work. When the 
sley counts get beyond, say, 50 ends 
to the inch, it is not practical to us'e 
a reed with one end per dent, but 
it is necessary to so set different parts 
of the loom to overcome the reed 
marks in the cloth. If the breast 
beam is a movable one it may be 
raised a little, say, half an Inch, but if 
the breast beam is a fixture and can- 
not be raised, a wooden lath or stave 
from the old harness will do, which 



624 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMEiNT 



ig fastened on top of the breast beam 
under the cloth. This will raise the 
cloth up to the required height. If, 
after weaving a few inches of cloth the 
reed marks still show, the back bear- 
er or whip roll may be raised half an 
inch, and woven a few more inches. 
By this means, when the shed is open, 
we get the bottom half of warp threads 
tight and the top half slack. This 
causes the warp threads to brealc 
oftener and reduces the produc- 
tion of the loom. 

Sometimes' a fixer will lower the 
harness until the warp threads 
are sawing nicks in the lay board. 
This will sometimes stop reedi- 
ness, but will cause more trouble by 
making other warp threads break, be- 
side spoiling the lay board by making 
nicks across it, which vs^ill need planing 
oft" when the loom is empty, afterward 
causing the shuttle to travel across 
crooked and become injured. After 
the top shed has become slack, the 
shuttle must be made to travel very 
straight and true, or it will fly out 
and be dangerous to the help in the 
room, or it will pick over a few ends 
at the side and spoil the cloth. A 
very good and simple way to stop 
reediness is to move back the harness 
roll bearings on the loom top about 
an inch and bring forward the jacks 
on the treadles two or three notches. 
By this means we get a 

TIGHT BOTTOM SHED 
through the eye of the harness being 
nearer the lay board when at the 
bottom, and as the eye comes up to 
make the top shed, it moves slightly 
further away from the fell i of the 
cloth, and thus draws' up the slack 
threads which would otherwise hang 
down in the shed in the way of the 
shuttle. In making this alteration 
we have not put so much strain on 
the yarn as when the back bearer or 
breast beam is raised, so that reedi- 
ness may thus be cured without caus- 
ing more warp breakages. On looking 
at A, Figure 125, it will be noticed 
by the upright position of the harness 
that the harness eye is furthest away 
from the fell of the cloth when it is 
down at the bottom. It will be clearly 
understood when we say that the har- 



ness eye comes to the top, that 
position being nearer to the fell of 
the cloth, it will allow the thread to 
become slack in front of the reed. In 
B, Figure 125, the sketch is rather ex- 
aggerated to illustrate our meaning. 





125. Sketches Showing Cross 
Section of Harness. 



When the harness eye travels from the 
bottom to the top, without going fur- 
ther away from the fell of the cloth, 
it takes up the slack yarn from the 
front and puts it at the back of the 
harness, where it can do no harm, 
and leaves a clear shed for the shut- 
tle to pass through. No. 262. 



CCLXIII. YARN BREAKAGES. 

Nothing looks worse than a piece 
of cloth with yarn breakages through 
the piece. It is lamentable, but never- 
theless true, that excessive breakages 
of warp yarn are far too common, and 
it may safely be stated that in the 
majority of cases they are a disgrace 
to the management of the concern. 

Not once, but many times, Avhen it 
has been necessary to take a com- 
plaint to the spinner and superinten- 
dent about certain styles weaving very 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMEINT 



62b 



bad for warp breakages, this kind of 
a reply was received: "Well, the yarn 
is the same as we have always made, 
f.nd I don't see why it does not weave 
all right. You want to fire out two 
or three of those loom fixers, they 
always seem to be sitting down when 
I go through the room, instead of fix- 
ing the looms." Of course, the set- 
ting of the loom has a good deal to 
do with warp breakages, but if an 
overseer and the second hands are ca- 
pable men they will see that the loom 
is set in the best possible manner and 
everything done that can be done at 
the loom to reduce the warp breakages 
before any complaint goes to the su- 
perintendent or spinner. 

THE CHIEF CAUSE 
of warp breakages is weak yam. 
The yam may be weak from 
three different reasons. First, there 
may not be enough size on the 
warp, and what is on may be of a 
poor quality and not binding the fibres 
firmly together. Second, the warp 
threads may be of uneven thickness, 
caused by something being out of or- 
der in the different drawing-out proc- 
esses of the spinning department. 
Third, the yarn may be weak by be- 
ing spun from cotton of too short a 
staple, or mixing a few bales of short 
staple cotton with the good staple in 
the picker room. Reason No. 1 and 2 
can be remedied without much diffi- 
culty, but it would be far better if 
they did not exist at all. It is getting 
rather late in the day to try to make 
a few thousand pounds of weak yarn 
good after it is put on the yarn beam 
and going into the looms, whether it 
be from poor sizing or uneven and 
poor spinning. Reason No. 3 is one 
that is more difficult to handle, as 
the cotton from different bales varies 
in length of staple. Unless every bale 
that is opened is tested for length of 
staple, there is always a danger of 
some short staple cotton going in the 
wrong direction, that is, going for 
warp yarn when it ought to have gone 
for filling. 

Bales have been opened that have 
been bought for an inch and one- 
eighth staple, and you could scarcely 
call it an inch staple. If this had 



been put in the warp yarn mix trou- 
ble would have been the result, with 
weak yarn. It would be time well 
spent if the carding master would 
spend a little of his time in sampling 
the 

STAPLE OF THE BALES 
as they are opened. Some card- 
ers do, and others do not. Where 
the carder looks well after this 
point, there is bound to be good 
spinning and good weaving, and 
where the carder is careless and in- 
different about this point there is 
bound to be bad spinning and bad 
we8,ving. 

It is unnecessary to say that it is 
always the carder's fault when tfie 
work is bad, as the cotton buyer is 
often responsible, by buying a grade 
or two cheaper cotton so that the 
profits of the concern may be swelled 
a little larger. It has always seemed 
true that if a warp cost nothing and 
it would not weave moderately well 
and make good cloth, it is dear as a 
gift. 

The up-to-date mill is fitted with 
suitable machinery to spin fine num- 
bers of yarns, as well as the coarse 
and medium numbers, to suit the dif 
ferent styles of cloth the market may 
demand. Some of the older mills 
were put down to spin coarse and 
medium numbers, but as time has 
gone on they have had to drift into 
the finer counts to keep the mills 
going and by tinkering and altering 
the machinery have started to spin 
finer numbers. Although this may be 
done with success sometimes, when 
there is a good staff of capable men 
in the mill, oftentimes it is a failure 
as far as the weaving of the yarn is 
concerned. 

When a warp has been started up in 
the loom and is found to be very ten- 
der and breaking too many threads, 

THE SHUTTLES 
should be looked at to see if 
there are any rough places or 
chipping away of the wood through 
the shuttle's not traveling straight 
and knocking against the shuttle-box 
front on entering the box. The shut- 
tles should be taken to the bench and 
planed up until the back and bottom 



626 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



of the shuttle is perfectly straight and 
thoroughly smoothed up with sand 
paper, and if the point of the steel 
shuttle tip has become blunt it should 
be ground to a point again on a grind- 
ing stone. Alterations should then be 
made at the loom to make the 
shuttle run straight, such as lining 
up the back box plates with the reed, 
and, if necessary, put on new pickers 
on the picker sticks, care being taken 
to gouge out the hole in the picker 
in the right place and set the picker 
stick so that it lifts the back end of 
the shuttle up about a sixteenth of 
an inch when the picker is delivering 
the shuttle. The shuttle must be 
thrown straight, or excessive warp 
breakages will result. As much of the 
cover, or troughing between the whip 
roll and the breast beam as will allow, 
should be taken oft", so that instead of 
a tight bottom shed and slack top 
shed, which puts a great strain on the 
yarn, a shedding of more even ten- 
sion may be obtained. A little of the 
cover from the cloth must be sacri- 
ficed in order to help the warp to 
weave. 

A great help toward making a bad 
warp weave is to have a 

VIBRATOR BACK REST 
or bearer instead of the single 
roller which is very much used. If 
all plain looms were fitted up with 
this vibrator device, much better re- 
sults would be seen, as the cloth 
looks fuller and of better cover, also 
the warp weaves better, producing 
better cloth and a little more of it. 
For the benefit of those readers who 
have not seen it in operation, it will 
be as well to explain its uses. 

The vibrator consists of a long 
round shaft resting in two bearings 
like the ordinary back rest, with a 
cast-iron arm screwed on at one end 
and reaching on to an eccentric cam 
loom side a stand is fixed on the long 
shaft at each side of the loom to 
carry a shorter shaft. As the crank 
shaft revolves, the eccentric cam 
on the crank shaft. Just inside the 
lifts and lowers the arm and 
gives to the back rest a rock- 
ing motion. For instance, on look- 
ing at the loom with a fixed back 



rest, and turning the loom until the 
harness has opened the warp for the 
shuttle to pass through, if we feel 
at the tension on the yarn, it will 
be found to be very tight, and then 
on turning the loom until the har- 
nesses are level, and again feeling 
at the tension on the yarn, it will 
be found to be very slack. This sud- 
den jerk on the yarn from slack to 
tight every pick that the loom is run- 
ning is bound to cause breakages 
of yarn, especially on tender or fine 
yarns. Now we will take a loom that 
has a vibrator back rest, and do ex- 
actly as we did with the other loom. 
When the harnesses are fully open, 
the yarn is not found to be unduly 
tight, because the eccentric cam ha^ 
lowered the arm and allowed the top 
part of the back rest to move for- 
ward sufficiently to slacken the yarn 
from the beam, to counterbalance the 
opening of the yarn for the shuttle, 
and as the harnesses are put level the 
eccentric cam lifts the arm and al- 
lows the top part of the back rest to 
move backward sufficiently to take 
up the slack yam caused by the level- 
ing of the harness. By this motion one 
gets an even tension on the warp yarn 
all the time the loom is running, in- 
stead of the jerky tension of the other 
loom. This is bound to have its effect 
on the varn and make it weave better. 

No. 2G3. 



CCLXIV. HUMIDITY OF THE 
WEAVE ROOM. 

Another very important part of the 
weave room to get good weaving is the 
humidifying of the air. No weave room 
should be without a good humidifier. 
Many weave rooms just 'blow out a lit- 
tle live steam from the boiler. This is 
not only injurious to the people who 
work in the room, but it raises the 
temperature of the room very high, 
and then the steam must be shut off 
and windows and doors opened to cool 
the room. Not very -good results have 
been observed from this system, as 
the temperature and humidity varied 
too much. What is wanted is a con- 
stant supply of damp air being blown 
into the room all the time the room is 
in use. 



COTTON MILL MANAGE3MENT 



627 



Yarn that is sized in a dry atmos- 
phere is brittle and easily broken by 
the working of the loom, while in a 
damp atmosphere yarn is pliable and 
elastic in its feel, and will bed itself 
into the cloth better than when it is 
dry and brittle. Oftentimes when 
everything" has been done to the loom 
to reduce the warp breakages, the 
warp will still weave very badly. The 
only thing that can then be done is 
to see if there are any other styles 
of the same sley and warp counts and 
width, of lighter weave, to which it 
can be changed. This will often tide 
over the difficulty and enable the bad 
warp to be woven up, 
FLOATS. 

A float is a hole in the cloth where 
the warp and the filling have not in- 
tersected over and under each other. 
The filling may be loose on the out- 
side of the cloth, or the warp yam 
may float over the filling. A good 
weaver will have few floats, while a 
poor weaver may have many, rang- 
ing from on© inch to a yard long, and 
sometimes more. Floats are caused 
chiefly by an end, often the beginning 
part of a thick end, breaking in front 
of the harness and getting entangled 
with a few more of the other threads 
and not allowing the ends or threads 




Fig. 126. Vibrating Bacl< Rest. 

that are entangled to open out for the 
passage of the shuttle. A weaver who 
is attentive to his or her duty will 
detect the float early and straighten 
out the broken thread and unweave 
the float, and thus make the cloth 
good again. 

The weaver who is watching the 
work of some one else and neglecting 
his own will allow the float to weave 



on and on, and sometimes change the 
shuttles and start up the loom with 
the float still weaving. An attempt is 
made after the float has been found to 
scratch the place together with a 
steel comb, and with the aid of a little 
oatmeal and water or a rub-over with 
some white soap to stiffen up the soft 
place caused by scratching, and to fill 
up the open intersections, so that they 
may cheat the inspectors in the cloth 
room and 

ESCAPE A FINE. 
Should these scratch-ups go through 
and the cloth be passed as good, 
the person who buys the finished 
garment with a scratch-up in it will 
be the loser, (because the scratch- 
up will soon wear into a hole. 
Any observer walking through a weave 
room will find a few weavers who are 
continually going behind the looms 
to pull down a few ends belonging 
to the selvages, which they say won't 
weave. This kind of talk is nonsense. 
You don't find this kind of thing 
among the good weavers. It is only 
the poor and careless weaver who 
cannot weave unless the fixer is al- 
ways at the looms and the spare hand 
straightening up the crossed warps. 
An endless number of floats and 
smashes are caused by throwing 
down the back of the beam ends to 
weave out until they are long enough 
to draw in without piecing up, or be- 
cause the end has broken out once 
before. Should the weaver neglect 
to go behind and pull the ends down 
they get fast behind the harness and 
either break out a lot more ends or 
make a float. One does not, as a rule, 
find this kind of weaver earning good 
pay or making very good cloth. 
MIXED FILLING. 
At any mill where a large range of 
styles are made, it is a difficult mat- 
ter to avoid wrong filling getting into 
the cloth. If it is at all possible, ar- 
rangements should be made whereby 
each loom can have a box of filling to 
itself. This prevents, to a large ex- 
tent, the possibility of a weaver dip- 
ping into the wrong box. Where the 
looms are driven from underneath, 
it is an easy matter to give each loom 
a box of filling, as there is plenty 



628 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



of room between two looms to fix a 
stand to carry two boxes. If tbe looms 
are driven from overhead, it is a diffi- 
cult matter, as tbe belts are in the 
way of fixing two boxes, and the space 
between the belts will only allow of 
one box. When only one box can be 
put on the stand for two looms, the 
best system to adopt is that of match- 
ing the filling on the two looms with 
the starting handles together, either 
with the same style ov styles v>?ith 
similar counts of filling. 

Everything possible should be done 
not only in the arrangement of filling 
boxes, but everything else in the 
weave room that will make it difficult 
to do wrong and easy to do right. Al- 
though the weaver is often blamed for 
a wrong cop of filling, the spin- 
ner may have accidently put a few 
cops in of another count, or the man 
who took away the boxes from the 
spinner may have spilt a few cops on 
the way and another person seeing 
them may have picked them up and 
put them into any box conveniently 
at hand. 

GREAT CARE USED. 
Every person who has the handling 
of filling should use great care, so 
that there is little danger of cops go- 
ing astray from one box to another, 
or the spinner's ticket getting lost 
from its own particular box. The cop 
with the spinner's ticket on denoting 
the counts, etc., should be left in the 
box by the weaver until the last, so 
that the overseer or second hand on 
looking in the box may know what 
count the filling is, not only for that, 
but if a fresh warp of another style is 
put in the loom and the filling changed, 
the box may be taken back and put 
in its right place. Although the boy 
who takes the filling to the weaver is 
supposed to give out the right counts 
only, he is liable to make a mistake, 
like all human beings. To guard 
against this, it ought to be the weav- 
er's duty to s'ee that every box given 
to him or her is of the right count. 

It is a common practice among 
weavers, when the counts which they 
ought to use are not very good, or the 
supply is short, to get the next counts 
and either throw away the spinner's 



ticket from the box or change it for 
one of the counts they ought to use. 
Pra,ctices of this sort throw out the 
standard weights of the cloth and 
oftentimes makes thingsi unpleasant 
for the overseer. No. 264. 



CCLXV. GREASE IN THE CLOTH. 

Many times a piece of cloth is 
spoiled by having black oily spots 
at intervals throughout the piece. 
Sometimes it is a black oily piece 
of waste woven in the cloth, leaving 
a long trail behind it, like the tail of 
a comet. This kind of dirt generally 
comes from an unclean shuttle box, 
and sometimes it will drop from the 
ends of the harness roll shaft, or any 
other form of head motion. The weaver 
who keeps the head motions and shut- 
tle box clean is seldom bothered with 
black lumps weaving in the cloth. 

There are far too many weavers 
who are satisfied to blow the dust off 
the looms, or just touch them over 
lightly with a brush, and then pour on 
the oil. In the olden days all ma- 
chinery in a cotton mill was 

CLEANED AND SCRAPED 
every week, as if for exhibition. The 
cloth in those days must have been 
very clean when taken from the loom. 
At the present time, it seems to be 
a matter of making dividends, regard- 
less of the condition of the machinery. 
The machinery must be run the full 
number of hours allowed by the state, 
and oiling and cleaning must be wedg- 
ed in as best it can. Black oil from 
machinery contains iron, and when 
bleached will leave a reddish stain. 
Another form of grease which spoils 
the cloth is the small specks of oil 
clirown off the cams onto the warp. 
These spots of oil sink into the warp 
for a considerable distance, and will 
sometimes weave so far a& twenty 
yards all specked with oil. 

A bad fitting crank shaft, "or loose 
crank arms, will throw out the oil. 
When oil is thrown out from the 
crank shaft bearings, it is a difficult 
thing to remedy. The shaft is gen- 
erally about seven one-thousandths of 
an inch smaller than the bearing, and 
with the jerky motion of the crank 
shaft when the loom is running, 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



629 



causes the oil to be thrown out every 
time a few drops of oil are put in 
the bearing. 

This system of making the shafts 
smaller than the bearings is carried 
out all through the loom, and is for 
the benefit of the loom builders only. 
It enables a man to fit on the bearings 
quicker and thus 

TURN OUT MORE LOOMS 
per week and at a smaller cost. The 
best crank shaft for cleanliness and 
long life is one that is bushed with 
a cast-iron sleeve at the place where 
it rests in the box or bearing. It is 
much better to have two surfaces of 
cast-iron in the bearings, instead of 
the customary wrought-iron shaft, as 
the wrought-iron wears away v^ery 
quickly, being so much softer than 
the cast-iron. To get good results, it 
is very important that there be no 
play in the crank shaft bearings. 

There seems to be a tendency 
at the present time to run the 
looms at a higher speed than 
formerly. Where the looms have 
been speeded up, the management 
must not grumble if the cost for re- 
pairs is higher and the quality of the 
cloth much worse. High speed will 
cause the looms to bang off oftener, 
and this is what causes breakages 
of loom sides' and other minor castr 
ings. Should the shuttle be caught 
in the yam, there is danger of a 
number of the warp threads being 
broken. 

We have found from experience 
that a loom making 36-inch cloth with 
a 40-inch reed space, underpick loom, 
will run best for all concerned at ISO 
picks per minute. An overpick loom 
will stand 10 picks per minute faster 
than an underpick loom, because a 
much smoother pick can be obtained 
on the overpick loom, the pick on the 
underpick loom being short and some- 
what jerky. For every extra four 
inches of width in the loom re- 
duce the speed 10 picks per 
minute. When using coarse filling 
such as 10s or thicker, a much slower 
speed is advisable. If the loom has 
a jaoquard or dobby head on, a slower 
speed is advisable, according to the 
counts of yarns used and the strength 



and weight of cloth being made. 
Taking everything into account, 
THERE IS NOTHING GAINED 
by high speed of looms. We had an 
experience in this a few years back, 
while working at a mill where the 
head man was a great believer in 
high speed. Every machine in the 
mill was speeded up to its utmost 
and far ahead of any other mill. The 
result was weaker and uneven yarns. 
The engine that ran the weave rooms 
was separate from the mill engine, 
and this was altered to run a little 
faster, which put about 12 picks a 
minute more on the looms. The 40- 
inch reed space looms were going over 
200 picks per minute, some as high as 
210. The expenses for shuttles and 
other repairs went up by leaps and 
bounds. After several consultations, 
it was decided to reduce the speed 
lower than we formerly had it. The 
superintendent argued that lowering 
the speed would reduce the production 
and cause the weavers to asik more 
money for weaving. We contended 
that the production would not be low- 
ered. Strange to say, after the speed 
was lowered to about 180 to 185 picks 
per minute, the average per loom 
went up higher than ever before in 
the history of the mill. This was be- 
cause the looms were 

ALWAYS ON THE MOVE, 

instead of being stopped waiting for 
the fixer or taking in warp smashes, 
and repair expenses went down. In- 
stead of finding about half the looms 
stopped on walking through ithe room, 
one could see nearly all of them go- 
ing and the weavers were leaning 
against their looms with arms folded. 
After this demonstration, you could 
not convince this superintendent that 
high speed was a good thing for 
looms. At a mill where a large va- 
riety of styles are made, it is a good 
investment to buy a few pairs of larger 
pulleys, so that when a style is put 
into the looms with coarse filling, es- 
pecially if the filling is soft spun, the 
loom may be slowed down about 20 
picks. The cloth from the loom, after 
decreasing the speed, will be found 
to be much better than from a loom 



630 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



of the original speed. The production 
will not suffer, because the weaver 
will be able to watch for the end of 
the cop and change the shuttles be- 
fore the filling runs out. There is 
nothing which spoils the cloth so 
much as bad starting places after the 
filling hag run out and the loom com- 
pelled to stop. 

Where a cop of filling only lasts 
about three or four minutes, it can- 
not be expected that the weaver will 
see the finishing of every cop, when 
there are other looms that require 
his or her attention. Reducing the 
speed helps a good deal, because, 
beside making the cop last a 
little longer, it also reduces the pick 
on the loom and causes the latter 
to run smoother. This enables the 
cop to weave from start to finish with- 
out danger of splitting the cop or 
breaking the filling, and also prevents, 
to a large extent, the filling being 
thrown off the spindle in thick bunch- 
es and spoiling the cloth from slubs. 
SHUTTLES. 

As shuttles play such an important 
part in weaving, it is best to adopt 
a good standard make of shuttle for 
use in the looms. The shuttle should 
be of well-seasoned hard wood, with a 
straight grain; each shuttle should be 
of uniform weight, as a heavy shuttle 
and a light shuttle will not run well 
together; the heavy one will go across 
with greater force and rebound in the 
box, while the light one will go across 
too slowly and occasionally cause the 
dagger to strike the frog and knock 
off the starting handle. 

The shuttle should be of such a 
shape at the ends that it lifts the 
dagger gradually, instead of lift- 
ing the dagger to its fullest extent 
as soon as the shuttle strikes the 
binder. A shuttle should be adopted 
that will put sufficient drag on the 
filling when weaving to make a clean 
and straight selvage. 

Some mills are constantly changing 
their shuttle makers and will have as 
many as half a dozen different pat- 
terns of shuttles in use, not only in 
regard to shape but also size. In 
mills of this sort it is sometimes 
a diflacult matter for the fixer to 



keep account of the different treat- 
ments required to make the 
lootQ run good. Most mills adopt 
a square shuttle, that is, one that has 
the shuttle front as high as the back. 
In our opinion, this is wrong, as every 
one knows that when the shed is open 
to receive the shuttle it is wedge- 
shape and not square. If about three 
thirty-seconds of an inch was taken 
from the depth of the front and put on 
the depth of the back, much better re- 
sults would be obtained in connection 
with weaving of the warp yarns and 
less friction would be placed on the 
shuttle when passing through the warp 
to the other side of the loom. 

Another very important part of the 
shuttle is the spindle to carry the 
cop. Each spindle must be of the 
same thickness and taper as the mule 
spindle on which the cop is spun. A 
good one of the right gauge should 
always be sent to the shuttle maker 
when ordering a supply of shuttles or 
shuttle spindles. When the shuttles 
or the shuttle spindles are received at 
the mill each one should be gone over 
carefully and the thickness of each 
tested by a steel gauge. 

A good gauge is made by taking an 
old file and breaking a piece off the 
thick end about three inches long, 
after the roughness of the file has 
been ground off on a grinding stone. 
Drill three holes of a size which will 
allow the spindle to go an inch 
through the small hole, the second 
hole to allow the spindle to go three 
inches through, and the third hole to 
allow the entire spindle to pass 
through. The spindles which do not 
come pretty near the measurements 
required 

SHOULD BE REJECTED 
and returned to the maker. This is 
the only way to get at the maker 
and obtain what is right. 

If spindles of the wrong thickness 
are put into use, there is bound to be 
trouble from excessive waste. The 
thick ones will, in trying to press on 
the cop, break the filling inside the 
cop (if it is fine filling), or leave the 
nose of the cop outside the spindle, 
which the weaver must pull away to 
waste in order to get the filling to 



COTTON MIDL MANAG-EMBNT 



631 



come off from the spindle. The thin 
spindle will allow the cop to slide so 
easily that it has very little grip on 
the cop at all, and will, when put 
into the loom, either slip off in IGmps 
or the c^p will 'break in the middle. 
When the cop has broken in the mid- 
dle, all of it must be thrown away, 
so that if we look at the question 
intelligently, it shows us that it pays 
to look well after the gauging of the 
shuttle spindles. No. 265. 



CCLXVI. TEMPLES. 

Seeing that about 99 per cent of 
the cloth woven requires to be woven 
with temples, it is very important 
that one be selected that is best 
adapted for the grade of cloth being 
made. If a cloth is being made that 
contracts a good deal from the reed 
to the breast beam or front rest, it is 
advisable to have a good temple with 
a roll in it which carries about 10 
brass rings, each ring to be well filled 
with fine steel pins, the rings being 
on the shaft or roll at an angle of 
about 50 to 60 degrees. This enables 
the cloth to be held in the temples at 
nearly the same width as that at the 
fell of the cloth or the width in the 
reed. 

Should a temple be used which does 
not hold the cloth out to the full 
width, while the reed beats up the 
filling, therfe 

WILL ALWAYS BE TROUBLE 

to make the warp threads at the sel- 
vage weave without constantly break- 
ing out. Beside that, the friction on 
dents of the reed is so keen that be- 
fore long a nick appears on the side 
of every wire dent for about half an 
inch at the selvage. Sometimes the 
wire dents will be cut so badly that 
the dents will break in the middle and 
the reed on this account will have to 
be discarded or used on narrower 
goods. As the points of the steel pins 
break off or become bent, the rings 
must be replaced with new ones, or 
the quality of the cloth will suffer on 
account of what is known as temple 
marks. This marking is caused by 
bad pins on the rings, which cut or 
break a warp thread at intervals, 



sometimes so badly that the piece has 
to be made into a "second." 

Lighter grades of cloth which do 
not contract very much can be made 
successfully with a temple which car- 
ries one, and in some cases two, solid 
iron rollers which have their surface 
cut in the form of sharp burrs. These 
slight projections are sufficient to hold 
light cloths and do not mark the cloth 
with small holes, such as would ap- 
pear if a ring temple was used. If 
the temple has no heel to strike 
the front of the lay beam and protect 
the reed, care should be exercised 
when setting the temple that it does 
not strike the reed, or the dents of 
the latter will be spoiled, and cause 
yarn breakages, also the reed must be 
thrown away, thusi addmg to the ex- 
penses of the weave room. 

Some firms use a temple that goes 
all across the loom, having a steel- 
cut roller the full width of the cloth. 

FOR SOME KINDS Ot CLOTH 
where the picks of filling are required 
to be in one straight line across the 
cloth, this kind of temple is neces- 
sary; but for ordinary cloth, such as 
greys, print cloths and bleachers, we 
do not favor the ail-across temple, as 
too much strain is put onto the warp 
yarn when the shed is open, the shed 
that is down being very tight and the 
one that is up being very slack. This 
is because the temple holds up the 
fell of the cloth very high, on account 
of the temple cap or cover being un- 
derneath the cloth, and must be set 
to clear the lay beam. 

If a piece of cloth be taJken that 
has been woven with side temples and 
a straight edge put on and trace a 
pick of filling across the cloth, it will 
be found that the filling will go about 
half an inch out of a straight line. 
but this cannot be overcome with the 
side temple, and for all ordinary pur- 
poses, it is no detriment to the cloth, 
as [the defect is rarely noticed, unless 
the goods are checked materials, then 
the colored stripes will be seen to 
run out of a straight line. 

HARNESS YARNS. 

In the weaving of fine yams or 
cloth with a high sley, the counts or 



632 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



thickness of the yarns from which 
tlie harnesses are knit play a very im- 
portant part if the warp must weave 
well. It is necessary that all the 
space which can be should be given 
to allow the warp ends to pass each 
other, when forming the open shed, 
with as- little friction as possible from 
the outside of the harness eye. 

Many mills order a thick yarn for 
all purposes so that the harness will 
last a long time without renewal. 
'Ihis is a mistake, as the life of the 
thick harness yarn is not much more 
than the fine harness yarn. As soon 
as the varnish is worn off the yarn, 
the harness eyes soon begin to break 
and cause trouble. Oftentimes we 
have noticed as long a period as two 
days being spent by the fixer and 
weaver in starting up a warp with 
new harness when made from thick 
yarns. If the warp is anyway soft, 
the warp will always weave badly. 
We had trouble of this sort at one 
time, and after repeated entreaties to 
the soiperintendent, we had some har- 
ness knit from fine yarns and the re- 
sult was like magic; the warps went 
through without a bit of trouble, and 
styles which the weavers did not like 
before were in demand. 

Although 

MUCH CAN BE SAID 
in favor of the wire and steel harness, 
we doubt if there is anj'thing superior 
to the cotton harness for good results, 
when the harness is knit from fine 
yarns made with a long staple cotton 
and smoothly varnished. It is claimed 
that the wire harness will last indefi- 
nitely, but put down its cost and 
the cost of treading the eyes with 
a band every time they must be drawn 
into another pattern or style and the 
putting on and taking off the heddles 
for the same purpose, against the cost 
of buying new cotton harness, and 
we doubt if there is much saved. 
However, as this is a matter where 
opinions differ among mill men, it 
should be left to the judgment of each 
individual. No. 266. 



CCLXVII. WEAVE ROOM STORES. 

The sj'stem that seems most popu- 
lar among mills is that of charging 



up to the weave room the entire cosit 
of each article as it is received in 
bulk. On the face of it, this may 
seem all right, but when we come to 
look at the question more carefully, 
it is very unfair. For example, take 
the shuttles, as this is the 

MOST EXPENSIVE REPAIRING 
article used in the weave room. The 
company may buy 500 shuttles at 
once. When received in the general 
store room of the mill, they are 
charged direct to the weave room re- 
pairing account, and if the wages and 
cost report is made out every four 
weeks, it is quickly noticed that the 
cost side of the report has gone up, 
and ma5' bring down comment from 
the superintendent or other high offi- 
cial, asking why the cost of running 
the weave room has gone up higher 
than the previous month. Of course, 
the weaving overseer has got to ex- 
plain the reason. 

If each article of weave room stores 
for repairs was booked, and the quan- 
tity taken out of the store room 
charged up to the weave room at the 
end of each month, a more evenly 
balanced expense report would be 
seen and would be found more relia- 
ble for reference as to the cost of 
each article. At one well-known mill 
the overseer must go to the general 
store room on one particular day in 
each week and at one particular hour 
and get what he thinks he will need 
for the ensuing week. The supplies 
which he receives are put in a lock-up 
room made under the stairway. Each 
second hand, heside himself has a key 
for the door, and if a fixer wants a 
new pair of shuttles, or a few pick- 
ers, or picker sticks, or any other 
commodity for repairing his looms, 
he seeks the second hand or boss 
weaver and asks for the article want- 
ed, and even though the second hand 
is located some distance from the 
small store room, he is expected to go 
and 

SUPPLY THE FIXER 
with what is required. This is be- 
cause the company disapproves of the 
fixer having any stock at his bench. 

It would be much simpler for the 
boss weaver and his second hand if 



COTTON MILL MANAGJEMENT 



633 



the stores were given out to the fixer 
in the same way as they are given 
to the boss weaver, that is, once a 
week at one particular time. The 
stores given out to each fixer sliould 
be entered in a book and about once a 
year a report made out, showing what 
amount of stores each fixer had used 
during tliat time. When this is done, 
it will generally be found that it is 
the same fixers each time who use 
the most shuttles and pickers. 

From a report of this sort the over- 
seer can soon form his own opinions 
of the fixers under him, because a 
poor fixer always uses about twice as 
much in the way of supplies as any- 
body else. Some mills have a rule 
that each fixer shall have one pair of 
shuttles a week and no more; other 
mills allow two pairs. A good deal 
depends on the age of the looms and 
the class of work engaged in as to the 
amount of shuttles one can get along 
with, but it can easily be figured out 
by looking up the back totals for a 
few months and striking an average. 
Pickers, leather, etc., can be given out 
in the same way. 

To create a desire for economy 
among the fixers, 

A GOOD PLAN 
is to allow a certain amount of sup- 
plies each week and at the end of 
perhaps three months, pay the fixer 
a certain price for each pair of shut- 
tles he can return to the store room. 
A good deal depends on the quality 
of work a fixer does as to the amount 
of supplies he uses, and a feeling of 
carefulness as well as of efficiency 
cultivated among the fixers is a good 
thing for the company. Some mills 
go to the extreme in trying to save 
a little on the stores. There is one 
mill in particular where, if a shuttle 
breaks, instead of giving the fixer a 
new pair, the overseer will give him 
one shuttle and tell the fixer to plane 
it down to the size of the other one. 
If a picker breaks, the fixer must 
show the broken picker and receive 
a new one. This could scarcely be 
credited were it not known to be a 
fact. 

To keep looms in good condition 
to get good production, repairs must 



be done with good material at the 
proper time and not a constant patch- 
ing up with a nail here and a rivet 
there to hold broken parts together. 
This cannot go on very long before 
the company begins to suffer. Men 
of experience in that particular branch 
of the business are wanted for the 
positions of overseers and second 
hands not only in the weave rooms, 
but in every department — a man 
whom the company can rely on to 
use judgment in all matters concern- 
ing his own department. 

Instead of the overseer being ruled 
by the clerks in the office, as is 

SOMETIMES THE CASE, 
let him choose the kind and quality 
of all goods required for his own 
department. If this were done, much 
better results would be obtained. 
Take, for instance, the shuttles. 
How often has the weaving overseer 
a voice in deciding what sort shall 
be used and where they shall be pur- 
chased? The shuttle maker who can 
quote the lowest price generally gets 
the order, regardless of quality. 

Leather is another article where 
cheapness often goes ibefore quality. 
Parings from the edges of hides after 
the belt maker has taken all the good 
away is generally bought for the 
weave room. It is often of very poor 
quality, and does not last very long 
for any use to which it may be put. 
The very best quality of leather pick- 
ers should be secured. They may cost 
a trifle more to buy, but a good picker 
will last as long as two or three of 
the cheap makes. Those using the 
leather loop picker know that 

WHEN THE PICKER BREAKS 
it has a tendency to turn 
a quarter way round on the 
stick and hold out the binder, and 
when the shuttle goes into the box at 
the opposite end it rebounds into the 
warp and the loom weaves over with 
the shuttle in front of the reed; this 
means that nearly every end is 
broken ithe entire length of the shut- 
tle. If only to prevent this difficulty, 
the very best picker that is possible 
to purchase should be obtained. 

When new shuttles are received 



634 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



from the maker, they should be put 
to soak in raw linseed oil, or neat's 
foot oil, for about a week, and then 
taken out to drain dry on some wire 
netting put over the soaking tank. 
After the oil is well dried in, they are 
ready for use. After treating the shut- 
tles in this way they will last about 
half as long again as when used dry 
when they come from the shuttle 
maker. The shuttle not only wears 
very smooth, but there is less liabil- 
ity of it chipping and causing smashes. 
The spindles should be 

GAUGED FOR THICKNESS, 
and those which are not of the re- 
quired thickness should be sent back. 
If mill officials would see that plenty 
of good material was provided to re- 
pair the looms they would not be 
troubled so much with tlieir fixers 
leaving to go to other mills. A fixer 
who has a section of looms to look 
after has sufficient work if he does 
his duty, without spending so much 
of his time patching up lor the want 
of new material. 

The cop waslte is always a serious 
point at all mills where the filling is 
made on the mule. The best system 

TO HOLD IN CHECK 
the excessive waste made is for each 
fixer to collect his own waste each 
day in a bag or basket (basiket pre- 
ferred). He can then see who the 
weavers are who make too much 
waste and caution them about it and 
look over the looms to see if anything 
is out of order. After the fixer 
has collected his waste, he should 
take' it to the waste house and have 
it weighed and have the weight in 
pounds put opposite his section num- 
ber. When this is totaled up at the 
week end, the weight from each sec- 
tion is readily seen and a suitable 
comment made to the fixer who is out 
of line with the others. 

A fixer who is careless in the care 
of his shuttle spindles and has too 
strong a pick on the looms will have 
the most waste every time. Where 
the weight of waste from every sec- 
tion is found to be far ahead of a 
reasonable amount, it shows at once 
that something is wrong with the 



filling, as no mill management can 
say that all their fixers and weavers 

Every company has good men in 
its employ, so that the excessive 
waste must be put down to some other 
are incompetent. 

cause. Either the cops are spun too 
slack and spongy, or from poor stock, 
or the steaming may be at fault. 
Whatever the cause may be it should 
be found out and remedied. When 
we remember that the cop waste is 
only worth about one-third or a quar- 
ter of the value in good cops, to say 
nothing about the cost of collecting, 
bagging and shipping, it can easily 
be seen that the company is going to 

LOSE SOME MONEY 
where excessive waste is made. It is 
astonishing how many cops can be 
found on the floor underneath tlie 
looms in almost every weave room. 
These cops get oily and dirty, and 
are not fit to weave, and must be 
placed with the waste. 

This always happens where the 
company tries to economize in 
the quantity of boxes and has the 
boxes filled to the top in the mule 
room. When a filled-up box is put on 
the stand at the loom, the vibrations 
of the loom will shake a few cops off 
the top of the box onto the floor. 
The best plan is to only fill the box to 
within about two inches of the top. 
The same thing happens when the boy 
who takes round the filling to the 
looms puts up' a full box when the 
other box is not empty and puts one 
or two handfuls of cops on top of 
the new box of filling. No. 267. 



CCLXVIII. SCARCITY OF WEAVERS. 

There are a good many mills which 
are troubled at times to keep all their 
looms going. When the warm days 
come, the help begin to drop off the 
pay roll, either to have a long vaca- 
tion or to take up work in some other 
industry, where there is more comfort 
or more money. However, as soon 
as the snow and frost appears, they 
flock back to the mills and try to get 
work again for the winter. They are 
willing to promise not to leave again 
when the next spring comes; but how 
many keep their promises? 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



G35 



As soon as the warm days come 
round again, they are ready to de- 
part at the least approach of bad 
work. These kind of weavers are very 

TROUBLESOME TO HANDLE 
by the overseer and others. If any- 
thing should be said to them, it is 
the usual cry: "Well, if you don't like 
it, you can give me my bill." This 
applies mostly to the colder part of 
the States, where there is a large de- 
mand for help for outdoor work dur- 
ing the summer months, and the good 
pay assured during the rush, entices 
help from the mills. No matter how 
good the conditions are made in the 
mill, some will leave anyway. 

The only thing which can be done 
is to try and reduce this wholesale 
leaving as much as possible by putting 
good material in the looms in the way 
of good yarns and styles which will 
weave well in the hot and dry atmos- 
phere of the summer. The majority 
of mills are so stuffy and unhealthy 
that one can hardly blame the help for 
wanting to leave for awhile. When 
the weather is hot and unbearable, the 
only thing which can be done to make 
it more agreeable for the worker is 
to open the windows round the room, 
and if it is a windy day the looms 
nearest the windows are constantly 
stopped for yarn breakages, and 
much ill-feeling is caused among the 
weavers as tO whether the windows 
shall be opened or not. 

The overseer is continually 
SETTLING DISPUTES 
arising from opening of windows, and 
oftentimes loses some of his help. 
If the weave room was made 
cool and pleasant to work in by 
an installation of a few good fans 
to draw out the bad air, the fresh 
pure air would come in through the 
cracks and crevices round the room 
and would add very much to the com- 
fort of those who spend ten or more 
hours in the weave room, year in and 
year out. A much more satisfactory 
way is to blow a good constant sup- 
ply of cool, moist air into the room 
anfi force out the poor air. In this 
way humid atmosphere is always in 
the room and helps a good deal to 



make the warps weave better and 
keeps the room in a healthy condition. 
When the help is constantly leaving 
there is certainly a cause for it, and 
it ought to be the bounden duty of 
the company, as well as the superin- 
tendent and overseers, to find out 
what the cause is, and having discov- 
ered it, to do all in their power to 
remove it. It may mean the spending 
of a little money to make the work 
more comfortable and congenial, but 
it will always be found money well 
spent. 

If all the machinery can be kept go- 
ing the profits are more definite than 
if a goodly portion of it is stopped 
for three or four months every year. 
When the machinery is stopped the 
profits are being eaiten up, because 
the production is less and the work- 
ing expenses of the mill are going on 
just the same. 

A weave room with plenty of day- 
light and good working conditions is 
the one which is 

WELL SUPPLIED WITH WEAVERS 
and few spare weavers waiting for 
looms. It is the dark dismal weave 
rooms which suffer mosit through 
shortage of weavers. There axe a 
large number of weave rooms so im- 
mense that the daylight does not 
reach the middle of the room and 
artificial light must be used all the 
time. Not many weavers can be 
found who like to work under these 
conditions. They are constantly ask- 
ing the overseer to move them nearer 
the windows, and if they are not 
moved they look elsewhere for work. 

New weavers asking for work are 
invariably given looms in the middle 
of the room, because that is the place 
where looms are always "to let," but 
after working a few days they 
leave and go somewhere else. 
That is one of the reasons why 
we hear so much of the tramp 
weaver. The looms which are in 
a good position are soon picked up 
by those weavers wanting to move 
from a bad position, which is gen- 
erally in a dark place. Through so 
many different weavers going onto 
these looms, the latter often get into 
a poor condition and the warps be- 



636 



COTTON MIL)L MANAGiBMENT 



come all crossed and twisted behind 
the lease rods, which makes it very 
hard for new weavers to keep the 
looms going, and after a few days 
they get downhearted and give up, 
unless the overseer can move them 
on to better work. 

Some mills have 

OVERCOME THIS DIFFICULTY 
somewhat by choosing a few of the 
easy weaving styles to be put solely 
in the looms where difficulty is ex- 
perienced in keeping weavers on 
them. This is the easiest and about 
the only thing which can be done to 
keep looms that are in a bad position 
supplied with weavers. A fixer who 
is incompetent at his work will often 
drive away the weavers. Often ap- 
plications are received for work from 
weavers who state that if the looms 
were under a certain fixer they would 
not take them, but would look else- 
where for work. It is not often that 
we find a good steady fixer with a 
lot of looms stopped waiting for 
weavers, while we often find the in- 
competent fixer in this predicament. 

No. 268. 



CCLXIX. LIGHTING. 

Before dealing with the efiiciency 
of the workman and the machines in 
the weave room the writer is of the 
opinion that it would be well to con- 
sider the subject of lighting, as 
lighting has indirectly as well as di- 
rectly a great influence upon the pro- 
duction. Although the modern mills 
are dealing more seriously with the 
question of light, there still exists a 
large number of mills that were built 
during the period of 1820-1840. These 
mills were so constructed as to have 
five or six floors in one building, with 
the weave room usually on the first 
or second floor. In that period the 
lighting, although considered quite a 
factor, was nothing compared to the 
systems that are being installed in 
our mills to-day. 

We merely mention the above fact 
to show 

THE RELATIVE COMPARISON 
of the two systems, also to show the 



managers of the older mills, who find 
a difli'culty in competing with the 
manufacturers who are working un- 
der more modern conditions, that 
this question is of vital importance, 
and one which cannot be overlooked. 
It must be dealt with to the extent 
that new weave sheds should be 
built if the older manufacturers wish 
to 'be in the race with their competi- 
tors. In these mills which have 
weave rooms on the ground floor it 
is quite essential, except on very 
bright days, to keep the lights go- 
ing all ithe time, and, therefore, this 
is one of the reasons for the large 
overhead expense which exists in a 
mill of this type. 

The next question to decide with 
regard to the ligihting of weaving ma- 
chinery is 

THE PROPER LOCATION 

of the light sources. It is a very im- 
portant matter to have this location 
in such a position that the light will 
fall on the work in such a direction 
as to cast no shadows of the 
weaver on the machine. The 
installation of a good lighting system 
in the weave room not only increases 
the production but tends to make bet- 
ter weavers, and effectively reduces 
the percentage of seconds, which con- 
sequently means large returns for the 
amount invested. This may seem 
to be a broad statement, but if we 
look into the matter we flnd that it 
brings up the production for every 
hour of the day to that obtained un- 
der daylight conditions. 

The arrangement of lighting in a 
good many mills 

IS GENERALLY DETERMINED 
by putting in the least light neces- 
sary, in order that the one who deter- 
mines the location of the light may 
be able to see perfectly. This is en- 
tirely wrong, as the best light is 
always the cheapest. By that it is not 
meant that which gives the brightest 
light, as the light itself is hut a small 
factor, and, consequently, must have 
a number of requirements before it 
is right. 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



637 



First, it must furnish a sufficient 
amount of light to enable the opera- 
tive to see properly. 

Second, it must be placed in such 
a position that it will not cause the 
operatives any inconvenience, or, as 



is not properly placed the arch 
of the loom will cast a shadow 
on the warp toward the front 
of the loom. If this shadow exists, 
it will mean that the reed is in to- 
tal darkness, and, therefore, makes 



















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Fig. 127. Systems of Lighting. 



stated before, cast shadows on the 
work. Take, for instance, an example 
such as a plain two-harness loom. You 
will find that if the source of light 



a difficult operation for the weaver 
to draw threads properly through the 
reed in the case of an ;end breaking. 
It is very readily understood that the 



638 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



production will be increased when a 
weaver is able to spot an imperfec- 
tion or a broken thread at the mo- 
ment it happens. To obtain this con- 
dition good lighting and proper place- 
ment is necessary, for every second 
that the loom is stopped or when the 
weaver is obliged to work in dark 
places actually means a lesser amount 
of production. Every moment saved 
ill tying in a new thread will be saved 
many times over in the course of a 
day where a number of weavers are 
employed. 

Third, it must be an exceptionally 
steady light. 

Fourth, it must ue protected so 
that it 

WILL NOT SHINE 

in either the eyes of the operative 
who is working on the looms over 
which the light is placed, or some of 
the other operatives. 

The writer, having had consider- 
able experience in large weave rooms 
where the weavers were required to 
operate quite a number of looms, no- 
ticed that the plants were equipped 
with what is termed "drop" lights, 
that is, one light over each loom. 
This is very objectionable, inasmuch 
as it takes up the weaver's time mov- 
ing lamps about, adjusting cords, re- 
flectors, etc., and also putting the 
weaver in his own light. Consequent- 
ly, the best lighting conditions will 
reduce the percentage of time requir- 
ed for rest of overcoming fatigue, and, 
therefore, 

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 
the cost of the best and the poorest 
lighting system is nothing in com- 
parison with a saving of money due 
to decreased time for the rest period 
due to less tired eyes. 

The system which the writer would 
advocate in order to have good light- 
ing in the weave room would be to 
have the light sources placed in the 
weaver's alley in such a position that 
the greater part of the light may 
come in front of the loom. Then, 
again, they should be placed at such 
a height that the distribution will be 
equally divided, so that when the 



light from one lamp is blocked by 
the weaver's body not more than one- 
half the direct ray of light will be cut 
off. The economical advancement of 
wide spacing should control the de- 
cision in the matter, providing satis- 
factory lighting is not thereby hin- 
dered. Wide spacing results in the 
case of a small number of high can- 
dle power lamps, and when compar- 
ed with a greater number of low 
candle power lamps, is, therefore, 
MORE ECONOMICAL. 

There is one objection in using a 
few large sources rather than a num- 
ber of small ones. This objection can 
be eliminated, if necessary, by hav- 
ing a number of lamps bunched to- 
gether as a cluster. 

In conclusion, will say that as to 
exactly what lighting is most desir- 
able, it is extremely diflBcult of solu- 
tion, but that the fewer light sources 
used, compared with good illumina- 
tion, is by far the most economical 
system that can be installed^ and that 
the up-to-date mill managers to-day 
realize that the right kind of illumi- 
nation means greater yardage, lower 
percentage of seconds and better sat- 
isfied operatives. No. 269. 



CCLXX. REGARDING THE HELP. 

Another greatly discussed problem 
which has confronted quite a number 
of the mill managers in the textile in- 
dustry is the problem which embraces 
help, conditions, wages, etc. Of these, 
the most important to be taken into 
consideration is help. It has very 
often been said that we should have 
help that we can rely upon, also help 
that understand their different opera- 
tions, as no weave room can run suc- 
cessfully without a sufficient amount 
of capable help. This is very true, 
that is, to a certain extent, but we 
must also take into consideration the 
fact that the greater per cent of the 
operatives in the textile industry to- 
day, particularly the cotton end of it, 
come from 
THE MEDITERRANEAN SHORES, 
which, we all know, have no great 
textile centres. Therefore, this ar- 



COTTON MIIX, MANAGEMENT 



639 



tide will not deal directly with the 
skilled help, but rather will point out 
to the managers how thsy may best 
direct the energies of the working 
forces to develop the highest efficien- 
cy 6i each individual operative, how 
to avoid mistakes and the personal 
interest to be exercised in handling 
the forces. One great fault with a 
good many overseers of the present 
time is the evident disregard which 
they have for the operatives' welfare, 
and their distasteful methods are 
very often the cause of mills losing 
excellent workmen. 

There is no doubting the fact that 
it will pay any mill that may have 
an overseer of this calibre on their 
■payroll to giet rid of him at any price. 
He will do more harm in checking the 
ambitions and crippling the efforts 
of the operatives, not to mention the 
loss which may be caused by frequent 
changes and resignations, than he 
would be worth, even if he might pos- 
sess the qualities of an ideal overseer. 
Another case of too much disregard 
which matured a rather extraordinary 
predicament came to the writ- 
er's attention from an ov- 
erseer who was formerly con- 
nected with a large cotton mill in 
New Hampshire. For a considerable 
length of time the management of 
this mill had been rather careless and 
indifferent, and when the directors 
realized this state of affairs, they 
deemed it advisable to appoint a new 
man to take charge of the mill. In 
this particular case 

IT WAS DECIDED 
by one of the directors to give a rela- 
tive the position of manager. This 
man was not well versed in the busi- 
ness, and made a practice of doing 
things in the opposite extreme, think- 
ing that what was needed to make the 
mill go was "bits and spurs and a 
sound flogging." Inside of two weeks 
he had the entire mill on the verge of 
a revolution, simply because he start- 
ed in (as a good many managers do) 
to either reduce the wages or try to 
attach more work to an operative than 
he . was capable of handling. Then, 



again, he issued orders in regard to 
supplies that made it next to impos- 
sible to run the various rooms or to 
successfully upkeep the mill. 

There is one essential in our minds 
that 

MUST BE BROUGHT OUT 

under all conditions to secure a max- 
imum effort of any operative regard- 
less of what kind of a man he may be, 
and that one essential is the capacity 
for hard work. Next in line we 
should put ability, and third, we re- 
serve for integrity. If these three 
qualities are found to exist in an op- 
erative he is bound to be a great suc- 
cess, as only the first one is abso- 
lutely necessary. Very often we hear 
of men who have climbed the ladder 
of success by hard labor, men, who 
possess neither ability nor integrity. 
It would be a good idea for mill 
managers to look over their overseers, 
and for overseers to look over their 
operatives, with these three words in 
mind — hard work, ability, integrity — 
and handle their men so that they will 
work hard and act as if they possess- 
ed ability, for there is nothing like 
confidence and the good welfare of 
the men under their supervision. An 
employer must 

SHOW HIS CONFIDENCE 

in his employes in more ways than 
one, but there is one thing that he 
must always avoid, and that is over- 
confidence. A good stock of common 
sense mixed with the instinct to read 
a character will prevent a manager 
or an overseer from making fools of 
themselves and their operatives. An 
overseer who does not take time to 
hire his men properly and who does 
not possess the instinct to read 
character is bound to fool himself 
very often. In regard to this 
it is the writer's idea that it is 
entirely wrong to arrive at the point 
of a new man's capabilities by quick 
judgments, and the best way to em- 
nloy a man is to draw him out. A 
little tactfulness is required to get a 
man to speak sincerely about his qual- 
ifications. 



640 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



Another efficient system of hiring 
and promoting help is to take the 
smallest paid operative and gradu- 
ally advance him as the opportunity 
presents itself. Another point to be 
considered when a man is promoted 
to a higher position is that the over- 
seer must take it for granted that the 
man might possess a certain degree 
of shyness in finding himself sud- 
denly subjected to the scrutiny of 
the managers and his former fellow 
employes. The overseer who forgets 
to make allowances for such a condi- 
tion as this, and who insists upon re- 
sults from the start is not in a posi- 
tion to see his men through on this 
promoting system. 

THE PROPER KIND 

of a manager or overseer is the one 
who is capable of outlining the op- 
eratives' work, getting them istarted 
on the right road, and continually 
coaching them until they have reach- 
ed the standard of efficiency. 

The subject of wages is far more 
disturbing) to-day than it has been for 
at least the last ten years, as we 
have a more united hand of labor or- 
ganizations, such as the Industrial 
Workers of the World, the American 
Federation of Labor and the United 
Textile Workers. We have heard a 
mill manager of a large corporation 
say that no unreasonable demand hai 
ever been made on him by a labor 
organization which he could not trace 
back to some act of injustice on the 
part of an overseer who lacked the 
proper executive ability. The aver- 
age worker in the industry to-day, al- 
though requiring to a certain extent 
good conditions, etc., is more anxious 
and is willing to do almost anything 
providing the wages are tempting. It 
Is about wages, directly or indirectly, 
that the majority of serious disputes 
arise. When the strike occurred a 
short time ago it was not for facilities 
that would promote decency, it was 
for more wagies, more pay, and it is 
for this reason that wages rise up as 
the most important question in the 
industrial light. It is understood 
that the worker desires as high pay 



as he can enforce. The employer 
wants his production to be as cheap 
as his competitors, for if it is not he 
will be driven out of business. The 
operative cannot be expected to labor 
for his employer for less pay than he 
is paid under similar conditions for 
the same class of work hy another 
manufacturer. 

The subject of wages being so del- 
icate and the wage scale so broad, we 
feel that to deal with it efficiently 
would require considerable time and 
space. No. 270. 



CCLXXI. SANITATION. 

It has been a recognized fact for a 
great many years that there are some 
mills being operated whose actual 
earning capacities are below par, but 
there are, also, other mills that have 
reached a very high standard of effi- 
ciency. This, however, goes to show 
that the true virtue of proper mill 
management is to obtain the greatest 
per cent of possible output under such 
economical conditions as to pay the 
corporation the largest margin of 
profit and still sufficiently allow for 
the proper upkeep of the plant. It is 
an 

EXTREMELY BAD PRINCIPLE 
and a false saving that is obtained by 
failing to upkeep the mill with sup- 
plies and the proper atmospheric con- 
ditions which surround the help. It 
is only the fair duty of all mill man- 
agers to keep their plants running in 
good order. By so doing they not 
only increase the dividends, but ala 
keep the working conditions in such 
shape that considerable waste and 
bad work is eliminated. 

A question of great economic im- 
portance in many of the older weave 
rooms to-day that should attract the 
attention of the mill managers anc 
be given due consideration is the fact 
that good air and proper temperature, 
and humidity 

INCREASES THE EFFICIENCY 
of the operatives to a great extent. 
The close connections between the 
conditions which surround the oper- 



COTTON MILL 'MANAGEMEOSIT 



641 



ative and his effidency is a matter 
of common experience witti us all. 
Take, for example, a very hot day in 
July, and a cool day in September. A 
good many of the operatives are kept 
at the July level all through the 
colder months. They work indiffer- 
ently and not only accomplish half 
their labor, but destroy considerable 
of the material which is under their 
care. A remedy for this is not in the 
ordinary sense simply ventilation, but 
rather the conditioning of the air in 
such a way that the operative may 
work under the most favorahle condi- 
tions. This is equally as chief an ele- 
ment to the industrial efficiency of a 
mill as it is to the 

HEALTH AND HAPPINESS 
of all its operatives. Yet, however, 
we often find that humidification has 
grown in the minds of some mill man- 
agers as merely a mechanical propo- 
sition; that is to say, in its relation 
to improving fibre conditions. This 
is very true, and has met with ex- 
tremely good results, but this is only 
half the problem, as both humidifica- 
tion and ventilation must be consid- 
ered as one. To secure the largest 
profits on a given expenditure and 
increase the production, it will pay 
the mill managers to give due consid- 
eration not only to the conditioning 
of the fibres, but to the health of their 
operatives, as part of this practical 
problem, for heat combined with ex- 
cessive humidity is the one condition 
in the air that has, beyond a doubt, 
proved a universal cause of com- 
plaints, discomfort, illness and ineffi- 
ciency. 

Although the reduced output in va- 
rious mills is due to the reduction of 

WORKING FORCES 
few people realize that the cost of 
sick and inefficient workmen is equal- 
ly as great. We all understand that 
there is no profit in idle machinery, 
and that there are no dividends when 
this machinery is working poorly. 
Therefore, it is very ar>parent that the 
value of the operative is doubled 
when proper ventilation and humidi- 
fication are installed. 



Another point which may be brought 
out emphatically is to have a com- 
plete change of air in the weave room 
at intervals by producing strong 
drafts of fresh air. In mills having 
no air currents the hot, moist and 
stagnant air from the body clings 
around us in such a way as to make 
it extremely uncomfortable. It is 
quite important that a blast of fresh 
air should blow over the body at 
some time in order to produce an 
effect somewhat similar to the de- 
lightful sensation one receives when 
walking or riding against the wind. 

In regard to cleanliness 

IT CAN READILY BE SEEN 
that if a room is not kept in an or- 
derly condition the operative is like- 
ly to be as slack in his work ^s is 
the room itself, which will eventu- 
ally result in an increased amount 
of seconds. If the floors are not 
kept in a sanitary condition they will 
become greasy, thus enlarging the 
chances for accidents caused by the 
workman slipping while walking 
back and forth ■ at his work. The 
base of the wall should be painted 
with some color not trying to the 
eye, such as a dark shade of 
green. This will not show the 
dirt so readily as other colors. 
The walls from the windows 
up should be painted white, 
likewise the ceiling, as this will great- 
ly add to the light by reflection. If 
the machinery is driven from over- 
head the shafting and hangers should 
be wiped well very often, for other- 
wise the oil and iint that collects 
will drop on the work and damage it. 
It is 

A VERY COMMON OCCURRENCE 
in mills selling their goods in the 
grey, that cloth has had to be classed 
as seconds, owing to oil or grease 
spots which have occurred in the mid- 
dle of a cut. 

Another matter which should be 
impressed on the operative's mind is 
that the machine should be kept well 
cleaned, as parts may become clogged 
with dirt or lint and thus result in the 
cause of another part breaking], and 



642 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



unless the supply department is effi- 
ciently run so that the part can he 
readily obtained, it will eventually 
result in the stoppage of the loom. 
A very good plan that should be 
adopted is the enforcement of the 
weavers putting their cut into the 
rack as soon as it is taken off the 
loom and thus do away with oil and 
grease spots whicl 

ARE BOUND TO RESULT 
if the weaver insists oh laying his 
roll on the floor or stackingi it up 
against the wall, where it is liable 
to be brushed against oy some loom 
fixer's overalls, which are more or 
less dirty. 

On fine work especially should this 
be adopted, as these fabrics are fair- 
ly soft and absorb oil and dirt very 
readily. Where it is possible it 
would not be an expensive plan to 
have adjustable covers made of some 
heavy material which could be fast- 
ened around a cut of cloth, thus af- 
fording protection. The weave room 
is sometimes located in a mill where 
dirt may fiy in through the windows. 
The writer had occasion, a short 
time ago, to go through a mill where 
a weave room was situated very near 
the picker house of their own plant 
and a picker house of an adjoining 
plant. The windows were open and 
the dirt from 

THE TWO PICKER HOUSES 
was blowing in and covering the 
cloth which was being woven, and 
yet it was said that they wondered 
why so many seconds w6re being 
made. No. 271. 



CCLXXII. ORGANIZATION. 

We may well pause for a moment 
to consider some views of the way in 
which vast changes have taken place 
in this country in regard to the tex- 
tile industry. It is a strange fact that 
until recently mill managers have not 
studied very deeply the labor situa- 
tion in Its broadest sense. There has 
been so much said and so much 
throwing down of the established or- 
der of things that the mill managers 
naturally begin to consider whetlier 



or not their rights have been taken 
away from them. The rule of the 
people has swept over the country to 
such an extent that 

IT IS GENERALLY CLAIMED 
that we need new methods, and a 
general overturning of old customs. 
In our estimation, it is simply history 
repeating itself, and if the socialistic 
reformers, who have so many reme- 
dies for old troubles, would study the 
conditions of olden times, compared 
with those of to-day, they would find 
that they were of a somewhat similar 
nature. We readily understand that 
this problem is a broad one, and that 
the manufacturers are beginning to 
realize more and more the great ne- 
cessity of comprehending labor. Su- 
perintendents, overseers, etc., cannot 
hold their positions in mills unles-9 
they are capable of handling help, 
that is, to handle them efficiently. Yet 
the capability of handling help is only 
the starting point of the knowledge 
of labor. 

Unless organization provides for 
comparing what is done with what 
should be done with the accuracy of 
mathematics a 

HIGH STANDARD OF EFFICIENCY 
cannot be maintained. It seems to 
be a very common occurrence In 
some mills to reach a high efficiency 
during a dull period of business, and 
to descend to a low standard during 
the period of increased activity, be- 
cause the management has so little 
control over the details of the situar 
tion. What one employer might con- 
sider too small a production, another 
would deem a fair output. There- 
fore, it is to the interest of both em- 
ployer and employe to mutually agree 
upon a fair time limit for each op- 
eration, so that both may know what 
he can readily expect from the other. 
Atvy agreement which holds an 
employe to a certain production 
as well as the employer to defi- 
nite rates of wagers and hours 
is rc-ally a safeguard to bath 
the parties concerned. Having stud- 
ied somewhat similar conditions, we 
have always found that to whatever 



ClOtTON MILL MANAGBMENt 



643 



extent an employer was liberal in his 
treatment to the operatives that they 
would usually meet him half way. 
Consequently, an agreement 
IS A PROTECTION 
to the mill managers, not only as it 
places a limit on petty injustices on 
the part of overseers, second hands, 
etc., but also tends to prevent troubles 
from men widely scattered yet bound 
by the same agreement. 

In a previous installment of this ar- 
ticle we called the reader's attention 
to the unscrupulous dealings of some 
of ithe so-called shrewd mill officials, 
and this is a reason why trade unions 
try to add restrictions to their agree- 
ments as an effort to stop the abuses 
by these officials who are far too nar- 
row to see anything but their own 
side of the situation. Yet, on the 
other hand, something must be said 
of the justification of mill officials 
who refuse to have any dealings with 
labor which is organized because of 
the unfair methods taken by some of 
its leaders, such as the tiring speeches 
of the labor heads in the recent Law- 
rence strike, who cast down the 
MORE CONSERVATIVE MOTTO, 
"A fair wage for a fair day's work," 
and substituted "Acknowledge no flag 
but the red flag," a symbol of revo- 
lution and bloodshed. We have great 
sympathy with all the good opera- 
tives who are of the belief that our 
present industrial situation is far 
from being correct, and who contrib 
ute certain sums of money as fees, 
etc., to the work of making this coun- 
try a better one, and we trust that 
they will not accuse the writer, who 
is mutual, of any prejudice for this 
point of view. We particularly refer 
to the seeming error into which they 
have fallen in regard to the un- 
equal social conditions which exist in 
our form of government. 

Now, the point that remains is sim- 
ply this, that the sooner the mill of- 
ficials can 

GAIN THE CONFIDENCE 
and create a feeling of contentment 
among the operatives, and content- 
ment means the best paid operatives. 



they will at least have gained a point, 
and need not waste further efforts to 
do away with organized labor. Union 
men, like the majority of all other in- 
dividuals, are first interested in their 
own behalf, and are concerned in their 
employer or their union only to the 
extent which they think each gives to 
their welfare. The one which im- 
presses them as the most profitable 
will be the one which will receive 
their support and loyalty. 

Then there are other organizations, 
jermed the line and staff organiza- 
tions, which are meeting with tre- 
mendous success in some of the uiv- 
to-date mills. Line organization is 
the training of the men in sequence 
of position, so that one may be able to 
fill his predecessor's place efficiently 
when called upon to do so, and Its 
strength lies in its indestructibility. 
Staff organization is the 

TRAINING OF THE OFFICIALS 
in charge of the mill in such a man- 
ner that they may be capable to plan, 
direct and advise everything pertain- 
ing to the welfare of the employers in 
a very efficient way. It is very en- 
couraging to know that some of the 
mills and a textile paper are estab- 
lishing systems whereby employes 
who have worked in concerns a stat- 
ed length of time are rewarded by 
pensions, profit sharing, gold canes 
and silver services. If this method, 
which they can easily afford, was 
adopted by all the mills, they would 
find little or no trouble in keeping 
more efficient workmen in their em- 
ploy. The writer is of the opinion 
that we may take renewed courage 
and renewed strength with whi(di to 
carry on our tasks with perfect con- 
fidence that they will be solved In 
duo time as others have been in the 
past. No. 272. 



CCLXXIII. TRAINING WEAVERS. 

No matter where you go, or what 
mill you go into, you will always find 
good weavers, medium weavers and 
poor weavers, which we will call 
first class, second class and third 
class. If it was possible to have a 



644 



COTTON MILiL MANAGEMENT 



mill well stocked with, all good first- 
class weavers, the profits would be 
much larger than they are at pres- 
ent. A first-class weaver not 
only turns ofl! a big production, but 
the quality is generally good, for no 
matter what sort of work they get in 
tlie looms they seem to get through 
it, while the second and third-class 
weavers are constantly stuck and 
pestering the fixer because the warp 
won't weaA'^e itself, and then to finish 
up they go to the overseer with a 
pitiful story about having had the 
fixer at their looms about twenty 
times, and he won't fix them. 

If the overseer goes to their looms 
and overhauls them he niay find noth.- 
ing wrong; it is only th.e 
education of the weaver that is 
at fault, or it may be that he is 
careless of his responsibilities as 
a weaver. The overseer who has un- 
der his charge a majority of his 
weavers of the third-class type is 
more to be pitied than blamed when 
his 

PRODUCTION IS LOW, 
as the anxiety and worry on his 
mind is so great that it ruins his 
health and he has to give up his 
position and take other work where 
the strain is not :so great. 
We will just loolc into the situation 
as it appears to the writer. Almost 
all the mills in the country have had 
to rely on the immigrants from for- 
eign countries to fill up their mills 
with the required amount of help. 
Most of these people have never seen 
a mill or machinery before in their 
lives, and it cannot be expected that 
all of them will turn oiit a success. 
Some of them Avould not make weav- 
ers in twenty j'eais. while others pick 
it up very well, and after a time 
may be found among the second-class 
weavers, a few of them making first- 
class weavers. 

We will, for a few minutes, look 
into the kind of training they get. 
They come to the mill door and ask, 
through an interpreter, if they can 
have a 30b in the mill; they have 
never worked in a mill, but they are 
anxious and willing to learn. The 
weaving overseer may take a few" of 



them in hand and distribute theni 
around the weave room with any of 
the good weavers who are willing to 
take them in hand and teacli them 
the arts of weaving. This would be all 
right if they could stay with the 
weaver long enough to be able to 
run, say, two looms by themselves, 
and do all the work required and do 
it right. 

LOOMS STOPPED. 
Often the beginners are not to blame 
for being put on looms too soon. 
Take, for instance, a mill that has a 
number of looms stoipped, and the 
superintendent, having this fact con- 
stantly brought before his notice 
will, on his round of inspection 
in the morning, ask the over- 
seer, "What looms have you 
stopped this morning?" and the over- 
seer might reply, "1 have fifty looms 
stopped this m.orning." The superin- 
tendent will then put on a severe 
look of authority, and reply some- 
thing after this style, "Well, you 
mu.st get a move on and get some 
■weavers, if they don't come after 
work, you must go after them and 
get all the looms going, or another 
man will have to take your place ; why 
don't you put those apprentices on 
looms, and give some of ithe other 
weavers two more looms; do any- 
thing so that you get the looms go- 
ing," and then walks off feeling a few 
inches taller, after having eased his 
feelings a little. 

The overseer then shifts his help 
around, and places his beginners on 
looms, and thus gets all the looms go- 
ing in anolther day or so, and then 
when the superintendent comes 
around the following morning and 
asks the usual question of, "How are 
you fixed for weavers this morning?" 
the overseer, Avith a feeling of pride, 
can reply. "I have all the looms go- 
ing this morning." After a few days 
of "all looms running" the superin- 
tendent may start to talk to the 
overseer something after this strain, 
"Now that you have all the looms 
running, and a few spare weavers in 
the room, you had better start 
to weed a few of 'the bad weavers 
out and those who turn off a low 



(30TT0N MILL MANA&BMENT 



64g 



production, and tell them that they 
will either have to do better or leave, 
and let us see if we cannot get our 
production up a good deal higher." 

PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE. 

Some of our readers may think that 
such things do not happen, but we 
know, from practical experience that 
they do happen, and some of the 
overseers who read this paper can 
back us up. We have often heard it 
stated that in some of our large cot- 
ton manufacturing cities there are as 
many overseers who have gone back 
to fixing and weaving as there are 
overseers employed in the city. "Why 
is this?" you may ask. In the writer's 
opinion it is because too much is 
expected from the w^eaving depart- 
ment, in that all the faults and 
mistakes of the different processes 
in the spinning and sizing depart- 
ments are brought to light in the 
weave room, and no matter what is 
wrong with the yarns or sizing, good 
cloth is w^anted and plenty of it. 

When a new overseer is taken on 
he generally brings along some 
fresh help, but when he has brought 
all the help he can, and cannot get 
any more, the company has no fur- 
ther use for him and before very long 
he is told that he is 

NOT GIVING SATISFACTION 
and must leave. A friend of the 
writer who w'as a second hand was 
spending his vacation a short time 
ago with some frie'nds in another cot- 
ton city not a hundred miles from 
Boston, and asked at one large mill 
if there was a chance to get 
a job as overseer. He was told 
that there was not just then, but he 
could have a job as second hand, and 
if he could get about twenty or thirty 
English weavers in the mill he should 
have an overseer's job. He did not 
take the job and at the end of 
his vacation went back to his native 
town. This just goes to prove how 
m.uch the overseer is valued. He 
is valuable only when he can bring 
along some good experienced weav- 
ers. 

It is to be hoped that such cases 
as these are few and far between. 



What is really necessary to make good 
steady weavers are young persons just 
leaving school, giving them from six 
to twelve months' training with 
some good weavers before allowing 
them to have looms of their own. The 
younger the persons learn, the better 
wea.vers they will be in after years. 
Much has been said about' the quali- 
ties of the Lancashire weavers; in the 
writer's opinion this is due to the 
early age at which beginners enter 
the mill. Until recent yeiars a child 
could go to work in the cotton mills 
at the age of ten and work half time, 
that is, half a day, and go to school 
half a day, and at the age of 13 could 
leave the school altogether and work 
in the mill the full hours. By this 
means the child got three years' 
training with a good selected weaver 
at the wage of about 75 ■ cents 
a week, and at the age of 13, 
w^as put on two looms. After 
the half time age was changed 
from ten years to the age of 12, 
the falling off in quality of the young 
w^eavers was quickly noticed by the 
managers and overseers, due, no 
doubt, to the shortening of the time 
in which the child got his or her 
training from three years to one 
year. 

GIVEN TWO LOOMS, 

At the age of thirteen the child 
was given two looms as formerly. If 
the half times are done away with 
and the age is raised when a child 
can lea^e school (and legislation is 
tending in that direotiion) then the 
Lancashire weavers will fall a little 
from the high quality mark that they 
have held for so many years, 
and come down more on a level with 
other nations. 

One often hears it said that why 
the Lancaster weavers have at- 
tained so good a name is be- 
cause it is born in them. In the 
writer's opinion this is not quite cor- 
rect, as families are constantly mov- 
ing from the farming districts into 
the cotton towns where work can be 
found for the children, these chil- 
dren on entering the mills often turn 
ing out to be as good as the best 



646 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



of them, even though their ancestors 
had never seen a mill. In our opin- 
ion the weavers who started mill life 
at an early age are the ones who 
stand by the mill and make it a 
paying concern, and not those who 
began mill life at an adult aigei, as 
these do not often give their minds 
to it as a profession, and are always 
on the lookout for some other trade 
outside the mill and ready to take 
anything that comes along, even if 
the wages are a little less than those 
earned in the mill. These are the 
sort of folks who give the overseer 
so much trouble by leaving in the 
spring and creeping back in 
October and November so as to be 
out of the cold during the winter 
months. If the companies M-ould of- 
fer some inducement to the young 
people just leaving school to come 
into the mills, and pay them a wase 
while learning, they would get the 
benefit of it in after years by hav- 
ing a good class of help that can be 
relied upon to stay with the mill. 
DISHONESTY IN WEAVE ROOM. 

There are several tricks practiced 
by weavers, in order to put a little 
more money in their pockets. The 
writer maj' not know all of them but 
he will illustrate a few. One of the 
most practiced tricks is to taike off 
the change or pick gear, and put on 
Binother one with one tooth more, 
and weave with this gear on for a 
few days, and then change it back 
again. It may not be found out when 
the cloth is weighed in the cloth 
room, and if it is thought to be 
a little light, and, on counting 
the picks, it is found to be slightly 
underpioked, the overseer or second 
hand may go and look at the loom, 
but he will find everything all right, 
and if he questions the weaver, well, 
the weaver will not know anything 
about it and cannot account for it. 

Some weavers will put a count or 
two hea^^er filling in so as to keep 
the Aveight of the cloth 

UP TO STANDARD. 

Bj' this trick the piece of cloth 
can be woven in less time, and al- 
though it is a little risky, it is like 
the farmer who waters his milk, or 



the grocer who sells oleomargarine 
for butter; if he gets caught and has 
to paj' a fine, he can afford it, and 
it pays him to take the risk of being 
caught. Another way of tampering 
v/ith the pick gears without chang- 
ing a wheel is to put a small piece 
of leather into a tooth of the carrier 
wheel, and when the piece of leather 
comes round to the point in gear with 
the pick wheel, the carrier wheel will 
spring forward two teeth instead of 
one. The writer defies anyone to de- 
tect this trick by looking at the cloth, 
as the diift'erence in the picks per 
inch is verj'- slight, but what little 
there is, is in favor of the weaver. 

A simple trick of this sort will put 
from 25 to 50 cents a week extra 
in the weaver's pocket. Everyone 
connected with the weave room 
knows how a weaver will cover over 
a patch of black oil in the cloth with 
chalk, and a scratch-up with soap 
or oatmeal and waiter. All these lit- 
tle tricks are done to get the cloth 

THROUGH THE CLOTH ROOM 
without the defects being seen, and 
so escape a call down or the imposing 
of a fine for bad cloth. Many times, 
when a weaver has put two shuttles 
in the loom at once and made a big 
warp smash, the writer has noticed 
that the dagger finger has been loos- 
ened and pushed in a little so that 
the tongue on the dagger rod would 
come over the frog without a shuttle 
being in the box. This is done so that 
they can have the warp redrawn at the 
company's expense, and a.lso to es- 
cape being made the laughing stock 
of the other weavers, as it is great 
fun to the weavers when someone 
puts in two shuttles. 

In mills where the weaving of 
c'oth is paid for at so much per cut it 
is a common occurrence to have two 
or more rolls at the week end with- 
out a loom number, and after mak- 
ing inquiries of the weavers, as to 
whom they belong, no one can be 
found who will own them. On in- 
specting the cloth, it may be found 
to be so badly woven that it is not 
to be wondered at that it is without 
a loom number. Cuts without loom 
numbers are very frequent where 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



64? 



the weaving price is paid by the pick 
indicator, at so murli per one thou- 
sand picks that the loom runs, in- 
stead of at sc much per cuit. If the 
cloth is bad, or, if there is a lot of 
mixed filling in it, the weaver finds 
it very easy to forget to put the loom 
number on the end of ithe roll. 

Speaking of pick indicators, some 
of them are easily tampered with and 
are made to register more than the 
loom has run. Some can be talken off 
the loom very easily, and, by holding 
the indicator shaft in coin tact with 
the loom driving belt, a few thousand 
picks can be added to the indicator 
in two or three minutes, and the 
indicator can then be put back on 
the loom again. The writer has known 
cases where, when the warp was fin- 
ished and the loom ha,d to wait a few 
hours for another warp, the loom has 
been set nmning without shuttle, and 
the filling taken off so that the pick 
indicator would have a few thousand 
picks added. With the help of other 
wea-vers round about to keep a sharp 
lookout for '"anybody coming" this 
fraud can go on for an indefinite 
period or until some one who does 
not get a chance to do it tells of 
the others. No. 273. 



CCLXXIV. MILL YARD AND FAC- 
TORY TRANSPORTATION. 

The electric vehicle as built to-day 
has a distinct field in which its suc- 
cess is admitted even by- those who 
are skeptical of motor vehicle trans- 
portation as a general proposition. 

One of the problems which con- 
fronts every agent, superintendent and 
yard master of a mill or factory is 
the proper, expeditious and economical 
handling of the raw material as it ar- 
rives, as it passes through the vari- 
ous processes until it becomes "fin- 
ished goods," and then is delivered to 
the storehouse or to the freight house 
where the responsibility of distant de- 
livery is turned over to the railroad 
or steamship line. 

Not only are the 
PROBLEMS OF TRANSPORTATION 
encountered in handling the actual raw 
material, material in process, and the 
finished goods, but in many contingent 



parts of mill or factory work there also 
arise numerous calls for transporta- 
tion of some character. 

The lumber for the shipping boxes 
does not come in on wings, it requires 
hauling to the carpenter shop and frotn 
there as boxes to the finishing room 
or shipping department. 

The barrels of dye and bleaching 
materials will not roll themselves to 
the storehouse, and from there to the 
dye works or bleach ery; they must be 
teamed, and their weight is such that 
they make heavy loads. 

Lumber must be moved to the vari- 
ous places 

AROUND THE MILL YARD 
where repairs are going on, or if con- 
struction work is in progress, bricks, 
lime, cement, crushed stone and gravel 
must be carted. These are only a few 
of the many problems in mill and fac- 
tory transportation that confront the 
superintendent. 

In some instances tracks and indus- 
trial cars have been installed in the 
endeavor to better yard transporta- 
tion, but the work of almost any mill 
is of such a varied character that the 
network of tracks required to reason- 
ably cover the routes desired, the cost 
of laying them, and keeping in repair, 
more than offset their apparent sav 
ing. And then again, it is often desir- 
able to use the mill-yard vehicles 
around the town or city outside of the 
mill property on the public highways. 

This cannot be done if industrial rail 
cars are used. Therefore, trackless 
transportation in and around mills is 
really what is required. 

As vehicles operating around a 
trackless mill yard and town or city 
roads must be supplied with power, 
the nature of the motor is first to be 
considered. Electricity seems to be 
one of the most natural powers to be 
considered, not only on account of its 
cheapness, but because of its clean- 
liness, safety and flexibility. As 
the conditions are trackless, the 
vehicle used rr'ust he self-contained 
which means that its power, derived 
from the generator, must be accumu- 
lated in storage batteries; therefore 
we have given as the desirable meth- 
od of transportation an electrically 
driven, storage battery truck. 



648 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



In considering any method of trans- 
portation there are tliree things to ex- 
amine: the road, the load and th^ 
veliicle. In tracliless transportation 
the road must be accepted as it exists. 
In mill work the load must be accept- 



tion. The specified speed with full 
load on hard level determines the 
amount of energy that must be stored 
in its battery at one time. This last 
condition fixes the size of the storage 
battery. The power and speed required 




One-Ton Mii( Yard Truck in Use by Pepperell Manufacturing Co., Biddeford, Me 



ed as it is received, and it must be 
delivered as ordered. These two fac- 
tors of transportation are the same 
no matter what method is employed. 
Hills, bad roads, frequent stops and 
starts, long routes or heavy loads are 
equal in the demand made on animals 
or machines of any kind. The third 
factor, the vehicle, is the only one with 
which the solution of the transporta- 
tion problem can be made any easier. 
THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE. 
The electric vehicle for trucking 
and delivery is purely a mechanical 
proposition. It is a machine. Like 
other machines it can be built to do 
a given amount of worK in a definite 
time at a certain cost under any 
known conditions. The safely carried 
load in pounds or tons is the basis of 
its mechanical design and construc- 



determine the size of the motor and 
the gear ratios, while the total weight 
affects the tire design. 

The cost of transportation by elec- 
tric vehicles can be determined just 
as logically as the cost of operation 
of any other machine. It is merely 
a question of measuring the work and 
measuring the cost and placing one 
against the other. 

Accurate engineering can be applied 
to the problems of transportation with 
greater satisfaction with electric vehi- 
cles than with any other type. Elec- 
tric measuring instruments reveal, and 
record, if necessary, the condition and 
performance of storage batteries and 
electric motors. The cost of produc- 
ing electricity is a known quantity. 
The amount of electricity necessary to 
charge a battery is measurable. The 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMSiSTT 



^49 



amount of electricity delivered to an 
electric motor by the battery is a 
known quantity or can be measured. 
The performance of an electric motor 
is accurately specified for any condi- 
tions. Its eflJiciency is easily deter- 
mined. 

The work of moving a ton a mile 
per hour on a hard level road is ex- 



energy is thus required, and a smaller 
and lighter battery may be used. The 
decrease in battery weight allows the 
framework to be ligLter, reduces the 
dead weight, further reducing the en- 
ergy consumption, the battery weight 
and the friction loss itself. 

Another important improvement is 
the use of a single motor for driving 




A Portion of the Electric Garage of the Pacific IViills, Lawrence, Mass., Showing 
Five Trucl<s of Their Fleet of Eleven Electrics. 



pended in starting it from rest and in 
overcoming the resistence of the road, 
the tires, the bearings, the electrical 
circuits and the air. If the road is 
not hard or not level, of course, more 
work will be required to overcome its 
resistence, or to move the load up a 
grade. If it is necessary to start often 
from rest, more work must be done 
than for continuous motion. 

A large saving in power is obtained 
by using the ball or roller bearings in 
motor, countershaft and wheels and 
efficient silent chains and roller chain 
drive between motor and wheels. Less 



the vehicle in place of two or four 
sometimes used in the past. The ad- 
vantages lie in decreased weight, bet- 
ter motor efficiency, lighter batteries, 
fewer parts, simpler control and a re- 
duction in energy required to move the 
vehicle. 

The motor requiring only a very 
small amount of current to carry the 
loads in level roads (from 25 amperes 
for the 1,000-pound capacity vehicle 
to 50 amperes in the large five-ton 
machine), is so constructed that it will 
withstand an overload of 100 to 300 
per cent when heavy grades are en- 



650 



COTTON MIDL MANAGEMENT 



countered, as is often the case around 
mill yards and the surrounding coun- 
try where the vehicle may have occa- 
sion to operate. The two and four mo- 
tor trucks almost without exception 
require a larger amperage to operate 
than the guaranteed discharge rate of 
the largest battery which can consist- 
ently be installed in the truck. This 
results in a constant tearing down of 
the battery plates, making continual 
washing of the batteries necessary, 
and thereby rapidly shortening the 
life of the battery. 



of the argument, and the correspond- 
ing items against the electric truck, 
including electric power at 4 cents per 
kilowatt hour, which is more than dou- 
ble the actual cost in most mills and 
factories; the actual economy in cost 
shows in favor of the electric truck 
by 22 to 53 per cent, according to the 
size and number of vehicles operated, 
and the surrounding conditions. 

It should be recollected that the 
electric vehicle requires only the space 
it occupies. It needs no hay loft, 
stalls, harness room, bedding platform 





Two-Ton Mill Yard Truck Climbing 12.4 Per Cent Grade at Amoskeag iVlfg. Co., 

Manchester, N. H. 



As most manufacturing companies 
are familiar with the horse-drawn 
proposition it is of interest to compare 
that method with the electric, there- 
fore it may be stated that taking into 
consideration depreciation, interest, in- 
surance, stable room, shoeing, veteri- 
nary charges, harnesses, blankets, 
stable-help and feed, on the horse side 



or manure pit, nor does it require 
extra equipment to do twice the work 
that horses drawing the same capacity 
per load accomplish. While the stable 
man is obliged to keep a supply of ex- 
tra horses to substitute for those which 
are sick, disabled, or being shod, it is 
not necessary to have an extra motor 
vehicle on hand, as 98 per cent of all 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



651 



causes for delay can be provided for 
in advance and thus prevent or over- 
come loss of use. 

In a small one-story garage, not over 
25 by 50 feet, may be housed the com- 
plete equipment of five vehicles, which 
will displace and do the work of 9 or 
10 trucks and 18 to 40 horses, accord- 



sons, but keeps constantly at its work 
the year around, good and bad weath- 
er alike. 

Accustomed as most horses are to 
moving freight trains and cars, it is 
nevertheless a fact that quite often 
a good horse will become frightened 
and run away, causing loss not only 




Two-Ton Electric Truck During the Snowy Weather at Pacific IVIills, Law- 

rCince, iVIass. 



ing to the size of trucks and the meth- 
od of working the horses. One intelli- 
gent mechanic and a helper can easily 
care for these machines and keep them 
in first-class operating order, while the 
drivers of the horses in a few days 
become proficient operators of the 
electric trucks. Notice the economy 
in stable room and help. 

While the heat of summer, the chill- 
ing rains in the fall, and the low tem- 
perature of winter, to say nothing of 
the glare icy pavements and deep 
snow, all work havoc with the health 
of the horse and make the death rate 
high, the electric truck knows no sea- 



to vehicle, harness and load, but fre- 
quently irreparably injuring or killing 
itself or running mate. These inci- 
dents all go to make the horse ex- 
pensive, and form links in the chain 
of strong arguments for the electric 
truck. 

ELECTRIC TRUCKS. 
Among the many arguments which 
should be considered by manufactur- 
ers in connection with electric motor 
vehicle work over horse-drawn trucks 
are, first, the cleanliness in the garage, 
and around yards, the vehicles and the 
motors driving thetn, running on very 
generously proportioned ball and roll- 



652 



COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



er bsarings, which are sealed, oil and 
dust tight and require oiling only once 
in six months, and, therefore, have not 
the dirt and hot oil throwing proclivi- 
ties incidental to the gasoline ma- 
chine; second, the electric method is 
cheaper, requiring a less number of 
vehicles, therefore less drivers, and 
the loading and unloading crews are 
less, or the present force is kept bus- 
ier; third, while the electric current 
for the charging of the batteries is 
figured in all estimates on which this 
argument is based at four cents per 
Mlowatt hour, it is a fact that most 
mills or factories can operate a small 
wheel or a small engine during the 
night, furnishing power to charge the 
batteries, or taking the current from 
the mill lighting plant before the peak 
of the load, utilizing power which 
would otherwise go to waste, thus re- 
ducing the cost of current to less than 
a small fraction of a cent per kilowatt 
hour; fourth, the flexibility in the han- 
dling, light or heavy loads carried with 
'equal ease, the turning of vehicle and 
backing to freight cars, doors or ele- 
vators, and its ability, on account of 
■occupying only 60 per cent of the road 
space used by the horse-drawn ve- 
hicle, flexible steering and starting and 
stopping devices, to travel in congest- 
ed yards or buildings; fifth, it can be 
run into factory buildings, on eleva- 
tors, into shipping rooms or freight 
houses, and on docks and wharves, all 
lof which places are barred to the gas- 
oline truck by insurance regulations; 
;sixth, and most important, that tne 
money invested in electric motor ve- 
hicle transportation will produce a lar- 
ger dividend, when compared with 
present horse costs, than is earned in 
any other portion of the manufacture 
of textile goods. 

ELECTRIC TRUCKING. 

The facts advanced in the preceding 
paragraphs are amply justified by the 
experience of a number of well-known 
mills and factories of New England 
which have adopted the electric motor 
vehicle method. It is perhaps one of 
the strongest arguments in favor ot 



the motor vehicle to say that all cot- 
ton and woolen mills, with one excep- 
tion, which have made a primary in- 
stallation of electric trucks, have, after 
a practical experience, ordered addi- 
tional machines. 

The illustrations which accompany 
this article give an exceedingly com- 
prehensive idea of the appearance of 
the electric truck as used around the 
factory and mill yards. 

The Pepperell Mills at Biddeford, 
Maine, have a number of electric 
trucks, which were installed five years 
ago in 1908. These have kept con- 
stantly at work, giving good results 
at far below horse vehicle costs. 

At the Arlington Mills, Lawrence, 
Mass., three electric trucks, of one, 
three and five tons capacity are in use 
for general mill yard transportation. 

A. G. Walton & Company, of Chelseai 
Mass., use a three and one-half ton 
electric truck for hauling raw material 
to their works, and the finished goods 
to the freight terminals and store 
houses. This machine has been in con- 
stant use for nearly four years, and 
has been so satisfactory that in May, 
1911, they purchased a second truck. 

Simonds Manufacturing Company, of 
Port Chester, N. Y., use a five-ton elec- 
tric machine for similar purposes. 

One large mill corporation some few 
years ago installed a light, fast, covered 
electric vehicle which was used as a 
paymaster's wagon, and it was fitted 
for use in case of emergency as an am- 
bulance for hurriedly conveying a sick 
or injured person to the hospital. 

In another cotton manufacturing in- 
dustry a five-ton electric vehicle was 
installed, working ten hours per day, 
taking the place of three horse-drawn 
trucks. Later, the enterprising engi- 
neer of this mill proposed purchasing 
an extra battery, putting on a night 
crew, and operating the truck 20 work- 
ing hours per day. This has been done, 
and as a result the entire stable has 
been dispensed with, and the machine 
truck is now doing the work which 
before required seven horse-drawn 
trucks. No. 274. 



COTTON MILL MANA'G-EMENT 



653 



CCLXXV. MILL PAINTING. 

The problem of painting the interior 
of a new mill is especially difficult, by 
reason of the hard pine lioing often 
full of sap, and unseasoned. Often- 
times the construction is done in cold 
weather, and steam heat is not avail- 
able until after the painting is begun. 
The effect of all this is to cause the 
sap to come through the paint during 
the process of seasoning, and to ren- 
der it unsightly. 

The best way to obviate these diffi- 
culties is, of course, to use well-sea- 
soned lumber, and also to allow as 
much time as is possible after the con- 
struction of the mill, before painting 
at all. Conditions, however, often- 
times make this impossible, in which 
case great care should be used to buy 
paint from those who have made a 
special study of these problems. 

Cold water paints often flake and 
scale from ceilings and injure the 
machinery and its products. Some- 
times, however, cold water paint may 
safely be used on the walls. 

"Lead and oil" is a safe paint to ap- 
ply on ceilings, so far as any damage 
resulting from scalding is concerned, 
but it has an unfortunate tendency to 
turn yellow indoors, whether or not on 
well seasoned wood. This diminishes 
the light reflecting power of the ceil- 
ing coated with it. 

To obviate 

THE DIFFICULTIES 

of both, a special mill white has been 
adopted in many modern mills, some 
as far back as ten years, and its use 
has been steadily growing. A repu- 
table article of this kind, when applied 
over special priming coats, made to 
suit the special conditions of lumber, 
can be depended upon to give the best 
results possible to secure. The paint- 
ing should be done, when not in dry 
summer weather with the windows 
open, after steam heat has been turned 
on, and ventilation allowed to take 
care of the condensation. It is im- 



portant that the first coat penetrate 
the wood and remain, if possible, a 
week or two, in order that such sap 
as may come through from knots, etc., 
may then be touched up with shellac 
before a second coat of paint is ap- 
plied. For best results a third coat 
should then follow, for considering the 
lumber conditions, three coats of paint 
are not too many to overcome them. 

Some owners with large experience, 
and some mechanical engineers, where 
conditions are unusually unfavorable, 
apply but a single coat immediately 
following the construction, leaving un- 
til six months or a year hence further 
remaining coats. This costs more, be- 
cause of the extra time required for 
painting after machinary has been in- 
stalled and running, but undoubtedly 
gives the most successful results. Oth- 
ers paint all but the lower edge of the. 
heavy beams, thus leaving an oppor- 
tunity for seasoning to take place in 
them. 

THE GREAT ADVANTAGES 

of painting completely in time for op- 
erating the plant are that full benefits 
from the light reflecting power of mill 
white are secured, and a clean, 
sanitary looking plant results. The 
high gloss not only reflects the 
light, but sheds the dust, and, if nec- 
essary, can be washed. A well-painted 
mill will not require repainting for 
years to come, as the surface can be 
cleaned whenever it is desired to do 
so, and there is absolutely no danger 
of cracking and peeling if a mill white 
free from varnish is used. 

Exterior painting is generally con- 
fined to the window frames, sashes^ 
doors, etc., which are painted in dark 
colors, generally a standard color used 
by the mill for their entire property 
fences, etc. Dark green may be well 
recommended for this purpose, also 
brownstone color. Three coats are 
necessary for best results, the first 
coat to be liberally thinned with tur- 
pentine. No. 275. 



PART III. 



The Cotton Manufacturers' Dyehouse 



There are many preliminary consid- 
erations which concern the proprietor 
of a manufacturing plant and which he 
must settle in regard to the advisabili- 
ty of commencing a dyeing plant as 
an auxiliary to his concern, but these 
considerations are doubly important in 
the case of a newly-organized concern. 
A cotton dyeing and finishing plant Is 
not so easily set up, and involves a 
more varied application, together with 
a greater complexity of preparing and 
finishing machinery than is usually the 
case with worsted or woolen goods. 
In districts isolated from the neighbor- 
hood of the textile industries, there is 
frequently no other option than to run 
a complete plant, from the buying of 
the raw stock to the completion of the 
finished article ready for market. In 
such an event, the management has 
no other alternative than that of 
choosing a good site for the dyehouse, 
seeing the same built, and equipping 
it with economy and good man- 
agement. Adversely, the cotton man- 
ufacturer surrounded by public dye- 
houses has quite another aspect for 
consideration. He has to place before 
himself an exact estimate of his pro- 
posed dyeing costs as compared with 
the cost of dyeing in the public dye- 
house. In many cases, the public dy- 
er will be found to have the balance 
of cheapness and safety in his favor. 
In the case of a new concern, it might 
be said to be especially so, since 
dyehouse defects, being usually diffl- 
cult of explanation, it follows that, in 
a new dyehouse and new plant, 
the greatest trouble would be en- 
gendered. Hence, where a public 
dyehouse is at hand. It is expedient 
that the dyeing be done by them until 
a standard article, known to dye welL 
has been produced in the new concern, 
the eventual installation of such a 
plant depending solely on the price 
paid for public dyeing as compared with 
the estimated cost of Installing and 



running such a plant on a reasonable 
margin of profit. In a mill district, 
it would be possible to duplicate in a 
large degree the advantages found In 
any other concern in the neighbor- 
hood, the risks being in this case re- 
duced to a minimum. On the other 
hand, a country concern is handicap- 
ped by the never ending disadvantage 
of isolation from the labor market. 
The want of a competent dyer and dye- 
house laborers has been the undoing 
of more than one manufacturing con- 
cern. 

LOCATING THE DYEHOUSE. 
Having settled upon the necessity 
or advisability of running a dyeing and 
finishing plant, the materials at one's 
disposal must come in for a more 
specific consideration. Here the good 
planning and forethought of the mill 
construction expert will evidence it- 
self, for had a dyehouse been the 
ultimate idea of the owners in a future 
enlargement, a suitable location would 
have been left in such a position that 
the dyehouse, when complete, would 
form a compact entity fitting Into the 
harmonious working system of the 
mill. Dyehouses, for lack of a little 
initial forethought, are too often placed 
in some odd corner of the premises, 
the owners not having contemplated 
the possibility at the outset of ever 
being sufficiently extensive to be able 
to run a dyehouse. Such dyehouses. In 
addition to being Inconvenient, be- 
come an eyesore to competent work- 
men and the bane of the dyer's exist- 
ence, he being probably greatly 
troubled by a sitrong southern light. 

It is essential that the dyeing and 
finishing rooms be adjoining each 
other, so that the dyehouse never be- 
comes congested with material waiting 
for transit. They also should be placed 
in such a way that conveyance from 
weaving shed to preparing, preparing 
to dyeing and dyeing to finishihg is ac- 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



6^5 




656 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



compUshed with the least possible 
trouble. The weak points in a mill out- 
lay and system are often found in this 
disjointed connection between the dye- 
ing and finishing and other depart- 
ments; and in the finishing, some- 
times with isolation of one part here 
and another there of the finishing ma- 
chinery. The location of a dyehouse 
cannot be too carefully considered, aa 
the difliculty otherwise encountered in 
handling the goods entails a lack ol 
efficiency leading to an increase In the 
cost of production. 

Figure 1 is a first floor plan view 
of a typical cotton mill operating its 
own dyeing and finishing plant. The 
drawing from which Figure 1 has been 
taken was made for the American 
Wool and Cotton Reporter by Lock- 
wood Greene & Company, mill engi- 
neers, of Boston. 

THE BUILDING MATERIAL. 

Considering the building construc- 
tion of a dyehouse, some suggestions 
might be made. The advisability of 
erecting a corrugated iron structure 
will depend partly on the insurance 
companies, and partly on the difference 
in price between a stone, brick, or cor- 
rugated with wood or steel framework. 
It is advantageous to have corrugatea 
Iron for the dyehouse where a possible 
extension is contemplated, and where 
looked after with paint it may be a 
long-lasting structure. A No. 24 cor- 
rugated iron is generally used, and the 
metal often replaces the wood frame- 
work where the insurance is at all 
likely to be exorbitant. In this coun- 
try the dyehouse of corrugated iron Is 
popular, and even if not kept in repair, 
the atmospheric influence is not of 
great account in a place usually sub- 
merged in wet and dampness. Wooden 
floors are more the rule than the ex- 
ception; on the contrary, the English 
custom is opposite, they preferring the 
stone floor in which the flags can be 
well swilled and the goods laid out 
on them, often a great convenience to 
the dyer. 

A bad water invariably means bad 
dyeing. Permanent and temporary 
hardness will both cause a precipita- 
tion of lime salt on the goods, thus 



causing streaks; the temporary often 
by a direct precipitation, while the 
permanent hardness is capable of pre- 
cipitating the dyeware in such a way 
as to cause streaks of a similar nature. 
A water softener is in these cases es- 
sential, since the greatest evil possible 
in a dyehouse is to have a bad and Im- 
pure water supply. Having the dye- 
house in the vicinity of the boiler- 
house, or at any rate in such a position 
that dry steam is obtained, forms a 
factor contributing to dyehouse ef- 
ficiency, since the boiler-house and dye- 
house at a considerable distance from 
each other will mean the dyer using 
steam carrying with it large quanti- 
ties of half condensed water, a bad 
feature in cotton dyeing where the 
concentration of liquor bears a far 
more essential part than is the case 
in wool or silk dyeing. 

THE NEED OF A NORTH LIGHT. 

The essential position of having a 
north light cannot be too strongly 
emphasized. A good dyer is not api 
to allow his eyes to be strained by a 
south light for any very long period, 
this question of a good norther- 
ly light for the matching-off room 
having become an important factor in 
the keeping of a good dyer. Better 
matching is another result; and the 
dyer having his oflace nicely fitted up 
and in a location satisfactory to himself 
is likely to become a permanent man 
and as such, a profitable one. A gooa 
high roof is a desirable, but not al- 
ways an obtainable, asset, having an 
ample outlet for steam in the roof. If 
this is not provided for the inmates 
suffer from the heat rather severely in 
summer and from a lack of air in win- 
ter and are placed at a disadvantage by 
being unable to see on account of the 
steam. The height of a dyehouse, al- 
though not essential to its efficiency, 
still constitutes a very desirable ele- 
ment to its appearance and comfort. 
Goods left lying for any time in such a 
place are possibly much less liable to 
suffer from milldew than is the case 
with those goods left standing in a low- 
roofed, congested place. 

Having made these few remarks on 
the building construction, probably 



BLEACHING, DYEING ANDD FINISHING 



657 



more from the dyer's point of view 
ttian. any other, we might now consider 
the fitting of waiter and steam pipes as 
the next in seauence. The ordinary 
wrought-iron piping is well enough 
adapted for both these purposes. A 
good flow of water is essential in the 
dyehouse, it being well to remember 
that any error made in the fitting of 
water pipes in this department should 
be an error on the side of too large, 
rather than too small a water capacity, 
as anyone conversant with dyehouse 
work alone knows the inconvenience 
and waste of time engendered by a 
deficient supply of water. With regard 
to the use of steam, a similar precau- 
tion might apply, although not in so 
marked a degree, the danger, on the 
contrary, being of heating the dyeings 
up too quickly. When once on the 
boil, half a round of steam is usually 
sufficient to keep at the boil. In the 
regulation of steam pressure it is an 
advantageous thing for all dyehouses, 
whether wool or cotton, to have a 
presisure of not more than 65 pounds 
since direct steam at a higher pressure 
delivered into a dyeing machine of 
whatever character is likely to prove 
dangerous to the men working on that 
macnine. The steam joints are also 
likely to give trouble, 
. Steam joints bursting are a menace to 
the dyeings if these should, as is usu- 
ally the case, depend on a steady boil 
given for a specified time. Steam pipes 
must be encased in the usual composi- 
tion if steam is to be economized and 
obtained in a good state for the cis- 
terns. There are many firms which do 
this encasing. An inner layer of com- 
position is first put round the pipe, to 
be afterwards further encased in a sim- 
ilar substance made in roll form, and 
made to fit round the pipe in a layer, 
the whole being then metallic hoop- 
bound. For smaller steam pipes, only 
the first composition is necessary, this 
being well tarred with pitch, or per- 
haps painted, thus securing a more 
stable and less crumbly protector. If 
only a small work of this kind is to be 
done, a composition made out of brown 
clay and horse manure, too-thirds of 
the former to one-third of the latter. 



thickened round the pipe, allowed to 
dry, and well tarred over with gas 
works pitch, will be found to be sat- 
isfacitory. 

THE DYEING MACHINERY. 

We now come to the arrangement 
of dyeing machinery which entails 
some specific knowledge of the class of 
materials to be dyed, since the fastness, 
the method of treatment and the kind 
of machinery required to produce any 
particular dye or any particular kind 
of fabric, must be known. 

Speaking generally, the jigger is the 
machine of most general application In 
cotton dyeing, it being to cotton dye- 
ing what the cistern is to 
the wool dyehouse. The jig- 
ger is simply a rectangular box, 
five to six feet long, varying 
in depth from 18 inches to 3 feet, and 
three feet wide at the top with sloping 
sides down to two feet. The insido 
is fitted with five rollers, three top, two 
bottom, while above the box are two 
large beam rollers on which the mate- 
rial is wrapped, and passed from one to 
the other at each side of the box. In 
this passage the goods go into the 
liquor over the five rollers, and in doing 
so, obtain two separate immersions of 
dye-liquor in the cistern. The motive 
power is supplied by a shaft run- 
ning at one end of the jig working on- 
to a worm screw, which acts as the 
reversing medium for transferring 
the power from one beam roller to 
the other. In this way a number of 
"ends" are given to the material, sli 
being the usual number for a first fin- 
ish direct color dyeing, while eight 
are requisite in producing a direct 
black. This machine is used for all 
classes of heavy or light-weight mate- 
rials, mercerized, bleached or unbleacn- 
ed and in many dyehouses, constitutes 
the one and only type of machine, 
and serves for all classes of fancy 
colors, finding its only restriction over 
a wide field of dyewares in its inability 
to dye indigo piece goods. 

CONTINUOUS DYEING MACHINE. 
The next two machines of most gen- 
eral use, are the padding and continu- 
ous dyeing machines. For most prl- 



658 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



vate concerns, a continuous dyeing mar 
chine may be said to be somewhat ol 
a luxury, it but supplementing the 
jigger, doing the same work, but hav- 
ing an increased production. In the 
dyeing of mordanted, tanned and other 
two or more bath combinations, this 
machine serves an especially useful 
purpose, which, had the same work to 
be done by the jig, would take a com- 
bination of two or three machines 
entailing a lengthy transference of 
goods from one machine to the other. 
The continuous dyeing machine con- 
sists of a number of compartments, 
fitted with guide rollers at top and 
bottom, around which the cloth is 
made to pass, thus receiving a number 
nf unward and downward movements 
through the liquor. Between each of 
these compartments is a pair of squeez- 
ing rollers, squeezing all the dye- 
liquor out of the fabric, thus, 
after each squeeze, the cloth is made 
to absorb the dye like a sponge. As 
remarked, the great utility of this ma- 
chine becomes evident where a num- 
ber of successive processes are involv- 
ed in it, thus being a saver of time 
and dyeing material. A tannin shade 
is, for instance, run through the first 
box containing the tannin material. In 
the second, it receives the fixing solu- 
tion for the tannin matter, while the 
third washes, and the fourth, and per- 
haps fifth, make the dyeing, and the 
sixth makes the final washing or may- 
be a further fixing solution. Thus, the 
whole of this operation, which would 
entail much time and waste in the 
making of clean liquors if done on the 
jig, is here completed In a few min- 
utes. Should there be standard shades 
of navy, blacks or any other color in 
any daily quantity, it is indispensable 
to have one of the machines, but in 
the small dyehouse, although very use- 
ful, it will not always be found to pay 
an installation. 

THE PADDING MACHINE. 
Tn the padding machine we have 
something essential to the dyeing or 
light shades and many other shades 
which require an application at a low 
temperature. The fibre, not getting 
the usual boil to help penetration, a 



system is adopted whereby the pene- 
tration is facilitated by a hard squeez- 
ing of the goods through two or three 
heavy metallic rollers. Cotton dyeing 
being, to a large extent, a mechanical 
penetration of the fibre, this squeezing 
process brings about the end obtained 
by subjecting the goods to a high tem- 
perature. A pad once in the dye- 
house, its utility is unlimited, the dyei 
finding it especially useful in touching 
up previous dyeings found to be a little 
off shade; when once run through the 
pad will accomplish a result, which, if 
attempted in the jig, might mean a 
complete re-dyeing. Padding is often 
done cold. In using the machine, the 
cloth passes through a liquor contain- 
ing the dyestuff. After a passage at 
full width, the goods receive a hard 
squeeze between wrapped metallic 
rollers and out onto a beam roller 
at the opposite side. It is more gen- 
eral to find the double padding ma- 
chine in operation, the only difference 
being the addition of a third roller 
placed above the other two, and a 
small roller at the bottom of the box. 
In this way, two passages of the fabric 
through the liquor are given in the 
same operation; likewise, one passage 
only may be given, just as desired. 

These three machines generally cov- 
er the whole curriculum in the dyeing 
of plain cotton piece goods. If the 
plant desires to take in cotton 
hanks, warps, or stock for the making 
of fancy goods, we require another 
class of equipment for our dyehouse, 
but, generally speaking, of a less ex- 
pensive character. The continuous 
piece-dyeing machine may be used for 
the warp dyeing and is ordinarily the 
most satisfactory machine for this pur- 
pose, providing slight modifications be 
made suiting the character of the 
warps. 

DYEING RAW STOCK. 

Machinery can be, but is not general- 
ly used in the dyeing of raw stock. 
The requirements for this purpose are 
a large cistern, cylinder shaped, with 
flat bottom perforated with holes, be- 
low which is fitted the steam pipe. The 
liquor being in the cistern, the cotton 
is entered and turned by 9, man with 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



659 



a lar^e pole. For yarn, a cistern la 
constructed 11 feet in length, 3 feet, 
6 inches wide and 4 feet deep, with or 
without false bottom at choice, a 
steam pipe being fitted along the bot- 
tom. The yarn, whether bleached, mer- 
cerized, or unbleached, is placed upon 
sticks running between the centre of 
each hank; on these the yarn is entered 
into the cistern. One-third of 
the yarn being out of the liquor, 
a workman "broitches" the yarn, 
which is turning the yarn from end to 
end with a smaller stick thus ensur- 
ing both ends dyeing equally. About 
twenty-four sticks with yarn compose 
one cistern and a space of three feet 



cient room to spread out the raw cot- 
ton before entering the cistern within 
easy access of barrows to the side of 
the tubs. A slight modification is re- 
quired in the dyeing of sulphur col- 
ors on yarn. An iron piping bent in 
such a way as to completely immerse 
the yarn in the liquor instead of leav- 
ing the one-third exposed to the air 
is used. The ends of the piping rest 
on the edge of the cistern as before 
and each stick is raised when turning 
of the yarn is necessary. This pre- 
vents oxidation of the sulphur color- 
ing matter, being an inexpensive ac- 
cessory. 
We have now roughly considered 




Fig. 4, Dyeing IVlachfnes in a New England iViiil. 



Is available in which the goods are 
moved about in the liquor to ensure 
level dyeing. Yarn and stock dyeing 
cisterns may be placed in any position 
of convenience in the dyehouse, the 
only provision being room enough to 
place a framework on which to rest 
the yarn sticks when going into and 
coming out of the ciistern, also suffl- 



the methods of dyeing, and the four 
possible forms in which cotton may he 
brought to the dyer. A few remarks 
as to the general arrangement of the 
dyehouse will here be apportune. The 
jig dyeing is always found to be at 
the greatest point of vantage for gen- 
eral convenience if the jigs are placed 
at right angles and close up to the 



660 



BLEACHING, DYElNa AND FINISHING 



dyehouse wall, the long working 
shaft, common to them all, running at 
a distance of six inches from the wall. 
At this end of the machine, it is most 
convenient to have the water and 
steam enter, while just above may run 
the main steam and water pipes sup- 
plying them and branching off at an- 
gles to supply the different machinery 
extended over the floor space. The 
padding machine Is • also usually 
favored with a place near the wall 
at some point furthest away from the 
dye wareroom where no dyestuff is 
likely to settle. Goods for the pad- 
ding machine, besides being those for 
light shades, are often the ones which 
must be left lying in the dyehouse to 
be done at odd moments, another rea- 
son for its being in some unobstruc- 
tive corner. By this arrangement, a 
good open space is left in the middle 
of the dyehouse for "cuttling," storing 
and standing of barrows. It is a good 
thing if the dyestuffs can have a sep- 
arate room by themselves, though one 
partitioned off answers the purpose 
of keeping the dyehouse free from all 
;he dust of the drug room. 

WHAT OTHER MACHINERY. 

It depends on the spaciousness of 
the dyehouse as to what machinery 
other than pure dyeing machinery 
may be placed in the room. Crabbing 
machines for worsted and cotton are 
usually found in the dyehouse and 
more often than not the washing ma- 
chine for all cotton goods. A wash- 
ing machine is a great saving of time 
compared to washing on the jig. It 
consists of a small tank fitted with a 
succession of upper and lower rollers, 
over which the cloth passes while be- 
ing subjected to a constant flow of 
clean water. After this passage, the 
goods are well squeezed by three roll- 
ers placed vertical to each other, be- 
ing then ready for sizing or passing 
straight on to the dyeing cans. The 
pieces are on a beam both on entering 
and leaving the washer and pass 
through the machine at full width 
just as wound off the jig. 

In the dyeing of fine Italians and 
linings, it is often done in a cistern 
similar to that used in wool dyeing, 



fitted with ordinary winch and worked 
in an exactly similar way to unions or 
fine cashmere goods. This is a cheap 
way of dyeing these materials in quan- 
tity and where Italians and linings 
are principally dyed a direct black, it 
is advisable to pursue this course, 
bringing into the dyehouse a winch 
dyeing machine, especially constructed 
for this purpose. For most Italians, a 
crabbing and steaming is required be- 
fore dyeing in a similar way to worst- 
ed. This is to set the material, pre- 
venting all possibility of crimping 
in these finely woven goods, besides 
giving to them a rather finer surface 
in the finished piece. 

SINGEING AND SHEARING. 

When the goods come from the 
weave room, the preparatory process 
is that of singeing.' If shears are a 
part of the equipment, then singeing is 
left out, being replaced by shearing 
after the goods have been dyed. The 
more general course for cotton goods 
demands the singe. Singeing is the re- 
removal of all superfluous hairs from 
the surface of the cloth, being as 
much applied to cotton as shearing is 
to woolens and worsteds. Shearing 
for cotton is generally for economy 
sake, in places where union and worst- 
ed goods demand the shear and cot- 
tons are not sufficient to warrant the 
installment of a singe. 

The two kinds of singeing, gas or 
plate, are used according to the kind 
of fabric. Linings, Italians, duck and 
all plain weaves go for plate singeing. 
Corduroys and all heavy goods with 
raised surface, having any kind of 
raised design, invariably go for gas 
singeing. Of the many kinds of gas 
singes in vogue, their chief claims to 
superiority lay in the economy of gas. 
The most excellent type is that in 
which the Bunsen burners are brought 
twice into contact with the cloth, once 
over the side of the flame, the fabric 
being arranged to pass the flame in 
this manner by a system of rollers, 
two treatments being given to the one 
passage. 

Plate singeing is probably the cheap- 
er method, equally so the best, where 
the kind of material permits. The 



BiLEACHING. DYEING AND FINISHING 



66i 



pieces, having been carefully beamed, 
are, on entering the machine, paissed 
over a first roller and three stays, 
effecting a perfect straightening of the 
goods. A rapid passage is made over 
the white hot singe plate by means of 
a donkey engine supplying power to 
the receiving roller for the goods at 
the back of the machine. The process 
being reversed, the goods are drawn 
over the plate in an opposite direction 
by a reversal of the power from the 
back to the front of the machine. The 
face side usually passes twice, while 



turing concerns doing their owm dyeing 
are quite content to have their bleach- 
ed white goods sent out to some 
bleach-house. The dyer himself is 
able to produce a caustic bleach on 
his jig, commonly known as the old 
Turkey red bleach, which will meet 
the demands of any light shades he 
may have to dye. The goods are 
taken in the afternoon, placed on the jig 
and subjected to a boil in clean 
water, being afterwards allowed to 
stand over night. In the morning 
they are run through a boiling caustic 




Fig. 5. Finishing and Pressing IVIachine. 



the back of the piece Is sufficiently 
well singed by one passage. 

THE BLEACHING MACHINERY. 

The goods having left the singe 
plate are ready for bleaching. To run 
a bleach-house successfully, there must 
be a plant well equipped with machin- 
ery In every particular and under the 
control of a competent bleacher. 
Tbere are a large number of manufac- 



bath of about 6 per cent Twad- 
dle for one or two hours 
on the jig, according to the 
nature of the goods which may have 
to be treated to a second bath of boil- 
ing caustic before being sufficiently 
white for some particular requirement. 
Having obtained this result the goods 
are washed and given a weak solution 
of sulphuric or hydrochloric acid until 



662 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FIN]JSiHlN<i 



no further trace of caustic is present 
in the water, which may be tested bv 
litmus. 

Thus, for a small manufacturing con- 
cern for piece goods, the absolute es 
sentials in dyeing and finishing ma- 
chinery are singer (or shear), washei 
(may be done in jig), stiff ener, drying 
cans and some kind of a press or cal- 
ender for imparting a final gloss oi 
finish to the goods. The higher the 
quality of the goods manufactured, the 
more these machines will be supple 
mented by other machinery, but these 
alone are necessary for a plain qualitj 
of cottons. Bleaching is an industry 
in itself, while mercerization, mercer 
ized goods, Schreiner and silk finish 
naturally require a complexity of ma 
chinery. 

THE STIFFENER. 

Singer and washer having been des 
cribed, the stiffener is next consid 
ered. This consists in a jig shaped 
box fitted with one central metallic 
roller of fine polish, usually brass, 
and at the bottom of the box are two 
small running rollers. At each side ot 
the upper part of the large central 
roller are blades running the whole 
length, which are connected to levers 
having weights so that pressure can be 
put upon them. These blades, at one 
side, keep the stiffening matter from 
adhering to the roller, while on the 
other side the cloth passing between 
it and the cylinder roller receives a 
hard scrape, thus going away from the 
machine with an equal surface of ad- 
hesive stiffening substance. The 
goods entering the machine without 
any creasing pass underneath the first 
blade into the stiffener and are given a 
passage by means of the two small roll 
ers at the bottom of the cistern. Pass- 
ing up, the goods impregnated with 
stiffening go between the large polish- 
ed roller and the perfectly true edge of 
the blade, here being scraped to have a 
level coating of the stiffener. If the 
blade is not perfectly true, a thicker 
layer will be left on some places than 
on others; this will show up in the 
finished piece and may often be de 
tecled when the cloth leaves the dry 
cans. The pressure put upon this lat- 
ter blade affects the amount of stif- 



fening required on the fabric and must 
be regulated according to the strength 
of the goods. Fabrics are always 
passed through this machine with the 
tace side onto the cylinder; especially 
is this so with print goods, the face 
side not being directly subjected to 
the scrape. 

OPINIONS ABOUT SIZING. 
For most ordinary woven goods, only 
a light size is necessary and in the 
event of a small mill endeavoring 
to curtail machinery, an ordinary dye- 
house padding machine is found to an- 
swer the purpose equally as well. The 
padding machine however, is not used 
for a size of over 30 per cent. Sizing 
both lays and strengthens the threads; 
it is often carried out to the extent of 
] 50 per cent on the weight of the goods 
which serves no other end than thai 
of making a cheap fabric. Hygienically 
speaking, it is bad, and from the wear- 
ing point of view, equally so. Metallic 
salts are used in heavy weighting or 
stiffening, causing injury to the fibre. 
A light stiffening is necessary for a 
good finish, besides improving the 
strength of the goods, but a heavy 
treatment is to be discouraged in ev- 
ery respect. 

THE DRYING CANS. 

After stiffening, the goods are ready 
for the drying cans. A drying can 
essentially consists of a number of 
tin cylinders eighteen inches in diam- 
eter, sometimes placed in a vertical 
double row running from a lower to 
an upper story or in a horizontal posi- 
tion to the fioor. A passage of steam 
through the hollow centres of the cauA, 
commencing with that on which the 
piece first enters the machine, this con- 
sequently, being the hottest. The 
pieces entering the machine are 
straightened and pass onto a lower 
can, next onto a can on the upper row 
and alternately until the end of the 
machine is reached. A pressure of 5 
pounds is sufficient in the cans for all 
practical drying purposes. The bacK 
side of the piece is that coming into 
direct contact with the metallic sur- 
face of the dryer. A small one-cylin- 
der engine at the side of the machine 
usually furnishes the motive power 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



66& 



for the dryer. This machine is not 
one entailing a large expenditure of 
capital, an average price for a 12-can 
dryer being, say, $500. It is often well 
placed on the vertical plan against the 
wall of the finishing room. The 
pieoeis being run onto the dyer and 
the top can being above the level of 
the second floor, they may be taken 
off just at hand for rolling, pressing, 
or making up. Print goods, of course, 
require only contact with the back 
side of ihe piece and cylinder. A spe- 
cial method of running the pieces over 
the dryer is wanted, but ordinary cot- 
tons may have both faces exposed to 
the cylinder. 

ADDITIONAL PROCESSES. 

After drying, a number of processes 
present themselves, and a general proc- 
ess entailing a minimum of cost and 
machinery Is almost impossible. Or- 
dinary plain weave cotton fabrics are 
largely sent to market by the manu- 
facturer in the "brown" state, or In 
a condition which has required the 
smallest amount of expenditure in 
making a presentable appearance. Hert 
is involved the brush, possibly the 
tenter, the steamer, calender, rollei 
and measurer. Stretching is a proc- 
ess done at different times in the fin- 
ishing, either immediately after dry- 
ing or after calendering. It is not 
essential, although an advantage, and 
especially for stiffened goods, it is 
known to impart a clothy feeling. 
Apart from this, the stretching 
machine's chief object is to bring 
the goods to their normal width, a 
slight contraction having taken place 
during the previous processes. This 
contraction is not considerable, it 
really being due to a large number of 
minute creases or curls in the filling. 
Where a good opener Is placed at the 
front of the can dryer, these creases 
are, in a large measure, taken out, and 
the piece enters the machine in a 
stretched condition and is so dried 
that a further passage over a tenter or 
stretcher is obviated, unless a special 
process for highly stiffened goods Is re- 
quired. 

THE BRUSHING MACHINE. 
The brushing machine often used In 



conjunction with shears is capable of 
removing all motes, specks and so 
forth, and making a smooth surface pre- 
vious to the final calendering. Where 
singeing takes place before dyeing, the 
emery rolls and beaiters of the ma- 
chine are not required, but a good 
brush is advantageous. 

The machine roughly consists of 
four adaptations: the emery rolls for 
medium and heavy classes of goods; 
the beaters, being cylinders fitted with 
steel blades having sharp edges which 
remove little knots and lumps; the 
brushes, of Russian stiff bristles or 
soft bristles, as required, which brush 
off all loose particles adliering to the 
cloth, and the card rolls, another de- 
vice for removing specks and lumps. 
made ol steel fillet with straight teeth. 

These four sections of the machine 
are ail moderated or left out, accord- 
ing to the nature of the cloth. In 
case the goods have not been singed, 
the shearing here follows, but as re- 
marked before, the singeing whether 
plate or gas, is a saving over the 
shear, where either process may be 
resorted to. Generally speaking, thej 
may be substituted for each other, 
either on sheetings, drills, shirting, 
ducks, or any plain-faoed fabrics. On 
the other hand, a gas range always 
shows up to advantage on raised de- 
signs. 

IMPERFECTIONS IN FABRICS. 

Having passed through the brushing 
process, the goods are next ready for 
damping and calendering. The impor- 
tance of damping cannot be overesti 
mated. An insufiicient damp means 
that the pieces will become hard and 
in the calender not receive the benefll 
of the roller pressure to impart a good 
f3i?!sh. 

On the other hand, if the 
goods are too much dampen- 
ed, they will finish up soft 
and fiabby, without body, and art 
especially subject to mildew, resulting 
in eventual claims on the manufactur- 
er. Water is thrown against the cloth, 
in a very fine spray with sufficient 
force to penetrate Into the centre of 
the structure, and in such a way thai 
a uniform surface of moisture is given 



664 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



to the whole surface of the fabric. 
Formerly, a brush was the means by 
which damp was imparted to the cloth. 
This is quite satisfactory, but has 
been in later years succeeded by noz- 
zle or atomizer sprayers. These con- 
sist of very fine conical atomizing 
sprayers, which, being supplied with 
a mixture of water and air, under pres- 
sure spray the goods perfectly even, 
either heavily or in the lightest vapor, 
according to the regulation of water 
and the pressure of air. On leaving 
tlie machine, the cloth is rolled with 
frictional contact with surface of a 



The many kinds of calenders are aa 
different in construction as they are 
various in cost. Their requirements 
are equally wide, from the simple two- 
bowl calender to the calender con- 
structed for embossing, or with finely 
engraved roUeons for the Schredner fin- 
ish. 

The two-bowl calender is its simplest 
possible form, conisisiting of two rollera 
or cylinders, one of which is metal fit- 
ted Avith an internal method of heat- 
ing, whereas the other is a solid roll 
made of special paper conposition. 
By means of screws and levers, 




Fig. 6. An Individual Motor Drive for Dyeing Machine. 



wood drum under pressure imparted by 
swivel levers imparted by weights at 
their ends. Thus the cloth is rolled 
under pressure. 

Where only a light damping is nec- 
essary, and a plat© damping machine 
is available, this may be used as for 
woolens and worsteds, and being often 
a part of the brushing machine, the 
two may often be utilized for cotton 
fabrics. 



a pressure is given to these rolls, more 
properly named "bowls," and the fat)- 
ric passing between them, is given a 
simple hot press, flattening the surface 
of the goods and imparting a lustre. 
The amount of lustre is regulated by 
the amount of friction between the 
rolls, the pressure to which the fab- 
rics are subjected, the temperature of 
the rolls, the kind of surface of the 
metallic roller and last, but not by any 



BLEACilING, DYEING ANt) FINISHING^ 



6bd 



means of least importance, the amount 
of sizing previously used in starching 
or stiffening the goods. 

HEATING THE ROLLERS. 

The heating of the rollers is done 
by iron metallic bars heated red hot 
and inserted into the bowl; and this 
process is not yet antiquated and out 
of date. Gas heating and steam heating 
are not generally used. Steam heating 
is often resorted to as the cheaper 
method, and has an advantage over 
gas heating in never reaching a suf- 
ficiently high temperature to damage 
the bowls. On the other hand, the 
lower temperature obtainable often has 
to be supplemented by an increase in 
speed and a heavier pressure in order 
to accomplish the same result. Wher- 
ever a calender is desired of general 
utility, say, for instance. In a small 
plant where only one machine is nec- 
essary, the gas-heated bowl is to be 
advisedly chosen, it providing a wide 
range of temperature for all classes 
of work. For the finishing of medium 
and heavy grades of cotton duck, a 
two-bowl calender may be employed 
baving two metallic bowls, both sup- 
plied with heat. These bowls are 
about thirteen inches in diameter and 
able to have a high pressure exerted 
by upper screws. Seldom more than a 
four-bowl calender is to be met with, 
although they may be found with up 
to eight and ten bowls. 

A COMBINATION MACHINE. 

In the finishing of duck and all 
classes of plain cottons, the three 
processes of brushing, dampening and 
calendering are brought about by one 
machine in combination. This entails 
a large saving in labor and time, be- 
sides having the additional advantage 
of large economy in floor space. A 
machine of this kind is built by the 
Curtis & Marble Machine Company. 
Coming from this machine, and the 
usual terminating process in the ac- 
tual finish being on the calender, the 
goods are at open width. They are 
now to be rolled on cardboard cylin- 
ders, cardboard or wooden piece 
boards, to be measured and packed for 
shipping. A rolling machine is usual- 



ly supplied with measuring equipment 
attached. 

Previous to rolling, however, should 
the goods be double width, a cloth fold- 
ing machine is necessary, so 
that the cloth may be folded 
lengthwise and sent out in com- 
pact form. A folding machine 
is not In all places necessary, depend- 
ing on the class of goods produced. 
It consists essentially of two adjustable 
bars, which, meeting the cloth in the 
centre, draw it between them, and in 
so doing, make a fold, the exact cen- 
tre of the cloth being arrived at by 
an adjustment of the two bars. 

WINDING AND MEASURING. 

The cloth then goes on to the rolling 
machine or what is called a winding 
and measuring machine, which, as such, 
may be seen in any New York mer- 
chanting house. The board is fitted 
into the clamps, the measuring clock 
put at zero, and the piece started wind- 
ing onto the board. The machine, being 
worked by a treddle, may be rapidly 
stopped and started. The goods may 
be wound on square bars or flat plates 
to be drawn out after the goods are 
rolled up. Tension is put upon the 
rolling by tension rods, allowing the 
goods to be wound hard or soft as 
desired. 

The amount of dyeing and finishing 
machinery required, compared in pro- 
portion to the other machinery in a 
plant, cannot be estimated, requiring 
sometimes more, sometimes less, ac- 
cording to the class of goods produced 
and the quality of dyeing and finishing 
demanded. The output for any given 
machine is again an ever varying 
quantity, and usually, both finishing 
and dyeing, when reduced to a question 
of machinery producing so much in so 
much time, invariably degenerates the 
quality of the work. A calender may 
do its work satisfactorily the first 
time, or it may require the piece to 
have a second or a third run. Again, 
a jig should turn ou^ five lots of black 
in a day, and size straight colors. On 
the other hand, it may take a day to 
turn out one of either. The jig should 
be equal to thirteen loomis in a place 
of some size, but in the email place, 



666 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



a dyer cannot turn out varieties of 
shades without a number of jigs for 
his different colors, three at the very 
least. 

PROPER PLACE FOR SLASHING. 

The slashing machine is sometimes 
met with in the finishing department. 
There Is no objection to this, excepting 
that the yarn, having been beamed on 
the slasher, should not be allowed to 
lay about any section of the finishing 
room likely to impart moisture to the 
goods. Slashers are much more likely 
to fit into the general mill system when 
placed in the warp dressing room, to 
which place they properly belong. 

One word about belting in the econ- 
omy of the dyehouses. The belting 
account is one which can be largely 
diminished by a good choice of belt- 
ing. Canvas belting will stand the 
stoam superior to leather, with the 
disadvantage of being short-lived and 
not easily mendable. A good quality of 
canvas belting is, nevertheless, to be 
recommended for most dyehouse pur- 
poses. Where the belts are to be 
crossed for reversing motion, then 
some of the mineral tanned leather is 
to be recommended, and it is purely 
a question of price as to whether this 
article cannot replace canvas belting 
throughout the dyehouse. 

At best the belting proposition is 
an expensive and troublesome detail, 
which has to be carefully consfdered. 
The accompanying illustration. Fig- 
ure 6, shows a small induc- 
tion motor connected to a dye- 
ing machine by gearing. The first 
thought of the dyehouse man, is that 
an electric motor will last almost no 
time where acid fumes and moisture 
prevails in such large quantities. 

This is not so, as actual motor in- 
stallations have proven the contrary. 
Motors are built with special atten- 
tion to the use they are to receive, 
and by installing motors designed for 
dyehouse work, good results can be 
obtained. 

The coils of the motor are specially 
insulated to prevent harmful action 
from the moisture and acid fumes, and 
the heed of belting is eliminated. 

The motor shown was put in to re^ 



place a belt-drive, which was requiring 
lenewai constantly. The motor has 
been in constant use something over 
a year, and has given no trouble. 

It is interesting to note that a fit- 
cing in the water pipe near the motor 
beca/me loose and allowed the motor 
DO be badly fiooded with water shortly 
after its installation. A certain time 
was allowed for the windings to be- 
come partially dry, and the machine 
was pgain started without accident. 

RAW STOCK AND YARN. 

Raw stock and yam, scouring and 
drying machines have not been con- 
sidered, their general simplicity of con- 
struction and application being known. 
Drying is often done by laying the 
stuck out in the open air, likewise 
with the yarn in open frames. Scour- 
ing, on the other hand, is done in al- 
most any shape of cistern, with any 
quantity to suit general convenience. 

Just a word is necessary in the dye- 
ing of sulphur colors on raw stock, 
where an advantage is gained in keep- 
ing the concentrated sulphur liquor to 
be used as a standing bath. A V-shap- 
ed pipe is fixed into the bottom of the 
cistern, connected to a centrifugal 
pump. This pumps the liquor either 
into the next cistern or into a trough 
fitted overhead; again, it is often ar- 
ranged in such a manner that the 
liquor runs into an underground tank, 
afterwards to be pumped back into the 
same cistern when a redyeing is ready, 
the old one having been washed and 
removed. Any of these, or a combina- 
tion, may be used for economy of sul- 
phur dye-liquor, and is certainly well 
worthy of application. 

ONE UNFAILING ECONOMY. 
There is one never failing economy 
in the dyeihouse sometimes apt to be 
lost sight of. Hundreds of dollars can 
be lost in the dyehouse in a very short 
time and still the work might be going 
on satisfactorily to all appearances. A 
good dyer is always a good investment. 
He is always worth his money, even 
if it will only be in an economy of 
dyewares, but he saves it in time, 
labor, steam, claims, and numerous 
other ways in which the dyer can make 
or mar the fabric. 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



667 



Dyers are a class of very honest 
men, but as a matter of business, 80 
per cent of them take commission on 
dyeware orders. This delinquency is 
a matter of much diplomacy on the 
behalf of the manufacturer. He often 
resorts to the expedient of buying all 
his colors from one color concern. This 
is a wrong method of obtaining the 
?nd. A dyer should have a free choice In 



the question of coloring matters, since 
that is his business and not the manu- 
facturer's. The manufacturer, what- 
ever means he should pursue to stop 
this practice, ought not in any way to 
hamper the dyer in his choice of col- 
oring matters, thus restricting a com- 
petent man in the exercise of his du- 
ties. 



The Chemist in the Textile 



No one to-day would doubt the state- 
ment that few mills in the United 
States are wholly without the services 
of a chemist, but it is also a fact that 
few mill managers are willing to ad- 
mit that chemists are necessary for 
them to run their mills successfully. 

When a man thinks of a chemist he 
generally pictures in his mind a few 
glass bottles and an old man about 75, 
who is hard of hearing and also hard 
to approach. The young man graduat- 
ing from the modern scientific school 
is an entirely different proposition. He 
not only has a good working knowl- 
edge of chemistry at his disposal but 
is also somewhat of an engineer. 

The manufacturing industries to-day 
must cut costs every year, if possible, 
in order to keep on making money. 
Now the labor cost in manufacturing 
is, as we all know, a very important 
factor. We can be sure to make a 
bigger saving in this department than 
in almost any other. 

RAW MATERIAL 
which tnters into the manufacturing 
process may or may not be more im- 
portant than labor. However, it is 
hard for the average man to see where 
a chemist can be of much value in 
lessening the labor cost. Perhaps it 
would be well to start first in the boil- 
er room. Wlien a man is visiting a 
plant that is generally the starting 
point. Let us consider then, briefiy, 
what we may expect to accomplish in 
the boiler room by taking in a young 



man with chemical and engineering 
training. 

The purchasing of coal, its economi- 
cal and efficient handling and also the 
care exercised in running the fire are, 
of course, the points toward which we 
may direct our attention. With re- 
gard to the purchasing of coal under 
specifications, the writer has not a 
great deal to say. We should rather 
try to get the best coal we can for the 
money and by that is meant the best 
coal both in regard to the content of 
heat units as well as the properties 
which affect its economical handling 
and combustion. Is the coal very fine 
or very coarse, wet or dry, high or low 
in ash; also does the ash contain much 
unburned matter on account of its 
tendency to form slag? These ques- 
tions are generally factors to be deter- 
mined by a man of scientific training. 

The labor of attending fires and feed- 
ing coal to the boilers can be put on 
a very efficient basis, indeed, by con- 
stant study on the part of the fireman, 
and this, of course, necessitates some 
attention to gas analysis and tempera- 
ture measurements of gases, air, water 
and steam. It is easy to see that the 
chemist must be able to be a good fel- 
low and mix well with the fireman and 
engineer. In this way the problems of 
one become those of both, and each 
share in using their intelligence tor 
the other's benefit. Many times in the 
past, chemists of the old type have 
superficially examined boiler rooms 



668 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



and impressed the fact of their great 
knowledge on the poor fireman, who, 
although not trained along chemical 
and engineering lines, is 

OF GREAT IMPORTANCE 

to the successful operation of the plant. 

In the writer's opinion, every fire- 
man can be encouraged to handle his 
job in a more scientific manner, and 
by this I mean that the company will 
save money which has hitherto been 
wasted. It is a well-known fact that 
gas analysis alone shows us just how 
much air is being used in proportion 
to the coal burned. There are plenty 
of good methods of determining the 
amount of carbon dioxide in the flue 
gases, nearly all of which are so sim- 
ple that the fireman can be taught how 
to watch his job by this method. The 
bonus system of payment also acts as 
a wonderful stimulant to good work. 
Obviously, a chemical engineer is just 
the man to install successfully a sys- 
tem which will bring up the efficiency 
of the boiler rooms, and many up-to- 
date plants are using just this method 
of making a little more money. 

Very little thought is necessary on 
the part of a mill treasurer to find that 
he is making money by employing sci- 
ence in his boiler room, once he can 
be persuaded to do so. The results 
should speak for themselves. It can 
be easily shown that there are two ex- 
tremes to avoid, viz.: Too much sci- 
ence and too little. A inan who has 
never employed a chemist thinks he 
ought to be able to answer any and 
all questions. The man who has had 
a chemist about the place is generally 
sure that a bigger fool never existed, 
and the old saying that a little knowl- 
edge is a dangerous thing is here well 
shown. What is needed is good fellow- 
ship most of all. Take a young man 
from some good technical school and 
turn him loose in your mill. If all the 
foremen like him and are glad to have 
him about the place he can save you 
money. If he cannot become a good 
mixer take my advice and don't keep 
him, because he won't accotnplish 
much. 

No one can successfully solve a prob- 
lem until he has completely grasped 
the mpst minute details, and 



it is obvious that the engineer and 
fireman are the only ones who know 
absolutely what the facts are in their 
departments. If the young chemist 
gets their absolute confidence he can 
successfully investigate and think out 
good schemes, but without this feeling 
of friendship very little can really be 
accomplished which is of lasting bene- 
fit to the concern in question. 

Let us close this article with a short 
talk on purchasing supplies for the 
mill. This includes cotton, wool, oil, 
starch and, in fact, everything used in 
the manufacturing process. Dyestuffs 
and chemicals will be left for later dis- 
cussion, as these are by no means of 
as great general importance. Cotton 
buyers, as a rule, have but little knowl- 
edge of chemistry. Only the other day 
the writer was talking with a manufac- 
turer who was being led to believe 
that real cotton fibre could be obtained 
from wood. Obviously, an expert would 
hardly be able to tell the difference 
without recourse to the microscope. A 
manufacturer should be enough of a 
chemist to realize that unless he can 
make a really scientific study of his 
cotton, wool, oil, etc., he should be 
very skeptical about statements made 
to him by the seller. 

It is perfectly absurd in the writer's 
opinion to dispense with the services 
of a chemist in buying cotton, wool, 
oil and starch, and yet there are very 
few chemists who have enough prac- 
tical knowledge to be of very much 
service to the average manufacturer. 
Few know how much could be saved 
the average textile mill if there were 
some means of showing just how in- 
efficiently these articles are being pur- 
chased to-day. 

There is a big difference in the 
money value of things which the man- 
ufacturer uses, and things which he 
might use to better advantage, per- 
haps, were he honest enough with him- 
self to allow a 

COMPLETE INVESTIGATION 
into what he buys, and the purpose for 
which it is used. Graft and ignorance 
combine to make some manufacturers 
pay twice as much as others for the 
same thing. Sometimes cornstarch is 
sold as wheat or potato, which is worse 
than a crime in this enlightened age. 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



669 



One instance brought to my notice 
in regard to oil recently was where a 
man had in his mill some oil which 
would serve admirably for use in a 
new machine which was being installed, 
yet the foolish man did not dare to try 
it, even on the advice of a competent 
chemist, who knew well enough that 
the oil which was recommended by the 
man who set up the new machine was 
not a bit better for that particular pur- 
pose than the oil already in the mill. 
Of course, it is needless to add that 
the manufacturer forced himself to 
pay three times the value of the oil. 

The fact that the cost of supplies is 
a small factor in the total manufactur- 



ing cost is no excuse for such ignor- 
ance on the part of the buyer. Think 
of how little real scientific investiga- 
tion is made into the real value of 
wool, cotton, oil, starch, etc., by the 
man who uses the goods, or often by 
the man who sells them. Let us hope 
that in the future men with scientific 
training will be encouraged to study 
carefully and continuously just what 
grades of cotton, wool, coal, oil, starch, 
etc., can be used to best advantage. 
Given some chemical training, backed 
by a few years of experience, and the 
average man can uncover big savings 
in nearly every mill in the land. 



The Application of Science to the 
Dress Room 



There is no mill manager alive who 
will deny that waste exists in differ- 
ent departments of the mill. The 
chemist who has had a good training 
can save a great proportion of this 
if he is given the opportunity. Re- 
sults count for so much these days 
that it seiems a pity to waste money, 
time and material in our modern man- 
ufacturing industries. Miasit of the 
big corporations have a chemist but 
often he is a figurehead. 

Probably, there are slome mills 
where this is not true, but if so, they 
are not known to the writer. A 
chemist who has lots of fight in him 
and is anxious to get results is a 
great asset in a going concern. The 
only bad feature of the whole thing is 
that very few chemists are practical 
men as well. It is a shame that the 
average superintendent cannot be 
made to feel that he pays but little 
attention to the chemical efficiency 
of the plant. Armed with a little 
scienitific training a superintendent 
would be alble to cut costs in halves 
and sometimes thirds, 



Let us consider what can be ac- 
complished in the dress room. 

THE EQUIPMENT 

is the first item to engage our atten- 
tion. Is the tank used for mixing the 
size located so as to make it foolproof, 
easily accessible and an efficient ma- 
chine? The mixers should be placed 
above the tanks so that the size can 
be run out and examined before be- 
ing pumped to 'the slashers. The ac- 
companying sketch shows this, and 
also the general scheme. The starch 
should be wedghed out into pails, also 
all th5 ingredients ready flor each 
batch. No mistake is lia,ble to happen 
if this is done, and it should be done 
while the previous batch of starch is 
cooking. The method of mixing 
should be uniform. 'This result is 
beat obtained by having the same man 
do it always. He gets into the habit 
of doing it right and of making every 
move count and should be well re- 
warded for his efforts. Siome will not 
agree with me ithat good wages are 
the cheapest in tlie long run, but I 



670 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



believe it absolutely. If a man gets 
well paid he takes pride in bis work 
and does not fail to return tbe extra 
cost in faithful effort. 

CO-OPERATION NEEDED. 

None of the above talk has much 
applied chemistry in it, but the chem- 



of men selling them. Some can use 
cornstarch, otheris cannot but insist 
on using nothing but potato starch. 
It might be worth while to think for 
a moment just what it means in 
money. Cornstarch is worth, say, two 
cents, while potato is worth four cents 
a pound. 



STA8CH 
BIN 



BIN 



T/iLLCW 



SC/fLE 






TANK 



I I 



TANK 



\ 




^ 


\ 


^ 


\ en 


X 

k 


> 


^ 




^^ 


bj 






1 




^ 




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BIN& Vc 



isit needs a hint or two about the 
practical side of things nearly as bad- 
ly in some cases as the practical man 
does about things theoretical. The 
scientific man, of course, will see 
that the man who mixes the size is, 
first of all, his friend.. You cannot 
accomplish anything in any mill imless 
you are willing to be a good fellow 
with the men who do the work. They 
are on the job all the tiine and their 
friendship is necessarj' in (order that 
the chemist may grasp the details. No 
man will be very confidential with 
you unless you are his friend. 

In making the size, then, great care 
is exercised in making conditions uni- 
form. In this way the same results 
are alwaj^s obtained. Now, starch is 
queer stufi. There are all kinds of 
starches on the market and all kinds 



Tons of potato starch are thought 
necessary to-day by men who could 
nse cornstarch and get more uniform 
results in many cases. Why, then, 
dc they use potato starch? Habit? 
Not necessarily habit, but you might 
say faith gained by experience, which 
is so liable to be based on misinfor- 
mation that sometimes one is tempt- 
ed to be like a famous elficiency engi- 
neer who never believes anything 
which he is told until he is thoroughly 
convinced by a large number of care- 
ful experiments. When we find one 
mill using potato starch, another on 
exactly similar Work using cornstarch 
and still another on the same kind of 
work using 

SPECIAL MODIFIED STARCHES 
at an extra price, we sometimes won- 
der just what methods have beea 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



671 



taken to decide on what to use and 
how and when and where to use it. 

What, then, are the differences be- 
tween corn and potato starches, which 
make men have such decided opinions 
that for hand weaves and very fine 
goods potato sitarch must be used. It 
is generally true that potato starch 
will take up more moisture than corn. 
In other words, it is much easier for 
the moisture to dry out in a warp 
sized with cornstarch than when po- 
tato starch is used. This causes the 
starch to knock oh in the form of 
powder in weaving. Surely that diffi- 
culty ciould be easily overcome. 
There are plenty of ingredients on the 
market which may be added to the 
size which will hold on to enough 
moisture to make the cornstarch 
work very nearly like the potato 
starch. Any good chemist will find 
plenty of chance to experiment here. 
There are many other characteristics 
of cornstarch which cause it to be 
radically different from potato which 
might be dwelt upon at great length, 
chief among which might be men- 
tioned the fact that potato starch 
makes a smooth transparent paste at 
a much lower temperature than is the 
case with corn. Of course, it would 
be easily possible to go on and show 
where all ithese difficulties lie and 
how each could be overcome, but no 
two mills have exactly the same prob- 
lemi, so we must be general in our dis- 
cussion so far as possible. 

THE AVERAGE SUPERINTENDENT 

will tell you that y,ou cannot get as 
good penetration with cornstarch as 



you can with potato, but in the 
writer':? opinion ithe penetration of 
the size depends more on the temper- 
ature and thickness of the size than 
on any one other point. If cornstarch 
boils at a lower temperature than po- 
tato it is easily seen that the same 
amount of cornstarch containing less 
moisture would naturally produce a 
thicker size, which would, therefore, 
give poor penetration of the warp. In 
order to get the same results with 
cornstarch, we must use about 8 per 
cent less starch and cook it 15 or 20 
minutes longer. It must be applied 
to the warp at a higher temperature 
than the size made from potato, and 
the ingredients added in a little dif- 
ferent proportion, so as to give the 
dried warp the same feel as is ob- 
laaned when poitato starch is em- 
ployed. 

Uniformity in sizing warps can be 
best determined by accurate test 
rather than by trying to guess at re- 
sults in the weave room. The whole 
object of this article is not to show 
that cornstarch is better for warp 
sizing than potato, but to bring out 
the fact that the application of sci- 
ence to the dress room will make It 
possible to obtain absolutely uniform 
results, no matter what variety of 
starch is used. Uniform results in 
the dress room based om maximum 
production in the weave room will 
return tenfold any trifling expense of 
experiments by a scientific man in 
conjunctiion with the boss dresser, 
whom, ais has been said before, must 
be a good friend of the chemists in 
order to get results. 



Dyeing and Bleaching Appliances 



ARTICLE 1 

Many people still regard the indus- 
try of dyeing and bleaching as being 
rather old-fashioned in many of the 
methods of procedure and accuse it of 
retaining time-serving appliances 



which should long ago have been dis- 
carded in favor of more modern labor- 
saving devices. To a great extent, this 
indictment is, perhaps, true, and many 
of the appliances to be found in even 
a modern dyehouse are fashioned after 
prehistoric models. 



672 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



With the advent of the newer proc- 
esses of dyeing, however, brought 
ahout by the introduction of the coal- 
tar colors, there came also a tendency 
to apply mechanical sciences to the 
dyehouse, as well as to other depart- 



last ten years, textile materials have 
been almost exclusively dyed and 
bleached in four forms: viz., loose 
stock (also slubbing, which is han- 
dled, in most cases, practically the 
same as loose stock), skein yarn, 




Indigo Mill. (Ball Form.) 



ments of the textile mill. In conse- 
quence, there has been considerable 
advance within the last few decades 
in the direction of using labor-saving 
devices to replace the old hand 
methods. 

Up to within comparatively very re- 
cent times, that is to say, within the 



chain warps and piece goods. During 
the past decade, however, a great deal 
of effort and ingenuity has been spent 
in the devising of machines and proc- 
esses for the dyeing of material in the 
form of cops, cones, tubes, beamed 
warps and any other suitable and con- 
venient package. This has been quite 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



673 



a new departure in the dyeing indus- 
try, and although, the matter is still 
really in the experimental stage as 



in a usable form from the raw dye- 
wood. This necessitated suitahle 
cutting and raspiag machinery for pul- 




Fig. 2. Indigo Mill. (Another Bali Form.) 



yet, nevertheless, the progress already 
made in this direction shows that it 
will, in time, become a well-establish- 
ed department of dyeing and bleach- 
ing. 



verizing the dye-woods to a condition 
capable of being utilized in the prep- 
aration of the dye^liquor. Further- 
more, large boiling vessels were re- 
quired for extracting the coloring- 




Fig. 3. Indigo Mill. (Cone Form.) 



In the old days, when the vegetable 
dye-woods were the standby of the 
dyer, the latter himself was generally 
called upon to prepare the dyestuff 



matter from the finely divided dye- 
wood. These usually consisted of iron 
or copper vessels, provided with a 
water or steam jacket so as to avoid 



674 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



over-heating of the dye-liquor. Gen- 
erally, round "soup" kettles were em- 
ployed, with a capacity of 5 to 100 
gallons, depending on the size of the 
dyehouse. For some purposes of dye 
extraction, closed pressure kettles, or 
autoclaves were used in which the dye- 
wood could be heated with water under 
pressure to a temperature above the 



the preparation of the dye-wood solu- 
tions:. 



ARTICLE II. 



Indigo has always been one of the 
principal dyestuffs employed in all 
phases of dyeing, and the method of 
handling it with the dyer has only 




Fig. 4. Indigo Mill. (Cylinder Form.) 



atmospheric boiling point. The dyer 
of the present day knows little or 
nothing of such apparatus. Where 
wood dyes are still employed, it is 
now customary for the dyer to use 
not the raw wood, but an extract pre- 
pared by the color maker; and all 
that is required of the dyer is to dis- 
solve the extract m not water after 
the general manner of any other dye- 
stuff. Reference, however, to the old- 
er books dealing with the subject of 
dyeing, will show many illustrations 
of necessary machinery employed in 



been changed within comparatively re- 
cent times. It was formerly brought 
into the dyehouse in large solid cubes, 
about three inches in size. Before the 
dyestuff could be used in setting the 
indigo vat, it was necessary to reduce 
it to a very fine state of division. For 
this purpose special indigo grinding 
mills were used, in which the large 
blocks of indigo were ground down to 
a fine powder. These mills generally 
consisted of a revolving bowl, tilted 
somewhat at an angle, and containing 
a number of iron balls. As the bowl 



SiLEAOHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



675 



revolved the loose iron balls pounded 
and rubbed the indigo to a powder. It 
was necessary to continue this grind- 
ing for a rather long period in order 
to obtain the indigo as an impalpable 
powder suitable for placing in the vat. 
Even to the present day, there are to 
be found mills which do their own in- 
digo grinding, but the incoxxvenience 
of the process, especially for small 
mills, has led to the previous prepa- 
ration of the indigo in a fine powder or 
paste by the color dealer. This has 
also been influenced by the fact that 
synthetic indigo prepared from coal- 
tar is supplied in this form ready for 
use in the vat. The result is that, 
at th© present day, it is a rather un- 
usual sight to see an indigo grinding 
mill in a dyehouse. 

MOST COMMON TYPE. 
As it may be of general interest, 
however, the various forms of indigo 
mills have been herewith shown, ihe 
oldest form of machine for powdering 
Indigo was evidently a stamping mill, 
a figure of which is not given, as this 
type has long been aJbsolete. The ball 
mill shown in Figure 1 was a very com- 
mon type. It consists of a heavy 
cast-iron circular bowl, so mount- 
ed and geared as to turn on its 
vertical axis which is inclined at a 
slight angle. Heavy iron balls of vari- 
ous sizes are employed in the revolv- 
ing bowl for the grinding of indigo. 
Figure 2 shows another form of 
this mill arranged on a somewhat dif- 
ferent principle. In this form the 
bowl is circular in section; the bot- 
tom is provided with a wide curved 
groove running around from the inner 
edge almost to the centre. The bowl 
itself remains stationary, but the iron 
balls are moved around in the groove 
by a rotating forked arm extending 
down into the bowl. The mill shown in 
Figure 3 is very similar to the preced- 
ing one except that, instead of using 
iron balls for the grinding, iron cones 
with rounded edges are employed. A 
different type from the foregoing is 
the cylinder mill shown in Figure 4; 
this consists of a hollow iron cylinder 
which is mounted so as to rotate hori- 
zontally. Inside the mill are twu 
loose cast-iron solid cylinders which 



do the grinding by the rotation of the 
mill. The cylinder mill is said to 
give a larger production, but the ball 
mills grind the indigo to a finer pow- 
der. 



ARTICLE 111. 



The next mechanism to be logically 
considered in the dyehouse is that to 
be employed in the preparation of the 
dye solutions. In the average dye- 
house in this country, especially in 
small estalblishments, there is not 
much attention paid to any particular 
and systematic method of dissolving 
dyestuffs. Usually a bucket or small 
tub with an open steam pipe running 
into it is the only form of apparatus 
employed. The steam pipe is so ar- 
ranged that it may be unscrewed from 
its connection from the main steam 
supply pipe when it becomes, necessary 
to move the tub away. This is usu- 
ally accomplished by attendant bums 
on the hands of the operator who has 
to unscrew the steam pipe. When 
looked at rationally, this 

METHOD SEEMS CRUDE 

and slip-shod in the extreme, and it 
is surprising that modern mills would 
permit it. Outside of the crudity of 
the affair, it is also dangerous to the 
proper preparation of the dye-solution, 
for usually the dry dyestuff after be- 
ing weighed out is put into the tuib, 
which is then almost filled with 
water; the steam is next turned on 
until the solution comes up to the 
boiling point, the solution being stir- 
red in the meantime with a stick. 
Under these conditions it will be seen 
that the live steam comes practically 
into direct contact with the dyestuff 
before it has been taken into the solu- 
tion. 

This live steam, it must be remem- 
bered, as it emerges from the pipe, is 
superheated (being delivered under 
considerable pressure), and, therefore, 
the dyestuff is subjected to an aJbnor- 
mally high temperature, frequently far 
above the boiling point of water. 
Such a temperature in many cases is 
sufficient to cause a decomposition of 
the dyestuff, which, of course, materi- 
ally impairs the value of the solution, 



676 



BLEACHlNa, DYEING AND FlNlSHlNO 



and sometimes renders it unfit for use. of dyestuffs, a steam jacketed kettle 
More careful dyers will always first should be employed, so that the live 




Fig. 5. Jacketed Kettle f or Dissolving Dyestuffs. 

boil up the water in the tub before superheated steam may not come In 
the dyestuff is added, and thus the contact with the dyestuff, and yet al- 




, Fjg. 6. Series of Boiling Kettles for Dye Solutions, Showing Manner of 

Arrangement. 

steam is turned off before it can come lowing of a continued boiling of the 

into contact with the coloring matter, solution if necessary. Even in a com- 

Por the careful and proper solution paratively small dyeing establishment, 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



67*^ 



such an apparatus should he provided, 
of a size suitable to take care of tlie 
average batch of dyestuff used. In 
larger establishments, where widely 
differing amounts of dyes are employ- 
ed at various times, it is well to have 
a number of such boiling kettles of 
varying capacity. These are usually 
set up in bank in a seriesi, and are 
generally provided with a mechanical 
stirrer. The latter is so connected as 
to be easily removed when it is desired 
to tilt the kettle over for purposes of 
cleaning or emptying. 

A small-sized boiling kettle for dis- 
solving dyestuffs is shown in Figure 
5. This kettle swings on a 

HORIZONTAL AXIS 

so that it may be easily emptied, and 
the steam is admitted to the jacket 



hand lever shown in an upright posi- 
tion; the two larger kettles a,re moved 
by a gear wheel working in a worm 
turned by the hand wheel shown at 
one side. 



ARTICLE IV. 

The time-honored method of dyeing 
loose stock was to use a round vat, 
usually of copper. The dyebath was 
prepared in this vessel, and the loose 
material to be dyed was poled around 
in the liquor by means of a long stick 
operated by hand. 

IN THE OLDER FORMS 

of such vats the heating was done di- 
rectly by a fire underneath the vat. 
Typical forms of these vats are shown 
in Figures 7 and 8. Although this 



\fo the chimney 







Fig, 7. Vat for Dyeing Loose Stocl<, Heated by Direct Fire. 



through the axis. In Figure 6 is shown 
a bank of kettles with three different 
sizes, the two larger being provided 
with mechanical stirrers. Complete 
connections for steaim and water are 
also shown; the water supply pipe is 
on a swinging joint, so that one faucet 
supplies two kettles. The three 
smaller kettles are tilted over by the 



may seem to us at the present time 
a rather medieval method of dyeing, 
nevertheless, there are still dyehouses 
in parts of Europe where this an- 
tiquated procedure is employed. A 
familiar and well-known example is 
in the dyehouse of the Gobelin Works 
at Paris; and there are, indeed, small 
establishments in France, Saxony and 



678 



feLEACliiNG, iDYiSING AND FINISHlNCi 



Austria where the old copper vats are 
heated by a wood fire. Of course, in 
the Oriental countries we would natu- 
rally expect to find 

THIS PRIMITIVE aviETHOD 

of heating the dye-vat; we would 
be disappointed if we visited a dye- 
house in. Persia, for instance, and 



dyeing is carried on practically as a 
home industry, the method of steam 
heating is not permissable. 

AVAILABILITY OF STEAM. 

In the practical consideration of a 
dyehouse at the present time, how- 
ever, there can be no question as to 
the availability of steam. Dye-vats ar- 




Fig. 8. Showing Anotlier Form of Dye-Vat Heated by Direct Fire. 



found anything else — siteam heating 
would be out of keeping with the en- 
vironments. 

The inconvenience and expense of 
heating the dye-vat with a direct fire 
soon gave way to the use of steam, 
when this heating agent came into 
general use. But steam can only be 
had where a boiler for its production 
is available; therefore, we can readily 
understand that in small establish- 
ments in the older countries where the 



ranged with steam heating were usu- 
ally large copper kettles provided with 
a steam jacket; the ordinary type be- 
ing shown in Figure 9. The waste pipe 
from the steam jacket, shown on the 
lower side, is connected by a steam 
trap. An outlet is also provided in 
the bottom of the kettle itself for the 
purpose of running off the contents 
when the dyeing operation is complet- 
ed. In Figure 10 another form of vat 
is shown, which is provided with both 



feLEACHlNa, DYEING AND FINISHING 



679 



direct and indirect steam heating. Tlie 
steam jacket is also provided with a 
safety-valve, so as to avoid too high 



there are a large number of dyestuffs 
in general use which are badly affected 
by contact with copper, the metal of 




Fig. 9. Vat for Dyeing Loose Stock, Heated by a Steam Jacket. 



a Siteam pressure, which otherwise 
might hring danger of explosion and 
also cause overheating of the vat. The 
direct steam heating arrangement 
shown in the compartment below the 
vat proper is simply a perforated 
steam coil. This is situated in the 
manner shown so as to avoid the pos- 
sibility of the live steam coming into 
direct contact with the material being 
dyed, the latter being held up in the 
vat proper by means of the perforated 
bottom. 



ARTICLE V. 

In former times, the vats themselves 
were generally made of copper, but 
from the fact that at the present time 



the vat has been modified by using 
tinned copper. However, metal kettles 
are now only employed for small sizes, 
the larger vats being nearly always 
constructed of wood. The usual form 
of the latter is a round upright tank, 
slightly larger at the bottom than at 
the top. It is provided with a perforat- 
ed false bottom, under which are lo- 
cated the siteam pipes for heating. 
When direct heating with live steam 
is employed, a single coil of perforated 
pipe is used; when indirect heating 
with a closed steam pipe is used, the 
coil consists of a number of turns, 
and the outlet runs into a steam trap. 
These steam pipes should be made 
from copper or bronze, in order to pre- 



680 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND iPINlSHING 



vent iron rust from contaminating the 
dye-liquors. liie vertical connecting 
steam pipe running down into the vat 
should be enclosed in a wooden par- 
tition to avoid direct contact with the 
dye-liquor. Figures 11 and 12 show 



blowing up through the liquor may 
cause a felting or matting of the ma- 
terial being dyed, a bad feature, espe- 
cially noticeable in the case of wool. 
The use of live steam, also, unless its 
supply is carefully regulated, is liable 




Fig. 10. Dye-Vat Provided with Direct and indirect Steam Heating. 



such a vat provided with a coil of per- 
forated steam pipe. From many con- 
siderations, 

THE CLOSED COIL METHOD 
of heating is to be preferred to that 
of the open coil. The latter causes 
a considerable increase in the volume 
of the dyebath (and consequent di- 
lution) from the condensation of the 
steam, and this steam will frequently 
contain oil, and so contaminate the 
dye-liquor. Again, the live steam 



to cause an overheating of the fibre 
and an undue ebullition of the dye- 
liquor. 

For the purposes of giving even and 
well-penetrated dyeings, it is neces- 
sary to circulate the material being 
dyed in a more or less, 

SYSTEMATIC MANNER 
through the bath. In the form of vat 
just described, this is usually accom- 
plished by "poling with long sticks. 
xi this were not done, uneven dyeings 



feLSACtiiNG, DYEING AMD FINISHING 



681 



would result, for the lower part of the 
vat, of course, is heated sooner and to 
a greater degree than the upper por- 
tion, as it is in more direct contact 
with the source of heat. When suc- 
cessive portions of dye-liquor are add- 



in the case of wool, is liable to cause 
a felting of the fibre, which much de- 
teriorates its value for after process- 
ing. To get away from 
THIS OBJECTIONABLE FEATURE, 
some dyers place the loose stock in a 

/ 




Fig. 11. Round Wooden Dye-vat, Vertical Section. 



ed, it is also necessary to circulate the 
bath well so as to avoid more of the 
color going on the upper parts of the 
material than on the lower. This pol- 
ing of the goods, however, especially 



net or cage and suspend it in the dye- 
liquor in this manner. By arranging 
an overhead pulley this cage with its 
contents may be lifted out and let 
down into the liquor with comparative 



68^ 



feLBACHING, DYEING AND FINISSlN^ 



ease, and by doing this systematically, 
a sufficient circulation in the dyebath 
may be obtained without any danger of 

FELTING THE FIBRE. 

It also affords a convenient method 
for removing the material from the 
bath after the dyeing process has been 
completed, and tof allowing the ex- 
cess of liquor to drain back into the 
bath. If a series of successive opera- 



Yarns and manufactured goods will 
not require quite so much volume as 
loose, as the material is in a more 
condensed condition. 

VARIOUS METHODS DEVISED. 

The inconvenience of handling loose 
stock in the open vat methods which 
have just been described, and the con- 
sequent injury to the fibre by the 
handling necessitated, has led a num- 



Fahe bottom 'n two parts 




Wooden J)artilton 



^ Perforattd slean> pipe 



Fig. 12. Round Wooden Dye-vat, Cross Sections Top and Bottom. 



tions are required in the dyeing proc- 
ess, such, for example, as mordanting, 
washing and dyeing, a set of vats may 
be employed with an overhead tackle 
and runway. In this manner, the cage 
with its contents may be easily lifted 
out and transferred from one vat to 
another without unnecessary handling. 
Such an arrangement is shown in Fig- 
ure 13. 

With regard to the size of vats (in 
almost any connection) required for 
any desired amount of loose stock, it 
may be said that one pound of loose 
cotton will require about 21 to 3 gal- 
lons of liquor, and one pound of loose 
wool will require just about twice as 
much, or 5 to 6 gallons of liquor, so 
the size of the tank must be calcu- 
lated in accordance with these require- 
ments, and additional space for false 
bottoms, etc., must also be allowed. 



ber of dyehouse engineers to devise 
various methods and machines for the 
proper handling of such materials. The 
customary object held in view in the 
construction of these machines has 
been to agitate the fihre as little 
as possible so as to reduce the amount 
of felting and matting; to circulate 
the liquors through the material as 
uniformly as possible so as to avoid 
uneven dyeings; and to provide con- 
venient means of loading and unload- 
ing the apparatus so as to cut down 
the amount of labor required to- a min- 
imum; and, finally, to have the appa- 
ratus run in such a manner as to be 
more or less what may be termed "fool- 
proof," so as to allow of a low-grade 
labor being employed in its operation. 
Two very successful machines which 
have been largely used in this country 
for the dyeing of raw stock are the 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



683 



Klauder & "Weldon and the Delahunty. 
These two machines are -grouped to- 
gether, because their general method 
of operation is very similar. Tlaey 
differ, however, in certain details of 
construction and manner of working, 



ing of loose material by mechanical 
means, it would soon naturally appeal 
to the textile engineer to employ a 
suitable mechanism whereby the ma- 
terial being dyed can be compressed 
into a compact mass in a proper con- 




Fig. 13. Series of Vats for Dyeing Loose Stock. 



and these points will be taken up in 
the discussion of tho machines. 



ARTICLE VI. 

In the forms of dyeing apparatus 
for loose material which have so far 
been discussed, the liquor in the dye- 
bath has been held in one vessel, 
while the material being dyed is cir- 
culated or moved through it by one 
means or another; and, furthermore, 
the material has been left in an open 
condition, and has not been subjected 
to pressure. In cousiderinig the dye- 



tainer, and the dye-liquors then forced 
through this mass by pumping or other 
means. This system of dyeing has 
rapidly developed during the past few 
decades, and a large number of differ- 
ent machines have been constructed in 
an endeavor to realize the best con- 
ditions of succesisful operation. This 
system of dyeing may be called with 
proper significance 

THE "PACK SYSTEM," 

in so far that the material is packed 
into the dyeing receptacle, or it is 
also known as the "circulatory sya^ 



684 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



tern" by reason of the fact that the 
dye-liquors are circulated through the 
material during the dyeing operation. 

The pack system would seem to 
offer a numher of advantages over the 
older method of hand manipulation in 
that the material being dyed is han- 
dled with a minimum expenditure of 
lalbor, and that this labor is mostly 
controlled by mechanical forces and 
eliminates to a very large degree the 
costlier hand labor. Furthermore, by 
handling the material in a compact 
mass, economies of steam, water, dye- 
stuffs and chemicals could be intro- 
duced, and there would be less waste 
of these items, as well as less waste 
of material. Again, since the material 
in this system of dyeing remains in a 
quiescent state during the entire 
process, there is practically no 
mechanical agitation of the fibres 
such as is the case when the material 
is treated hy hand, or even when it 
is treated in the other forms of dye- 
ing apparatus where the material is 
carried through the dye-liquor. This 
feature would seem to eliminate al- 
most entirely the fault of matting and 
felting of the fibres which afterward 
causes so much waste and bad work 
in the carding and spinning of stock 
dyed material. This feature in fact 
has always been the principal draw- 
back in the dyeing of either cotton 
or wool in the loose state, and it has 
only been the overcoming of this 
felting and tangling of the fibres by 
means of proper dyeing mechanism 
that has allowed of the very great 
extension of the use of stock-dyed ma- 
terial in the spinning of yarns. 

There are 
TWO CLASSES OF MACHINES 
incorporated under the general type 
of pack dyeing. In the first of these, 
the material is not packed into the 
receptacle with any special idea of 
compression. It is simply contained 
in a closed vessel and the dye-liquor 
is circulated through it by suitable 
means. In the other class of ma- 
chines, the material is tightly com- 
pressed into the dyeing receptacle, 
and the liquors of the dyebath have 
to be forced through the compressed 
mass of fibre hy high pressure obtain- 



ed by means of a pump or air pressure. 
In the first class of machines it does 
not require any great force or pressure 
to cause the dye-liquors to be main- 
tained in a constant circulation, and 
usually the lifting power of live steam, 
blown into the liquors after the man- 
ner of a simple injector, is sufficient 
to bring about the required circula- 
tion. Aside, howevr, from any differ- 
ences in the method of producing the 
circulation, there isj also a consider- 
a^ble difference in the character of the 
packing to be ohserved in loading the 
machine. Where the material is un- 
der strong pressure, it Is essential 
that the packing he carried out in 
such a manner that the mass of fihre 
will offer as nearly as possible an 
equal resistance at every point to the 
fiow of the liquor through it. If this 
resistance or density of the packed 
material varies from point to point to 
any considerable degree, there will be 
the inevitable result of 

CHANNELLING 
of the liquor in its passage through 
the mass; that is to say, the liquor 
will naturally follow the line of least 
resistance and where the material is 
packed more loosely, the liquor will 
flow through freely, while where the 
material is more tightly packed, the 
resistance may hecome so great that 
no liquor at all will pass; through, and 
consequently there will be an irregu- 
lar distribution of the dyebath and ac- 
cordingly the color will go on the ma- 
terial unevenly. 

We will now take up a considera- 
tion of the principal forms of dyeing 
machines where the material is pack- 
ed in the loose condition. These are 
usually of a very simple construction, 
and as no special pressure is required 
in the machine, the parts need not be 
of any particular strength. The gen- 
eral principle of construction may be 
described asi follows: A tank, usually" 
of wood, forms the dye- vat; the cen- 
tral portion of this tank is occupied 
by a perforated receptacle to contain 
the material to be dyed. This recepta- 
cle may he of wood or of a suitable 
metal, or even consist simply of per- 
forated upper and lower partitions to 
separate the material from the dye- 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



685 



liquor. The lower part or bottom of 
the tank furnishes a reservoir In 
which the dye-liquor is heated. 



ARTICLE VII. 

In Figure 14 is given a schematic 
drawing showing the general princi- 
ples under which this form of dyeing 
machine Isi constructed and operated. 



compartment (B), and the lower com- 
partment (A) is supplied with a steam, 
coil (S) for heating the dye-liquor. A 
pump (P) provides a means of circu- 
lating the liquor from A to C or in the 
reverse direction. 

THE PRINCIPAL DIFFICULTY, 
to be overcome in the pack system of 
dyeing, whatever construction the ma- 



Z ^f 6^1^1 fcjj;^ k^l f^^^t^^ 1^:^! (J^^ ^^^:i<T^^^ 



-m. 



T' 



6 



I 

! 

i 

7/ 



t^^xN f^^VJ k\Wf ksW^-f k\\\^ lx\^^V l^\V-| K\^S I^V^I k^ 






r////////////////A y////////////// //////, 




Fig. 14. Showing General Prin ciple of Pack System of Dyeing. 



The tank is divided into two small (A 
and C) and one large (B) compart- 
ments by means of the two perforated 
partitions (T and T'). The material to 
be dyed is packed in the large middle 



chine may have, is the even penetra- 
tion of the dye-liquor through the en- 
tire mass of fibre. In the simple 
scheme shown in Figure 14, the dye- 
liquor isi drawn by the pump from 



686 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



the compartment A and forced up to 
the compartment C, from where it 
trickles down through the material in 
compartment B. When either wool 
or cotton in the loose condition is 
wetted, it becomes rather compact in 
mass and will offer considerable re- 
sistance to the passage of the liquor 
through it. On the other hand, the 
strong capillarity of the fibres in ab- 
sorbing the liquor aids very material- 
ly in the flow of the liquor. Further- 
more, the suction exerted by the 
pump on the lower compartment also 
aids largely in drawing the liquor 
back from C through the material in 
B, and finally into the reservoir A 
again. There are Siome disadvantages, 
however, in the form of apparatus 
where the fiow of the liquor would be 
maintained continually in this direc- 
tion; that is to say, from C through B 
to A, and then back from A to C by 
the pump. In the -first place, the pres- 
sure of the liquor from the top, and 
also the weight of the upper layers of 
the material on the lower, cause these 
lower layers to become more tightly 
packed down than the upper layers, in 
which the iflbre would be more free 
and open. This would have a tenden- 
cy to igive the upper layers of the ma- 
terial a more' thorough dyeing than 
the lower ones, and hence result in 
uneven and 

SHADED COLORS. 
In the second place, if the liquor is 
continually circulated in the one direc- 
tion, from the top downward, the upper- 
most layer of the material in the com- 
partment B will act as a filter surface 
to the liquor, and will catch all insolu- 
ble matters contained in the liquors, 
such as miscellaneous dirt, undissolved 
particles of dyestuffs or chemicals, and 
lint, etc. Under the best conditions of 
dyeing and the preparation of the dye- 
liquors, there will always be more or 
less of such materials which will filter 
out in this manner. The result may 
be that the upper layer of the material 
will be more or less injured in quality. 
In order to obviate these troubles, it 
is best that the flow of the dye-liquor 
should be reversed in direction from 



time to time. By reversing the pump, 
the liquor would then be forced from 
A up through the material being dyed 
and overflow into the top compartment 
C from where it is drawn by the pump 

back again into A. When the liquor 
flows in this direction, the lower layers 
of fibre in B will be lifted against 
gravity, and thus the mass of the ma- 
terial will be loosened up, while on 
the other hand, the upper layers will 
now become compressed against the 

partition T'. This reversal in the di- 
rection of the flow of the liquor also 
tends to clean up the upper layers of 

fibre and remove the insoluble matters 
which may have become filtered out 
when the liquor was running in the 
opposite direction. By this means, a 
more 

PERFECT UNIFORMiITY 

of treatment may be obtained and, 
consequently, the resulting color and 
condition of the material will be more 
even. 

Having considered the theory of this 
method of dyeing, we will now consid- 
er a few of the chief types of machines 
which are constructed in accordance 
with thisi general principle. 

The Dreize machine is one of the 
simplest forms of this type. The dia- 
gram of this apparatus is shown in 
Figure 15, an examination of which 
will show the general idea of its con- 
struction. The container in which the 
material is packed consists of a cop- 
per cage with perforated top and bot- 
tom and with a round canal or tube 
running through the centre. This cage 
is filled with the loose wool or cotton 
to be dyed and then lowered into the 
dye-vat, in which it fits in such a posi- 
tion that an open steam jet comes 
directly beneath the central opening. 
In the operation of this machine, the 
steam is turned on, and this jet which 
is underneath the dye-liquor acts as 
an injector, and carries the dye- 
liquor up the central opening and 
spreads it over the perforated top of 
the cage. From there it is sucked 
down again through the material into 
the lower reservoir. The feed pipe at 
the side of the machine is for the pur- 



blbAjChing, dyeing and finishing 



687 



pose of allowing additions of dye-solu- 
tion, etc., to be added during the dye- 
ing process. This machine, though of 
attractive simplicity, has some serious 
defects. In the first place, the liquor can 
only be circulated in the one direction, 
which fact, as we have already point- 




Fig. 15. The Dreze Dyeing IVIachine. 

ed out, leads to certain bad results. 
In the second place, as the circula- 
tion is maintained by means of a live 
steam injector, the liquor will soon be- 
come heated to the boiling point, and 

then, instead of the steam injector lift- 
ing much of the liquor, only steam will 
blow up through the central channel, 

and the proper circulation of the liquor 
will almost entirely stop. Further- 
more, by the use of the steam injector 

blowing directly into the dyebath, the 
liquor will soon become considerably 
diluted through the condensation of 
the steam. Notwithstanding these de- 
fects of construction, this machine has 
had considerable use in Germany for 
the dyeing of loose wool and combed 
tops^ and has apparently given very 



good satisfaction in a number of 
places, especially for the dyeing of 
alizarin colors. The customary size 
of the apparatus is about 3 feet high 
and SJ feet in diameter, and about 250 
pounds of loose wool or about 300 
pounds of tops may be handled in 
a batch. By properly regulating the 
force of the steam at the injector, It 
is possible to control easily the veloc- 
ity of the circulation. When the ap- 
paratus isi first started up and the 
steam valve turned on but slightly, the 
liquor wells up through the central 
canal in a slow moving steam and be- 
comes heated up gradually. As 
the dyeing progresses, the steam is 
turned on with more force and the 
liquor is accordingly circulated with 
more vigor. 

ONE GOOD FEATURE , 
which is put forth for this machine is 
the fact that the material is not tightly 
packed together at any time during 
the dyeing operation, but is left in a 
free and loose condition; consequent- 
ly, there is, little or no felting produc- 
ed, and there is every chance for good 
uniformity of color. That this ma- 
chine is a distinct advance over the 
usual form of open tank dye-tub for 
loose wool there can be no question, 
and not only does it keep the fibre in 
a much better condition, but there is 
also a considerable saving in labor 
cost and amount of steam used. This 
machine has quite a vogue in Belgium, 
where large quantities of loose wool 
and tops are dyed for the mills. Its 
cheapness and simplicity of construc- 
tion and operation are strong recom- 
mendations to a great many dyers. 



A Cotton Mill Dressing Room 



The dressing room here deiscribed 
consists of two sections, the coarse 
and fine and had besides the overseer 
and one office clerk, the following: 



Second-hand web drawing. 



Fine section. 
1 second hand. 
1 third hand. 
1 beam man. 
1 yarn boy. 
1 warp man. 

1 beamer (leno). 
5 slashers. 

2 helpers. 



Coarse section. 
1 second hand. 

1 third hand. 

2 trucking men. 
2 beam men. 

2 yarn boys. 
1 warp man. 

1 warper man. 
5 slashers. 

2 slasher helpers. 



1 harness repairer. 
1 harness cleaner. 

1 man to prepare 

harness for fancy 

work. 
24 girl spoolers, 80 

spindles each in 
No. 34, 40, 50, 60, 

70. 80, 90, 105. 
3 girls, 12 warpers, 4 

each, 2 tie-over 

girls. 

2 girls, 10 warpers, 5 

each. 



36 girl spoolers, 40 
spindles each. No. 
7, 12, 13, 15 and 
18. 

16 warpers, 2 front 
girls. 
4 tie-over girls. 
4 girl skein wind- 
ers. 

36 drawing-in girls. 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



We will prepare warps for 2,400 
looms, 300 on fancy in 1, 2, 3, and 4- 
beam work, 1,344 On fine goods and 756 
on coarse goods. 

The styles of goods made are lenos, 
stripes, checks, twills, dimities, col- 
ored stripes, epot prints, percales, 
reps, organdies, combed lawns, India 
linons, khaki duck, sheeting, prints 
and bagging. 

The warp yarns are frame spun, 
23,020 spindles on numbers from 7 to 
18, inclusive, and 35,628 spindles on 
No. 34 to 106. 

The num'ber, stock and staple used 
were as follows: 



No. 7 waste. 

12 carded mlddUng %. 

18 carded middling 

IVs- 
34 carded peeler 

1 3-16. 
40 carded peeler, also 

combed peeler 

1%. 
50 white and brown 

Egyptian 1%. 
60 combed peeler 1%. 
70 combed peeler 1%. 
80 combed peeler 1%. 
90 Georgia Sea Island, 

1%. 
105 Florida, 1%. 



Single roving. 
Double roving. 
Double roving. 

Double roving. 

Double roving. 
Double roving. 
Double roving. 
Selected. 

Selected. 



Twist in warp was square 4.5 and square 5. 

The overseer is notified from time to 
time of any changes made in the spin- 
ning room spindle assignment. 



To meet this change of conditions, 
the following Table 1 will indicati* 
method of assignment per spindle of 
spoolers and warper. 





TABLE NO. 1 






Spindle 


Pounds, Spindle 




No. spinning. 


product, spooling 


Warp'g 


7 . . 


416 


416 


35 


.5 


12 . . 


. .16.102 


9,340 


934 


11.7 


18 . . 


.. 6.512 


1,888 


236 


3.5 


34 . . 


.. 1,152 


265 


80 


.8 


40 . . 


. . 1,984 


337 


121 


1.13 


50 . . 


. .15,056 


1,807 


904 


6.95 


60 . . 


.. 9,248 


693 


433 


3.30 


70 . . 


.. 1,040 


54 


36 


.38 


80 . . 


.. 1,040 


47 


40 


.47 


90 . . 


. . 5,168 


207 


207 


2.98 


105 . . 


940 


30 


38 


1.27 


The list is worked out 


by using the 


following production table: 




TABLE NO. 2 






No. Spinning. Spooling. 


Warping. 


7 1. 


12. 




820 


12 58 


10. 




800 


18 29 


8. 




540 


34 23 


3.3 




330 


40 17 


2.8 




297 


50 12 


2. 




260 


60 075 


1.6 
1.5 




210 


70 053 


190 


SO 045 


1.2 




100 


90 . . -040 


1. 
.8 




70 


105 . . 


032 


30 



This table is based on actual every- 
day conditions in a mill. From Table 
iSO. 1 the overseer makes out a list for 
each second hand. The headings of 
each column on Table 3 will explain its 
contents. The second, third, fourth, 
sixth and eleventh columns are stand 
ards to the numiber of yarns which 
they are opposite: 



TABLE NO. 3. 





.«-> 




01 




QQ 


Numbers. 






r^ 




oj 








m 


7 


6,000 


12 


12,000 


18 


17,400 



40 1 19,669 I 



50 


16,391 


60 


9,834.6 


70 


9,834.6 


80 


10,092 


90 


10,092 


105 


10,092 



2/3000 

3/4000 

4/4350 

6/3278.2 

5/3278.2 

3/3278.2 

3/3278.2 

2/504fi 

2/5046 

2/5046 



0) o 



9.B 



6,000 
12,000 
17,400 
40,268 
49,173 
29.503.8 
29,503.8 
30,276 
30,276 
20,184 



5X6 
5X6 
5X6 
I 41/2X5 
■ 41/2X5 
31/2X4 
31/2X4 
3x334 
3X3% 
3 % X 2 1/2 



7 


8 


1 
9 


m 






-d 


u 




c ^• 


d) 






P. 

mi 

73 nJ 


Is 


a 


3-° 




a.g 





Q 


> 


^ 




< 






239 


244 


66 


300 


357 


83 


310 


356 


106 



11 I 12 



500 I 292 

600 I 234 

625 122 

650 I 108 

700 I 105 

750 I 100 

800 91 



I 158 
177 
193 
209 
223 
235 
254 



^ 60 

(D CD 



159 
107 
61 
48 
39 
33 
28 
25 
21 



<H 




0^ 


n 


;- cSiS 


a 


<D 


d 


t; 0) f- 






n 








Q 




8-24 


1.02 


8-24 


1.19 


8-24 


1.15 


9-22 


I .585 


9-22 


.39 


9-18 


.195 


9-14 


.167 


10-16 


.15 


10-11 


.133 


10-11 


.1144 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



689 



With spools of various sizes, the 
change of guide traverse was trouble- 
some. The spoolers were old style, 
and a change could not be made by 
gearing, only by adjusting the stud on 
the lever. This had to be done neatly. 
The knives or slub catchers were ad- 
justed to their number. 

A SPECIFIED GAUGE 
for each number was used. A spool 
of yam was never so hard but that an 
impression could be made with the 
finger so that all friction of the yarn 
in spooling was reduced to a mini- 
mum. 

Spoolers on fine numbers were paid 
by the box, and spoolers on coarse 
numbers by the spool. The latter 
seems to be the fairest way to both 
employer and employe. 

The standard length of No. 12 warp- 
er was 12,000 yards. The pieces were 
returned to the spoolers to be filled 
up. Each spool, therefore, contained 
i2,000 yards of live yarn. As balance 
on spool was returned to the spooler, 
each spool was counted 1.19 pounds, 
and the price was .0025 cents peir" 
spool, therefore, 21 cents per 100 
pounds of No. 12. 

Warping on coarse sizes was paid 
for by the pound, the front and tie- 
over girls sharing in the price. For 
8 frames there was 1 front and 2 tie- 
over girls. Cost for warping No. 12 
yarn was 5.6 cents per 100 pounds, 2.2 
cents was paid front girl and 1.7 each 
tieover igirl. Tieover girls are usually 
paid a fixed price per hour. This 
method provided an incentive to the 
tieover girls to do some hustling, and 
was productive of a large increase of 
pounds produced per warper. 
WARPERS. 

There are three makes of warpers — 
the Draper warper, 18-inch cylinder, 
measuring roll 18 inches in circum- 
ference; worm gear, 100 teeth and 
change gear, 80 teeth; speed 42 revolu- 
tions used in coarse No. 7 to No. 18; 
score, 4,000 yards. Whiting warper, 
18-inch cylinder, measuring roll 151 
inches in circumference, worm gear, 
94 teeth; change gear, 81 teeth; used 
in medium No. 34 to No 60; speed 42 
revolutions; score 3,278.2. Holyoke 
warper, 12-inch cylinder, measuring 



roll, 10| inches in circumference; 
worm gear, 130 teeth; change gear, 130 
teeth; used in fine No. 70 to No. 105; 

speed, 42 revolutions; score, 5,046. For 
scores see column 3 in Table 3. 

All orders filed in dressing room are 
in sets of standard lengths. (See col- 
umn 2 in Table 3.) Each number of 

yarn was wound On a particular spool. 
(See column 6 of Table 3), and warp- 
ed on a beam of a particular flangt; 

and hub dimension. (iSee column 11 

of Table 3.) Column 7 of Table 3 

gives the average number of ends on 

section beam. To indicate a basis for 
determining the number of threads to 
the numlber of yams, column 9 gives 
the diameter of the yarns. The rule is 

to multiply the diameter by the width 
of beam and divide by 16. For exam- 
ple: 66 times 54 equals 3,564 .divided 
by 16 equals 222-7 threads. We get 
an excellent beam with the threads to 
the number as aJbove, warped with an 
inward wind, back raddle set so that 

each thread will cling to the same 
side of the wire of front raddle, free 
working skewers and beam weighted 
evenly on both sides. 

Column 10 of Table 3 gives the 
breaking strength of each number. 
Compared with column 7, the fine num- 
bers are apparently under the greater 
strain. You will note the compensa- 
tion, column 11, in larger barrels and 

smaller heads on beams. Column 12, 
constants, is used as 

A MULTIPLE OF THREADS. 
Gives pounds by standard section 
beam. Example: l-50s, 600 threads, 
multiplied by 39 equals 234 pounds. 

There is kept on file in the dressing 
room a woven sample of all styles of 
goods made, on which is pinned a 
slip or tag containing some such in- 
formation as shown in Table 8. If 
more than one beam is needed in the 
weaving of goods, the percentage of 
take-up is given on slips, the ground 

being the basis, say 3 beams, ground 
being twill weave, a stripe being a 
plain weave and a leno effect; 100, 
132 and 150 per cent would be the rel- 
ative length of each warp or beam, as 
shown by column 6 in Table No. 5. 

The following tables show the lists 
of styles and looms assigned: 



690 



©LEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



TABLE 
Style 

Number of yarn in warp 60 

Threads in warp 3,594 

Number of yarn in filling 60 

Piclis 84 

Reed 42 

Harness 4/84 

Yards per set 9,834.6 



NO. 8. 

520. 

Yards per cut 35.59 

Slasher gear 32 

Cuts on loom beam 28 

Loom beams in set 10 

Loom speed 150 

Production per 10 hours 29.8 yds. 



Rule. Loom beams must not contain more yarn than can be woven out in 10 weeks. 



TABLE NO. 4. 
Loom Assignment of Styles in Fine Numbers. 



1 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


•4-1 


1 
o 
o 

h4 


0) 

s 

a 
1 


0) 


•6 

a) 









^1 


o 


ft 


CM 

<u 5 s 
$2 

<D ft t. 


B 

ai 

0) 

m 


0) 5 C 
So*" 

'O — 


1396 

1396 

1343 

1370 

1389 

1398 

1399 

1404 

1401 

1042 

1316 

1364 .... 

1391 

1394 


159 
159 

16 
46 
70 

16 

200 

400 

140 

160 

20 

20 

78 

19 


50/1 
50/1 

50/1 
50/1 
50/1 

50/1 

50/1 
50/1 

60 

60 

70 

80 

90 
105 


4/82 
4/82 

4/SO 
4/64 
4/76 

4/80 

4/80 
4/68 
4/72 
4/72 
4/76 
4/90 
4/84 
4/90 


41 
41 

40 
32 
38 

40 

40 
34 
36 
36 
38 
45 
42 
45 


3750 
3750 
2588 
1392 
1940 
3268 
2548 
1424 
2564 
1408 
2200 
2234 
2234 
3256 
3S4S 
3570 
3852 


55.59 
55.59 

55.59 
65.89 
55.59 

55.59 

55.59 
55.59 
65.89 
65.89 
65.89 
65.89 
55.59 
55.59 


32 
32 

32 
37 
32 

32 

32 

32 
27 
27 
27 
27 
32 
32 


9 
9 

13 

8 
9 

9 

9 
9 
7 
7 
8 
8 
9 
9 


30 
30 

24 
30 
30 

30 

30 
30 
22 
22 
19 
19 
20 
20 


270 
270 

294 
249 
270 

270 

270 
270 
149 
149 
149 
149 
180 
180 


32 
32 

3 

9 
14 

3 

40 

80 

28 

32 

4 

4 

16 

4 


56 
56 

48 
36 
44 

48 

48 
36 
36 
36 
44 
44 
44 
44 


5.28 

5.28 

.5 

.5 

1.4 

2.1 

.5 

.5 

.6 

6.6 

12. 

4.2 

4.8 

.6 

.6 

2.3 

.6 



300 Looms. 



TABLE NO. 5. 
Fancy Loom Assignment. 



1 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


13 






















n 










IS 

■d 

d 

U 
EH 


C 

o 
Cm 


•6 

o 

(1) 
Pi 


a 

(D ft 
ft 







3 
o 

.s 

m 


4 

sg 

o 


g 

o 


0) 

a 

a 

o 

2 


09 

g 

o 
o 


3971 


60 
34 
60/2 


2206 
686 
441 


663 
354 
264 


42 


100% 
110% 
100% 


15,175 
16,692 
15,175 


33 


5,390 


28 


10 


2S0 


120 


3969 


60 
34 
2/60 


2168 
527 
592 


651 
318 
317 


42 


100% 
110% 
110% 


15,175 
16,692 
15,175 


33 


5,390 


28 


10 


280 


80 


3980 


90 
40 
34/2 


1352 

1220 

47 


284 

546 

62 


34 


105% 
100% 
125% 


15,93J 
15,175 
18,969 


33 


5,390 


28 


10 


280 


40 


3988 


60 
34 

60/2 


2168 
527 
592 


651 
318 
317 


42 


100% 
110% 
100% 


15,175 
16,692 
15,175 


33 


5,390 


28 


10 


280 


eo 

300 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



691 



TABLE NO. 6. 
Loom. Assignment of Styles in Coarse Numbers. 



1 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 




a 

o 
o 


o C 
o in 


a 

3 


•6 

d 


ID 


k. 
a 
O 




i 

a) 
o 

M 
3 

o 


0) 
M 

a 

m 

a 
ffl 


m 

a 

m 

3 
O 


a 

ci 

w 

3 

a 

I. 

3 


490 ... 


48 


20 


18 


2576 


4 
13.90 

2 
18.18 

3 
24.00 


31-80 


64.50 


18 


15 


270 


4 


565 ... 


38 


34 


17 


1194 


31-80 


64.50 


16 


6 


96 


7 


H 


32 


128 


12 


2228 


44-79 


44.75 


15 


18 


270 


25 


H 


38 


82 


12 


2228 


24^00 

4 
12.07 

4 
12.07 

4 
17.07 

2 
20.00 

2 
20.00 

3 
22.00 

3 
22.00 

3 
22.00 

3 
22.00 

3 
22.00 

4 
18.18 

2 
20.00 

3 
24.00 

3 
21.70 

4 
18.18 

3 
21.91 

2 
20.00 

2 
20.00 

3 
24.00 

2 
17.00 

2 
17.00 


44-79 


44.75 


15 


18 


270 


16 


522 ... 


38 


32 


12 


2260 


29-80 


68.75 


12 


15 


180 


6 


522 ... 


40 


18 


12 


2260 


29-80 


68.75 


12 


15 


180 


3 


266 ... 


38 


12 


12 


2244 


29-80 


68.75 


12 


15 


180 


2 


167 ... 


56 


16 


12 


2122 


45-80 


44.25 


25 


11 


275 


3 


167 ... 


66 


26 


12 


2122 


45-80 


44.25 


25 


11 


275 


5 


499 ... 


40 


20 


12 


2709 


31-80 


64.50 


10 


18 


187 


4 


321 


40 


20 


12 


2739 


31-80 


64.50 


10 


18 


187 


4 


218 


38 


32 


12 


2800 


30-80 


66 50 


10 


18 


180 


6 


218 


W. 40 


16 


12 


2800 


30-80 


66.50 


10 


18 


180 


5 


218 


48 


40 


12 


2800 


30-80 


66.50 


10 


18 


180 


8 


N. 165.. 


40 


50 


12 


2836 


30-80 


66.50 


10 


18 


180 


10 


492 


W. 40 


12 


12 


3512 


31-80 


64.50 


8 


23 


187 


2 


201 


56 


26 


12 


3510 


32-80 


62.50 


12 


16 


192 


6 


245 


56 


58 


12 


3546 


32-80 


62.50 


12 


16 


192 


12 


270 


56 


8 


12 


3894 


32-80 


62.50 


8 


24 


192 


2 


317 


66 


12 


12 


3954 


31-79 


63.50 


8 


23 


184 


2 


497 


66 


34 


12 


4726 


31-80 


64.50 


S 


23 


184 


7 


491 


60% 


6 


12 


4294 


31-80 


64.50 


8 


23 


184 


1 


231 


40 


20 


12 


2894 


30-80 


66.50 


10 


18 


180 


4 


556 


W. M. 54 


6 


18 


3348 


31-80 


64.50 


15 


15 


270 


1 


556 


56 


28 


18 


3348 


31-80 


64.50 


18 


15 


270 


6 






756 





















Table 4 is fine lines, Table 5 fancy, 
and Table 6 coarse. Table 4 is a list 
of styles in fine numbers. The sec- 
ond column of Table 4 shows the 

NUMBER OF LOOMS 
assigned to each style. Once a 
week a report is received from the 



weave room giving the number of 
webs of each style on hand and add- 
ing to this list the number of 
webs on the floor in the dressing room. 
By comparing this list with column 12 
of Table 4 we can see just what styles 
it is best to push forward. Column 12 



692 



BLEACHING, DYEING ANt) FINISHING 



shows the numiber of webs that should 
be on the floor ready for looms. Col- 
umn 14 shows the number of webs that 
should be slashed each day. Style 
1396 will require a set slashed every 
two days. When the assignment, as 
in 1343 or 1398 is small, 2 sets are ar- 
ranged for as follows: First set, 2 
beams of 696 ends, 3 beams are slash- 
ed for style 1343, 3 beams for style 

1398, by running in 32 ends from 
spools. The balance of the set is run 

into style 1399 with 16 ends added. 
Second set, 4 heams, 637 ends, 3 
beams made for style 1398, 3 beams 
for 1343 by adding 40 ends for spools. 
Balance of set 16 extra ends in style 

1399, as these styles take 2 beams in 
weaving. This is because there are 2 
weave effects of which each will take 
up differently. The second set will be 
made of regular standard lengths. The 
first set will be made in proportion. 

Columns 4 and 5 of Table 4 are the 
harness and reed, 13 being the loom 
width. The harness on fine side is 
designated by the multiple of shades 
in set; 4-80s would be four shades of 
20 harness, 20 heddles per inch. From 
these lists we find how many sets of 
harness and reeds we need, adding 20 
per cent as follows: 



V^^idth 


Reed 






of loom. 


number. 


Harness. 


Sets 


56 


41 


4/82 


191 


48 


40 


4/80 


280 


36 


32 


4/64 


55 


44 


38 


4/76 


108 


36 


34 


4/68 


480 


36 


36 


4/72 


360 


44 


45 


4/9 


47 


44 


42 


4/84 


94 



A list is kept of all harness and 
reeds in stock. Both are examined 
when returned from loom, and, if nec- 
essary, repaired. But sometimes the 
harness is found to be beyond repair, 
and it is reported so and orders filed 
for replacement. On a reassignment, 
reeds and harness would get first con- 
sideration. 
Table 5 shows the 
FANCY LOOM ASSIGNMENT, 
for 300 looms. There is but little dif- 
ference in providing webs for these 
looms and in the fine numbers. We 
make full beams for looms and 
ground warps would last three months. 
Leno beams or rolls would have to be 



replaced many times; about three sets 
per week would keep these looms run- 
ning. As wire harness was used for 
fancy looms, we prepared them as 
needed. The reeds are the same as in 
the fine numbers. 

Table 6 shows loom assignment of 
styles in coarse numbers. As these 
warps lasted about fifteen days, we 
provided for the weave room accord- 
ing to loom call within the limits of 
loom assignment. 

Table 7 shows the list of styles and 
webs needed, sent from the weave 
room each day as follows: 

TABLE NO. 7. 



Style. 



490 ... 
565 ... 

H 

H 

522 ... 

522 ... 

266 ... 

167 ... 

167 ... 

499 ... 

321 ... 

218 ... 

218 ... 

218 ... 

N. 165 

492 ... 

201 ... 

245 ... 

270 ... 

317 ... 

497 ... 

491 .. 
231 ... 
556 ... 
556 ... 



48 
38 
38 
32 
38 
40 
38 
56 
66 
40 
40 
38 

W 40 
48 
40 

W 40 
56 
56 
56 
66 
66 
D. H. 60 
40 
W. M. 54 
56 





P 


.« 


« 




o 




mii 




13 


», ^ 


ri d 




5? 


■0 


(Bfl 


•^ r: 


? s 





'^l 


^$ 




2 


1 


5 




3 




4 




9 


25 


6 




6 


5 


12 




2 


4 




8 


3 




1 


2 


1 


1 


4 




2 


4 






2 


3 


2 




2 


3 


4 




2 






2 


2 


2 


6 




2 






2 


3 


1 




2 


3 


10 


1 




1 






1 


2 






2 


4 


3 




2 


1 


1 


4 




2 


4 




2 


1 


7 


1 






1 


2 




2 


8 


3 





Column 5 of Table 7 is filled in from 
the report of warps on hand prepared 
by second hand on coarse side at the 
end of each day. He also prepared 
list of section heams. The standards 
for l-12s were as follows: 

276 threads, 329 pounds. 

280 threads, 333 pounds. 

292 threads, 347 pounds. 

300 threads, 357 pounds. 

From these standards all sets tak- 
ing number 12 were made from this 
list that the overseer made out. 

SLASHERS' SLIPS 
meeting weave room call as indicated 



BLBACBtING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



693 



at column 6 of Table 7. Table 9 shows 
the method of making out the slashers' 
slips on coarse numbers. 

You will note that this slip contains 
a list of section beams. The slasher- 
man, when he puts in his beams in 
slasher creel, marks opposite each 
beam on slip the actual weight of 
beam as found marked on head of 
beam. The slip will then contain the 
estimated pounds each beam contains 
and the actual number of pounds. The 
total of each list of weights will in- 
dicate the variation of the size of 
yarn. 

TABLE NO. 9. 
Slip issued to slasher. 
Style N. 
No. yarn 12. 
Beams. 

Threads. 280 Pounds. Threads 2,836 

280 

280 Gear 30-80 

280 

280 Length 66.50 

280 

280 Reed 18.18 

292 

292 Beam 40" 

292 

No. of slasher. . 8 

2,836 

After slashing, the slip is returned 
to the clerk who makes a record of 
standard pounds as well as actual. 
This is then sent to the office. Sets 
made from 18 or any other numlber 
are made only to the set as on fine 
side. 

Harness on coarse side was desig- 
nated by number of heddles per inch 
in single shade. The shafts are all 
colored, there being a special color for 
num'ber or kinds of harness. The stock 
of harness is listed and also the reeds. 

In the fine v. imfcers, there are in 
most cases 3 beams from 1 tieover, as 
shown at Table 3. It has been my 
experience that it is almost impossible 
to get a good run out in slasher of set 
of beams when more than one beam is 
made from one tieover. The beam 
that is made from the top of the spool 
is longer than the beam made from the 
bottom of the spool. A 

SET OF BEAMS 
should be made ai^ on the same warp- 
er. When warping for looms and more 
than one style to the same warper is 
wanted, it is best to warp beams to a 
uniform number of threads and make 



a special beam for each set, making 
up the difference. All beams are made 
to a standard of threads and length. 
This is on file in the office, and any 
new standard is reported and made 
record of. 

When a warper has finished a beam, 
the warper man takes it off and weighs 
it and puts on a beam slip, on which 
is written number of yarn, threads on 
beam, warper's number and net 
pounds and style heam is intended for. 
Warper is paid hy the pound and re- 
ceives credit for pounds' weight. 

A list is made out each day of the 
beams warped, their actual weight and 
standard weight. This is reported 
to the main office and to the carding 
or spinning offices where standards, 
pound weight of beam and actual 
pound weight will be compared and 
variations of size of yarn noted. The 
warper production is carder and spin- 
ner's pound production. 

When a set is ready for the slasher 
a slip is made out as follows: 

style 1389. No. of yarn, 1/50. 

Beams. Actual lbs. 

650 Threads 3268 

650 

650 Gear 32 

650 

668 Length 55-59 

3.268 Slasher No. 2. Beam 44" 

This slip is given to the slasher man, 
who, on receiving beam, checks it off 
on slip, the actual pounds opposite 
each beam. Books of sets are kept by 
the clerk. Entries are made every 
morning from slips of all sets made 
on previous day, and also number of 
beams in set and aggregate of pounds 
weight of the whole set of style. All 
entries are copied on a slip and sent 
to the main office. 

Five slashers are used for fine num- 
bers, consisting of one double cylin- 
der and four air-drying machines, hav- 
ing instead of cylinders air chambers, 
the yarn heing dried with hot air 
which is kept in circulation by suction 
fans. This system has much to rec- 
ommend it, with 

SOME DISADVANTAGES; 
in drying sheets it leaves the yarn in 
a condition to open up more freely at 
dividing rods. As the sheet doubles 



694 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



apon itself five times, the probability 
of the sheet sagging at any of the 
reaches is required to be kept in mind, 
and to prevent this the operative may 
weight the yam too much in front. The 
lighter the sheet, the greater the dif- 
ficulty, and as we had some very light 
sheets to run through even to the 
single beam, we contracted the sheet, 
which was the most effectual way to 
run it. 

The slasher then received the 
various beams for his set and put 
them in the stands at the back of 
slasher, latching beam in doubles, us- 
ing half reed to hold sheet spread to 
its width when brought up to back 
of size box. Here latch onto sheet in 
slasher, double strings being put in be- 
tween each beam. When this is done, 
squeeze rolls set down and immersion 
roll wound down, the machine is start- 
ed slow speed. As sheet goes through 
rolls, each string is carefully examin- 
ed to see that it is all right. When 
strings reach front, dividing rods are 
passed through between the strings. 
This separates each thread in the 
sheet. Before putting in rods, the 
loom beam of old set was taken off, 
the raddle reversed and the rods tak- 
en out. The new sheet was worked 
over to a width evenly distributed, 
i'hen the raddle was struck. This is 
where slasher man shows his greatest 
kill. The way the sheet is in the rad- 



dle has much to do with conditions of 
loom beam. It is so important that 
threads be in raddle evenly in fine 
numbers it is sometimes required that 
threads he picked in so many per dent. 
Web was then 

CLAMPED TO BEAM 

when sheet was raddled to its width. 
Rules on taping or putting in strings 
were done to each set of numbers as 
follows: Number 40, 50, 60, 70 once 
each beam; number 80, 90 and 105 
twice each beam. When beam was 
full, a reed clamp was put on. The 
size was in the basement and pumped 
up and kept in circulation, the over- 
flow returning to supply. The size 
was made in tanks and run into sup- 
ply vat. 

Five slashers were used for coarse 
work, these slashers being cylinder 
slashers. We ran some very large and 
very small sets from 3 to 18 beams 
and there was but little difference in 
the manipulation of the two kinds of 
slashers. 

Table 10 is a series of tabulated siz- 
ing formulas for cotton sizing, giving 
the pounds of ingredients to the 100 
gallons. All of these formulas are 
used in mills of the highest reputation. 

Pounds solids, specific gravity, per- 
centage solution and the price have 
their place in this table. 



TABLE NO. 10. 
Cotton sizing formulas. 



Agents. 



o 




m 








cS 


a 






o 


pq 



p. starch 

T. gum 

Tragasol 

Dextreen 

Imperial sizeen . 

Sugar 

Tallow 

Solids, pounds . . 

Pp. gr 

Per cent solution 

Price 

Caustic soda . . . . 
Alum 



1 

67 


95 


9 






8 


15 






5.4 


80 


80 


1080 


1080 


8.0 


8 


$3.53 
1 


?4.37 
Va pt. 



2.5 
45 

1045 
4.5 

$3.24 



1.5 

27 

1027 

2.7 

$1.94 



2.5 I 

40 

1040 

4 

$2.97 



5 

61 

1061 

6.1 

$4.47 



62 

1062 

6.2 

$5.50 

29 oz. 



50 
100 



54 

1054 

6.4 

$7.83 



BLJEACtlING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



695 



I estimate to size 8 pounds of cot- 
ton per gallon of solution. Its 
iSPECIFIC GURAVITY 
indicates the added weight to the yarn. 
Added weight is not always desirable, 
and if sizing is for weaving only, the 
less the better when weavable. There 
are ingredients such as gum tragasol 
used which has for its principal rec- 
ommendation this very feature, giv- 
ing the same results with so much 
less added weight. 

Having a uniform size is of the 
greatest importance. The overseer 
sometimes ifinds that he is not getting 
it and learns this from the weave 
room. The slasher and size-maker in- 



sist it was the same as before. I 
would suggest the following method to 
test size for heft. When you have the 
size you think is right, measure out 
five gallons, weigh it and insist that 
this test is made frequently. It should 
always weigh the same. It is neces- 
sary that it should be the same tem- 
perature. 

Productions of slasher single cylin- 
ders I estimate 4 pounds per minute, 
allowing 25 per cent of running time 
for delays. Starch should not be 
cooked more than 20 minutes after 
granules break. 

Starch should not be cooked more 
than 20 minutes after granules break. 



The Development of the 

Mercerizing Process 



It may not be generally known, but 
it is a fact that mercerization in its 
present form is a comparatively re- 
cent development. Inasmuch as there 
are a number of interesting features 
regarding the development of the 
process from the earliest times when 
it was first used, the facts of the 
development may be highly desirable 
at this time 

John Mercer, from whom the proc- 
ess derives its name, was a calico 
printer, and in the pursuit of his occu- 
pation, he accidentally discovered that 
when caustic soda was brought in con- 
tact with cotton material there was 
an extensive shrinkage of the ma- 
terial, both in the warp and filling. 
When he discovered this fact, numer- 
ous experiments showed him that the 
shrinkage might be somewhat over 
20 per cent, and beside this, such ma- 
terial would have a much greater 
affinity for dyestuffs than if it had 
not been so treated. Patents were 
granted for the process, and at a num- 
ber of times he had satisfactory offers 



for the use of the process. He re- 
fused all offers, however, and never 
succeeded in getting any rewards for 
his invention. The 

MAIN REASON 

for this was because the process as 
he had patented it, applied only to 
the shrinkage and not to the results 
as now obtained. Manufacturers 
found that the shrinkage made cloth 
more expensive, and not only this, 
but it would wear longer with a con- 
sequent smaller demand, and they were 
not enthusiastic about its use. The 
process was, however, kept in mind 
by many up-to-date manufacturers, and 
was used somewhat. One of the large 
uses before being adapted to present- 
day methods was in the making of 
fabrics with a crepe top, or a slightly 
puffed surface appearance in various 
patterns. This was accomplished 
through the use of cotton yarn for the 
backing of the cloth and worsted or 
silk for the face. When such a cloth 
wag mercerized, it caused the back of 



696 



BLEAOHING, DYEING ANt) FINISHING 



the fabric to shrink up, creating a 
crepe or bunched effect on the sur- 
face. This process is utilized some- 
what to-day for similar materials. 

LUSTRE FOUND AC€IDENTALLY. 

The results of mercerization as 
noted today were obtained in an acci- 
dental manner. A dyer who was at- 
tempting to produce a level shade on 
a fabric composed of silk and cotton 



time is dated the present development 
of the mercerizing process as to-day 
noted. Naturally 

PATENTS WERE TAKEN OUT 

in various countries. In America. 
H. A. Lowe took out a patent in 1891 
and Thomas & Prevost in 1895. It. 
may not be generally known, but it 
is a fact, nevertheless, that various 
manufacturers in America used the 




Automatic Mercerizing Machine for Skein Yarn. 



found that the dyestuffs which he used 
did not dye the silk and cotton the 
same colors. Remembering that the 
process of mercerization made cotton 
yarn take color faster than under 
other conditions, he decided to mer- 
cerize the cloth to see if the results 
were not more satisfactory. Knowing 
that mercerization w"ould shrink the 
material, and as loss of length was 
not desired, he mercerized the ma- 
terial under tension and was surprised 
to find that the result gave a high 
lustre to the yarn and made the silk 
and cotton cloth appear very much 
like a whole silk fabric. From this 



process because the patents were not 
believed to he binding. Of course, 
they kept the facts in the dark re- 
garding the use of the process, as 
they did not want to pay royalties on 
the patents. They had various ma- 
chines built to suit their needs, but 
did not disclose the fact to other 
manufacturers. There were a large 
number of manufacturers who did not 
use the process, thinking they might 
have trouble if they did. Litiga- 
tion was conducted over the situation, 
but in 1901, or thereabouts, the situa- 
tion was definitely settled and the 
patents which had been granted were 



SLEACttlNG, DYEING AND FINISHING 



697 



found to be not binding, and from this 
time dates the present increased use. 
It will thus be noted that the large 
use is of comparatively recent date. 

FEATURES OF THE PROCESS. 

Continued use has shown very few- 
different results than that noted by 
Mercer when first patented. The 
process is used with a solution of 
5ibout 30 degrees Baume, and at a 
temperature of 65 degrees Fahrenheit. 
If a cooler solution is used, say, about 
36 degrees Fahrenheit, a solution of 
about 18 to 20 degrees Baume will 
produce nearly the same results. The 
length of time of exposure is not of 
BO large importance as: in most chem- 
fcal processes, ten to fifteen minutes 
being usually sufficiently long to com- 
plete the process. The only necessity 
is that the goods be thoroughly wet- 
ted through. As Mercer discovered 
at the time, no sizable contraction or 
mercerization is produced with a so- 
lution below ten degrees Baume, al- 
though, as stated previously, Mercer 
knew nothing about the lustrous re- 
sults. As mercerized goods take up 
the dyestuffs faster than ordinary 
cloth, it is customary to use what is 
called a retarder, so as to give a more 
level shade in dyeing. 

RESULTS TO THE FIBRE. 

When cotton fibre is mercerized, it 
is made rounder and smoother, more 
like a small, glass rod than it is in 
its original state, and because of this 
smoother appearance the light rays 
are reflected instead of being absorb- 
ed, and this produces the lustrous 
effect which is noted on this kind of 
material. The generally accepted 
theory regarding the change which 
takes place is that hydrate of cellu- 
lose is formed instead of the pure 
cellulose, which is in the original 
fibre, although this fact is by no means 
absolutely certain. Another feature 
which is noted, and one which many 
buyers and sellers of cloth have dis- 
puted, is the fact that the yarn or 
cloth so treated is stronger than it 
previously was. The amount of extra 
strength depends somewhat on condi- 
tions of operating and the amount of 
shrinkage allowed, but in all cases 
there is an added strength, whether 



buyers believe it or not. The reason 
why buyers have believed that there 
is less strength to mercerized cloth 
has been due to the 

CONSTRUCTION OF CLOTH 
and yarns used rather than the 
fact that the process made yarn weak- 
er. As many manufacturers and some 
buyers know, the more nearly parallel 
glass rods or cotton fibres or any 
other materials are, the larger the 
amount of lustre produced. In order 
to obtain the greatest amount of lustre 
possible in the making of mercerized 
fabrics, it is customary to use a 
smaller amount of twist per inch in 
the yarn than for most other kinds 
of fabrics. If hard twisted yarn be 
used, very little lustre is produced. 
This is shown very clearly by the 
hard twisting of silk yarn. Ordinarily 
silk yarn, due to its rod-like appear- 
ance, has a large amount of lustre, 
but if it be hard twisted, a large part 
of the sheen or gloss is destroyed, 
and the same thing happens to cotton 
yarn which is to be mercerized. This 
explains the reason why many of the 
mercerized cloths are not so strong as 
those iin mercerized. In other words, 
standards of twist have not been used 
which give the highest percentages of 
strength, and of two identical yarns, 
one mercerized and the other not, 
the mercerized yarn will have more 
strength. 
PRESENT-DAY DEVELOPMENTS. 
In order to obtain satisfactory weav- 
ing yarn, it has been found that the 
best results are produced through the 
use of two-ply yarns. That is, if 
enough twist were inserted in a sin- 
gle yarn to make it satisfactory to 
handle, the mercerization would not 
be highly lustrous, while if a small 
amount of twist were inserted the 
yarn could not be handled; therefore, 
in most mercerized yarns two-ply is 
generally used, with a soft twist. 
When cloth is mercerized, it is more 
often the case that single soft twist 
filling yarn is used. Single filling yarn 
can be woven with a small enough 
amount of twist to give satisfactory re- 
sults, and it is the application of mer- 
cerization to yarded goods which is to- 
day making one of the greatest develop- 



6d8 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



ments in the manufacturing of cot- 
ton goods. Five years ago there were 
very few fabrics being produced which 
were mercerized, but to-day there are 
numberless varieties with an ever in- 
creasing quantity. Talte, for instance. 



but the only necessity is that the 
solution be concentrated enough and 
that tension be applied while the so- 
lution is on the material. In mer- 
cerizing the skeins it has been found 
that because of the extra length In 




Skein Mercerizing IVlachipe — Yarn Frame Ready for Loading. 



many of the poplin cloths which are 
being produced. These are made with 
a soft twist two-ply warp, and are 
mercerized with the tension placed on 
the warp yarn, making that lustrous. 
Take many lines of shirting and waist- 
ing fabrics. These are made in vari- 
ous constructions with soft twist sin- 
gle filling and the tension is placed 
on the cloth width, ma;king the filling 
lustrous and giving highly desirable 

PRINCIPLES OF THE PROCESS. 
Yarn is mercerized in the skein 
form and also in the form of warps, 



some rounds, or the laying of one 
strand upon another, various 
strands are not mercerized to the 
same extent, and this creates, or is 
liable to create, somewhat uneven 
dyeing. The process is, however, 
used quite extensively, but it does 
not give so satisfactory results as 
where the yarn is mercerized in a 
warp form. Practically all of yam I 
treated in this manner is of two-ply J 
nature. When cloth is mercerized in 
which soft twist filling is used, the 
only necessity is that it be held out 
in width while being treated. This 



BLBAiOHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



699 



is done in a number of ways, one 
through the holding of the cloth in 
a similar manner to that of ordinary- 
tendering machines, while another 
consists of running the cloth through 
a solution from one roll to another 



others of shorter character. To-day, 
the process is applied to ordinary up- 
land and peeler cottons, in addition 
to the longer kinds. Recently, fabrics 
which ha,ve been made of yarns no 
better than those used in ordinary 




Skein Mercerizing Machine — Yarn Frame Lowered Into Caustic. 



in a tightly stretched condition, and 
when wound on the roll, the tightness 
makes shrinking impossible to only a 
slight extent. 

NMW USES. 
Most of the people connected with 
the mercerizing of cloth a compara- 
tively few years ago believed that no 
satisfactory use could be made of the 
process excepting for cotton of quite 
long staple, either iSea Island or 
Egyptian. The reason for this was be- 
cause they believed the long fibres al- 
lowed a less amount of twist and gave 
better results, which naturally is true, 
but the process was more expensive 
at that time, and the enormous appli- 
cation has made it applicable not only 
to long staple materials, but also tp 



print cloths have been mercerized and 
the results have been entirely satis- 
factory, bringing a higher price and 
making the use of the process justi- 
fiable. The cost of mercerizing ranges 
about one-half a cent a yard, and it 
is very likely that in the future a 
iarge majority of fabrics which are 
now not mercerized will be mercer- 
ized, with a great improvement in the 
cloth to consumers. Probably no re- 
cent development has been of such 
great importance in the making of 
beautiful cloth as the increasing use 
of this process, although, of course, 
there are other reasons why cloth 
has improved in the past few years. 

USES FOR OTHER MATERIALS. 

Few have considered the uses whiQ& 



) 



700 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



are made to-day in cotton cloth fin- 
ishing of the mercerization process. 
Many of the beautiful voile fabrics 
now being produced have been mercer- 
ized. Of course, the yarn in these 
cloths is hard twisted, but there 
is a partial lustre and a round- 
ness of yarn obtained by this process 
which makes a better result, and it is 
used extensively. Then there are 
many crepe fabrics which are proc- 
essed in this manner, the shrinkage 
giving a drape which cannot be ob 
tained in any other way. Other uses 
are also found for the principle of 
mercerization. Many of the seersuck- 
er effects which are noted in the retail 
stores are produced in this manner. 
Most of these effects are stripes, and 
they are produced by printing stripes 
on the cloth, and where mercerization 
takes effect the cloth shrinks, making 
the non-mercerized portion crinkle up, 
giving a novel effect which forms a 
distinct style. Then the principle of 
mercerizing is also used in the mak- 
ing of two-tone effects. The cloth is 
printed with the pattern as desired, 
and where the mercerized portion is 
vv^hen the fabric is dyed the color will 
be darker, due to the affinity for color, 
and the other portion of the cloth will 
be lighter. The increase in use has 
evolved so rapidly that few have real- 
ized it. In the foregoing description, 
we have given but few of the uses 
made and only general descriptions of 
the ones noted. There is no question 
but that future possibilities will show 
a still larger likelihood ol increase. It 
is such developments as this which 
give cloth the variety and the appear- 
ance which consumers desire, and 
which makes the industry a continu- 
ally progressing one. What the situ- 
ation means can be stated briefly by 



saying that it has almost revolution- 
ized the making of shirting and other 
cloths. Mills which formerly obtained 
large orders for shirtings now find 
themselves obtaining few orders and 
new mills are making many of the 
new kind of fabrics. 

PRICE REDUCTIONS TO FOLLOW. 

Another feature which is highly de- 
sirable and which ultimately will be 
more conspicuous than at present will 
be the reduction in price to con- 
sumers. Many fabrics are now being 
sold in the grey state by mills at any- 
where from 71 to 15 cents a yard and 
which are retailing at 25 to 50 cents 
and even more a yard. When compe- 
tition becomes more strenuous among 
buyers, prices will naturally be lower. 
The reason they have not been re- 
duced much up to the present time is 
because most of the cloth has been 
used by shirt manufacturers and 
others who cut up material, and the 
only sizable portions appearing at re- 
tail have been those which have gone 
through the above sellers and have 
been sold as an excess of cloth. Soon 
new lines sold through regular chan- 
nels will be offered and reductions 
will be noted. The process of mer- 
cerization undoubtedly has been of 
great value to the textile industry, 
probably of as large value as any- 
thing else, excepting possibly the in- 
troduction of colors fast to bleach- 
ing, but it can be said that these two 
processes are more or less bound up 
together and apply to the same cloths, 
and together they offer more possi- 
bilities than any other one process 
ever introduced. More will be shown 
in advancement in the next five years 
than has yet been noted from these 
two processes. 



Machinery for Print Works 



"A line of printing machines an 
eighth of a mile long." This is the 
way an official of the Pacific Mills 
Corporation speaks 
New Printing concerning the size 
Plant of their new printing 

plant at Lawrence, 
Mass. As stated in the American 
Wool and Cotton Reporter last July, 
the new Pacific Print Works will cen- 
tralize all of the printing machines 
owned by the corporation. The ma- 
chines of the Cocheco Mill, Dover, 
New Hampshire, will be combined 
with those now in Lawrence, and 
those purchased from the Hamilton 
Company of Lowell, last summer. At 
the start, 50 printing machines will 
be installed in the new mill. 

The new Pacific Print Works are lo- 
cated near the Wood Worsted Mill. 
A large new power house has been 
built. This power house will be fitted 
out in the most up-to-date manner. 
Upon the same site, and in connec- 
tion with the new power plant and 
print mill, there is to be a new dye- 
house. 



Textile machinery for different 
kinds of work requires various types 
of drives. Certain machines which are 

always operated to- 
Specialized gether can be 
Drives driven economically 

in groups. Machines 
which are in themselves separate 
units, use individual electric motors 
to great advantage. 

Some special advantages of the 
modern induction motor have been 
mentioned frequently in the American 
Wool and Cotton Reporter. They 
are admirably suited for operating 
the majority of textile machinery. 
Machinery which requires some ar- 
rangement for frequently changing 
its speed does not lend itself readily 
to the use of induction motors. One 
point in favor of the induction motor 



for much of the machinery found in 
textile mills is the fact that the speed 
is constant. Induction motors can 
be made for various speeds, but they 
are not economical in their use of 
electricity, and cannot be recommend- 
ed for mill work. 



Machines for printing cloth require 
variable speed drives. Some will ar- 
gue that for this reason the electric 
transmission of pow- 

Printing Ma- er for printing ma- 
chines chines is not advis- 
able. To be sure in 
textile mills, alternating current mo- 
tors have many advantages over those 
operated by direct current. This, in 
no way proves that it is unwise to 
drive printing machines by direct cur- 
rent electric motors. This is the 
question: Which is best and most 
economical in the long run, individual 
motor drives with direct current mo- 
tors, or one of the various mechani- 
cal methods? 

Printing machines are driven at 
various speeds according to the grade 
of the fabric being printed, and ac- 
cording to the pattern which is be- 
ing applied. If the pattern is a sim- 
ple one using little color, the machine 
may be driven much faster than when 
a complicated design is used. By 
complicated, we mean one so con- 
structed that a slight displacement 
of any part of the design will cause 
the colors to blur. As soon as cloth 
leaves a printing machine it is pass- 
ed over hot drums which dry the 
color. Drying machines are made so 
that the number of drying drums in 
use is variable. When all of the dry- 
ing surfaces are employed it is evi- 
dent that the cloth cannot be run 
through the printing machine liany 
faster than it can be dried. In print- 
ing upon silk or the better grades 
of cotton, more care is used than 
upon cheap fabrics. The machines 



702 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



printing high-priced materials are per day when at work upon certain 

generally operated slower than those patterns. 

on the inexpensive lines. Printing machines should be run as 




Fig. 35. An Eight-Color Printing iVIachine. 



Production 



The amount of cloth which can be 
printed in a day by one machine va- 
ries to an extent which illustrates 
well the necessity of 
variable speed drives. 
The superintendent 
of a well-known New 
England printing company states that 
one machine can at times t>..rn out 
50,000 yards of cloth per day. He 
also adds that the same machine is 
Umite4 to from 12,000 to 15,000 yards 



fast as is possible without sacrificing 
the quality of the work. If three or 
four fixed speeds are the only ones 
available, there may be times when 
none of them are just suited to the 
work in question. The greater num- 
ber of different speeds means that the 
maximum production is more fre- 
quently obtained. 

Figure 35 shows a typical eight- 
color printing machine. The term 
"eight-color" refers to tUe number of 



dleajChing, dyeing and finishing 



703 



colors that it is possible to print at 
one time. Ttie pattern to be used for 
a certain "run" of cloth is etched 
upon copper rollers. There are as 
many copper rollers used at one time 
as there are colors in the particular 
pattern. Three of these copper rollers 
are shown at !F, Fl and F2, Figure 
35. To more clearly understand the 
importance of proper speed regulation 
for printing machines, we will con- 
sider briefly the method of prepar- 
ing and using the copper roils. 

The designer prepares a small -draw- 
ing of the design, or if a sample of 
the printed fabric is at hand, this is 

turned over to the 
Preparing engraving depart- 

the Rolls ment. There are two 

distinct methods of 
transferring this design to a set of 
copper rollers. It may be done by the 
use of a small dye, or pantograph ma- 
chines may be used in connection with 
a cut zinc plate. For some patterns, 
one method is the better and for some 
the other is considered more economi- 
cal. We will first outline the man- 
ner in which the rolls are prepared 
with the use of the pantograph ar- 
rangement. 

The samples of print goods, or the 
drawings made by the designer are 
small. These are put into a special 

enlarging camera and 

The Camera their enlarged repro- 

Room duction thrown upon 

a piece of white pa- 
per. The sketch maker marks the 
general shape and outline of the pat- 
tern upon the paper used as the 
screen. This gives him a rough sketch 
four or five times as large as the sam- 
ple. It is a rough drawing, but gives 
the relative size and position of the 
various details. The sketch maker 
takes this sketch to the drawing table 
and quickly outlines the figures with 
clean finished lines. 

It must be remembered that only 
such portions of the pattern that are 
of the same color are engraved upon 
the same copper roller. The next step 
in the process is that of transferring 
certain parts of the design to zinc 
pla,tes. "We will digress for a mo- 
i4lP|iit, however, and explain the ob- 



ject of the pantograph machine. The 
zinc plate is used with the panto- 
graph machine, and by describing the 
machine first it is easy to see the 
reason for using the plate. 

As the design to be transferred to 
tne cloth is repeated several times 
within the width of the fabric, 

it is clear that the 
Pantograph figure must be en- 
Machine graved several times 

in the space between 
the two ends of the roll. One object 
of the pantograph machine is to trans- 
fer all of these duplicate figures, along 
the entire length of the roll, at one 
operation. By tracing the pantograph 
pointer over any design tha drawing is 
scratched upon the surface of the cop- 
per roller by diamond points. The 
figure is repeated along the length of 
the roll as many times as there are 
diamond points, which depends upon 
the length of the roll and the charac- 
ter of the design. The pantograph re- 
produces the figures upon the roll hut 
reduces their size. If the original 
sample is enlarged four times in the 
camera room, the pantograph will be 
set to reduce four times, thus giving 
the same size to the figure upon the 
roil as that upon the sample. 

It can be seen that it would be im- 
possible for any one to run the panto- 
graph pointer over the drawing sev- 
eral times and each 
time trace the lines 
accurately. By cut- 
ting the drawing in 
a zinc plate, it hecomes easy to trace 
the pointer within the grooves. 
As soon as the enlarged drawing is 
finished, the figure is engraved upon 
a zinc plate, hut the entire pattern is 
not engraved upon a single zinc plate, 
for as many plates are made for one 
pattern as there are rolls required, 
and one roll is required for each color 
used upon the cloth. 

Supposing, for example, that the 
pattern is to be printed in two col- 
ors, red and pink. All parts of the 
design which are to be printed red 
will be cut upon one zinc plate and 
those which are to be printed pink 
will be engraved upon another. The 
first plate will be used upon the pan- 



Zinc Plates 



704 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



tograph machine for marking the roll 
to be used for printing the red color, 
and the second plate will be used for 
preparing the copper roll which is to 
print the pink portion. 

Any uneven lines or other inac- 
curacies in the drawihg as engraved 
upon the zinc plate become much 
less noticeaible in the 
Object of En- reduced drawing 

largement transferred to the 
copper roll. Enlarg- 
ing the original design gives a draw- 
ing large enough to work upon with- 
out trouble. The drawing need not 
be finished as carefully as it would 
have to be were the reduction proc- 
ess eliminated. 

The figures are repeated around the 
circumference of the roll, and in do- 
ing this, the proper spacing must be 
carefully determined. If but one color 
and one roll were to be used, the spac- 
ing would be important. In such a 
case, irregular spacing around the 
circumference of the roll would make 
the figure appear at unequal intervals 
upon the cloth. When using several 
rolls, only a portion of the pattern is 
printed with each. These various por- 
tions must be so spaced that they 
will properly register and print the 
complete design. Any irregularity in 
spacing will cause colors to overlap 
and blur. 

As stated, diamond points are used 
in the pantograph machines for mark- 
ing the rollers. These points do not 
cut into the copper 
Miarking to any extent. Rolls 

Rolls are prepared for the 

pantoigraphs by re- 
ceiving a coating of special varnish 
which is not affected by nitric acid. 
The diamond points remove the var- 
nish and expose fine lines of uncov- 
ered copper. After the pantograph 
marking is completed, the roll is 
placed in a solution of dilute nitric 
acid. The acid does not act upon the 
varnished portion of the roll but 
etches all parts which have been mark- 
ed with the diamond points. 

Men in charge of the acid etching 
become so accustomed to the process 
that they can tell by observation 
when a roll is finished. The strength 



of the acid is constantly changing, 
and it is impossible to give any def- 
inite length of time that the rolls 
should remain in the acid. Rules have 
been derived, but as the acid is con- 
stantly growing weaker, the practical 
workman will generally depend upon 
his own judgment. 

The other method of preparing rolls 
is equally interesting, and will be 
considered later. Imperfect spacing 
of the design upon 
Wrong the various rollers 

Spiacing will cause poor re- 

sults. In the same 
way, wrong roller speeds will cause 
trouble. If each roll is not revolved 
at the proper speed, the different parts 
of a pattern will not properly register. 
Patterns whose parts do not register 
will leave spaces uncolored where 
print should appear, and will cause 
certain colors to overlap and blur. 
With a set of rolls properly engraved 
and a printing machine correctly ad- 
justed, it is economy to run cloth 
through as fast as possible. As stated, 
the character of the pattern and 
amount of color determines the proper 
speed. 

Various arrangements of belting 
with different diameter pulleys are 
used in some printeries. Some drive 
a group of printing 
machines by a small 
direct connected 
steam engine, and 
others make use of variable speed 
electric motors. 

Printing machines should be start- 
ed gradually and slowly. Shocks 
caused by sudden applications of pow- 
er should be avoided. 
_. .. The American Print- 

btarting j^^ Company of Fall 

River have some ma- 
chines driven by individual motors, 
and some operated by pulleys and 
beltings. The electric drive is giving 
good results, and it is the company's 
intention to do away with mechanical 
drives on all printing machines. 

Direct current motors rated at 15- 
horse power are used. Each printing 
machine delivers the printed -fabric 
to a set of heated druhis, kndwti as 
the drying machine. At the American 



The Drive 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



705 



Printing Company, one electric motor 
is used for operating a printing ma- 
ctiine and the drying machiine. Both 
machines are operated together and 
form one unit well suited for electric 
drives. 

The American Printing 'Ct)mpany 
operate some of their machines from 
electric motors placed in the room 

ibelow the printing 
Electric machinery. The mo- 

Motors tor is placed upon a 

platform fastened to 
the ceiling, and the printing machine is 
driven by a chain which runs through 
the floor. The chain drives the shaft 
upon which the large gear (N, Figure 
35) is fastened, and this large gear 
turns the various copper rolls through 
small gears. One of the small gears 
is shown at P, Figure 35. 

There are 97 direct current motors 
in the different departments of the 
American x-rinting company. Some 
of the machinery is driven mechani- 
cally, but in the near future it is prob- 



able that all power will be delivered 
electrically. 

When driving printing machines 
with direct current motors, the start- 
ing box, or controller, is placed near 
the front of the print machine. This 
can be done regardless of the motor 
location. 

Direct current is generated by five 
machines. Four of these are driven 
by belts from one cross compound 

engine. Two of tlie 
Power generators are rated 

Supply at 300 kilowatts 

each, one at 200 kilo- 
watts and one at 150 kilowatts. This 
represents a total of 950 kilowatts, 
which is equivalent to nearly 1,300- 
horse power. There is also a tandem 
engine, which is direct connected to 
a 500-kilowatt machine. Power is de- 
livered mechanically by one cross com- 
pound unit and one single cylinder en- 
gine. These two engines deliver ap- 
proximately 7i50-horse power. 



Dyehouse Management 



SOME ECONOMIC FEATURES 



To manufacture colored goods suc- 
cessfully requires the careful manage- 
ment of a well-equipped coloring de- 
partment. Ttie proiblems of this de- 
partment are many and very intricate. 
No matter bow well laid out or con- 
veniently arranged the dyeing ma- 
chinery is, or however competent the 
management may be, it requires the 
closest application to the study of its 
daily needs and standard of mainte- 
nance in order to keep aJbreast of the 
times. In this line of work, different 
from all others, there is an especially 
keen competition with which to square 
up constantly. 

Let us consider as briefly as pos- 
sible, some of the many things which 
count for success in the organization 
of the coloring department. In the 



flrst place, th.e location must be at a 
point where it will be the most con- 
venient to receive the material to be 
dyed and for the distribution of the 
same after it is colored. There must 
also be ample storage space for the 
grey yarrs received and the finished 
product released. 
To enumerate 
1 xlE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS 
of an ordinary dyehouse, they are as 
follows: 1. Grey yarn storage room. 
2. Boiling out. 3. Bleachery. 4. Blue 
dips. 5. i'urkey reds. 6. Blacks. 7. 
Browns. 8. Fancy colors. 9. Raw 
stock dyeing all colors. 10. Drying 
machines. 11. Dyestuffs vault. 12. 
Laboratory. 13. Drug and mixing 
rooms. 14. Yam printing. 15. Over- 
seer's office. 



706 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



Having tli© dyehouse quarters well 
laid out, and with all necessary equip- 
ment ta proceed with the operations, 
it is now necessary to have one of the 
most competent dyers available. This 
position needs to be filled by a man 
who not only thoroughly understands 
his business, but also by one who has 
a large capacity for details and hard 
work and is willing to apply himself 
patiently and with a generous dis- 
position to the intricate daily tasks 
peculiar to this branch of the trade, 
and with those with whom he comes 
into daily contact. In this process, 
as in all others, the aim is to handle 
a maximum amount of goods at a 
low cost and still have the work of ex- 
ceptionally high grade. Between the 
start and the finish there is a vast 
amount ol detail to be considered and 
handled. But, in the main, the quality, 
production and costs are tlie chief 
features which must emerge from the 
details handled. The quality of the 
goods dyed depends particularly upon 
the following 

IMPORTANT DETAILS: 
1. That the yarns passed through 
the dyehouse come out unimpaired in 
strength. Injury to the yarns may oc- 
cur in several ways. The yarn may be 
strained by too much tension between 
rolls at different points; it may be 
burned as a whole or in spots by the 
different acids and other chemicals, or 
it may actually be decayed by passing 
through too slowly. It may also be 
worn out in general by too much proc- 
essing, or it may be worn out in parts 
by imperfectly faced rolls. Ihere may 
also be cut yam caused by protruding 
obstacles in the vats or rolls. There 
may also be snarled yarn from careless 
handling. Snailed and broken yarn 
can happen a great deal on account 
of slivers or noils and screws around 
the yarn cases and trucks. All these 
should he canvas lined. It may also 
be stained in various ways. 

The colors have a whole catalogue 
of virtues to be cultivated. They must 
be fast, match the shade desired, be 
evenly distributed and lustrous. These 
are the chief qualities which must be 
preserved into the lasting or good 
wearing qualities of the cloth. A color 



that merely looks well on the surfaca 
of the cloth, but without lasting qual- 
ity, soon becomes as ugly in appear- 
ance as an unpainted weather-.beaten 
country barn, or a fast color that is 
lifeless deadens the patterns. A shade 
should be bright and make the pat- 
terns stand right out. 

Any color has remarkably good stay- 
ing qualities when it has most of the 
following virtues to its credit: Fast- 
ness to light, ironing, rubbing, wash- 
ing, millinig, steaming, boiling soda, al- 
kali, chlorine, boiling acid and per- 
spiration. Of course, not all colors are 
required to be fast. There are some 
goods which do not require fast colors, 
but fugitive colorings are not given 
unless especially specified. 'ihe cost 
in dyeing is a very interesting study. 
First, there is the labor cost of han- 
dling the yarns and dyestuffs; second, 
general labor; third, repairs and re-' 
uewals; fourth, supplies, and fifth, the 
cost of dyestuffs. 

The simplest form of cost finding, of 
course, is to divide the total number 
of pounds handled by the total amount 
of money paid out for everything in 
connection with the dyeing depart- 
ment, and this will give the general 
total cost per pound. Going a step 
further, it is better to divide the costs 
into the following groups: La- 
bor, general repairs, supplies 
and dyestuffs. While the first 
four items may average much 
the same from week to week, the cost 
per pound per color may change con- 
siderably on account of the rapid im- 
provements being made from time to 
time by the different dyestuff manu- 
facturers, also on account of changes 
from one season to another to lighter 
or darker colors. 

But the hest method of 

COST FINDING 

is to have a detailed cost sheet for 
each color. So great is the difference 
between certain very dark shades and 
otner very light shades that, unless 
a very careful c^st per pound is kept 
per color, the true cost of manufactur- 
ing particular grades in certain pat- 
terns of goods cannot be known, and 
money may be lost on account of not 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



?07 



having a detailed cost sheet for each 
color. 

There are many other matters which 
will cause the cost to vary from time 
to time. Some of these have tlieir 
inception in the dyehouse, while others 
may radiate from the office. To 
enumerate some of these causes, we 
can state that dyestuffs may vary 
some, same as the weather, stock to 
be dyed, the water, temperature, etc., 
so that if a set of chain yarn is not 
up to the shade after the usual num- 
ber of runs through the vats. It has 
to be run through again, or vice- 
versa, in case it is over-dye,d, it is 
necessary to strip the shade and then 
proceed again. 

If the depth of 'C^lor is ordered in- 
creased at the office, it will increase 
the cost. A more expensive quality of 
dyestuff, of course, will raise the cost. 
There may be accidents. If a belt 
breaks, or if a whole line of shafting 
is bereft of power, it will increase 
cost, besides spoiling the shade in 
spots. The variation in size or number 
ber of the yam is 

ANOTHER CONSIDERATION. 
Whenever vats are cleaned out, or 
there is a general dyehouse scouring, 
liquors are wasted, and it requires 
extra labor, both increasing the cost. 
The dye liquors' of standing baths are 
also lost whenever it is necessary to 
shift vats to another color. A shortage 
of yam, or shortage of running time 
will increase the costs. The changing 
of styles from the light shades of the 
spring season to the heavy shades of 
the fail season will make a consider- 
able increase in cost Poor manage- 
ment on the part of the dyeing depart- 
ment, or the oflSce, is another costly 
item with which to reckon. 

Of course, there is every chance to 
practice great economy in the dyeing 
department, but it is not always econ- 
omy to use certain dyestuffs 'because 
they are cheap. I'he goods in any 
event must be dyed to suit the trade 
demands, whether they cost much or 
little. 

The following story well illustrates 
the point: 

"Economy is always admirable. A 
hatter was disgusted the other day 



with the economical spirit of a visitor 
to his shop. A tall man with gray 
hair entered with a soft felt hat. 

"Said he, 'How much will it cost to 
dye this hat to match my hair?" 

" 'About a dollar,' the hatter an- 
swered. 

" 'I won't pay it', he said. 'I can get 
my hair dyed to match the hat for a 
quarter.' " 

It makes a difference as to how 
adroitly everything is handled from 
start to finish. A competent dyer who 
is interested in his work, and a close 
student of the art, can save a great 
deal of money for his company. In a 
well-organized dyehouse. 

THE DYER 
will surround himself with the best 
of section men available. Each de- 
partment or section of the dyehouse 
will be covered by a man who can 
specialize and is particularly adapted 
to put the goods through that sec- 
tion. For example, at the bleachery, 
he will put a good bleacher. He will 
do the same at the blues and the reds, 
etp. He will also have a general assis- 
tant who goes from point to point, 
carefully observing each process. In 
the laboratory, which is a very im- 
portant department, there will be sta- 
tioned a competent chemist who will 
test all incoming dyestuff samples, 
and keep an accurate record of all 
details with reference to each sample. 
This work is very important, as this 
service is a check on the laboratory 
dyeing forinula of any particular dye- 
stuff given by the dyestuff manufac- 
turers. 

At first it would seem a loss of time 
and money to make local laboratory 
tests of any color which the most 
highly paid expert chemists have al- 
ready tried out, and given a correct dye- 
ing formula. But this is not so. The 
fact is that the formula which follows 
a new brand of dyestuff, when used 
again under the same conditions as 
the original directions, gives a re- 
sult, no doubt, near enough for all 
practical purpos :;. However, it is of- 
ten found that a sample dyeing at the 
mill, after following the manufactur- 
er's formula, does not give the same 
result. Here is wherein it pays to 



708 



BiLEACHiNG, DYEING AND FINISHING 



adapt the new formula to the local 
conditions with a small sample in the 
local laboratory, rather than take the 
risk of getting perhaps 1,000 pounds 
of yarn off shade, if directions are 
followed without trials. Sometimes it 
is only a slight change in formula that 
is necessary to adapt the same to the 
local conditions. For example, a labor- 
atory test may be made in New York 
or Europe, where a skein of 20s card- 
ed yarn is used. 

THE FORMULA USED 
is sent to a mill, where 60s combed 
work is in process. Every practical 
dyer knows that the same formula 
used on these two different yarns will 
also give two different tones of the 
same color. If the same formula is 
used on the same number of yarn, one 
made from nice, clean long stock and 
the other from cheap, short stock, 
two shades will be the result again. 
If the yarns are of same stock 
and the same number, but there is a 
great difference in the water of the 
two dyeings, the results will vary. It 
can, therefore, be seen that it is wholly 
a matter of good judgment on the 
part of the local dyer t> adapt the 
formula to his immediate conditions. 
It has even been found that while 
ordinary yams will take a certain 
color well, another lot of yarn could 
not he given the same shade at all. 
A dyer who is ac:;ustomed to using 
yarn from many sources knows at 
once just whose yarn will bleach the 
best, take light blues and pinks the 
best, etc., and he will select and ac- 
tually lay out the different makes of 
yam with special reference to cer- 
tain colors best adapted to them. 

Tf one yarn is stronger than anoth- 
er he will lay the stronger yarns aside 
for Turkey reds, blacks and dark 
browns, also for such colors that need 



a bleach bottom. He will take the 
cleanest and whitest yarn for the 
bleaching processes. 

Taking the breaking strength of the 
yarns, as received in the gray, and 
again after having been colored, is 
a prudent matter. If the dyer is given 
weak yarn to dye, the same yarn will 
be weak after dyeing, of course, but 
if good, strong yarn is weakened in 
tJie dyeing processes, it can be daily 
traced for the good of all. In other 
terms, the daily testing of yarn 
strength before and after dyeing is a 
check and protection for the dyer and 
all concerned. 

Keeping everything about the dye- 
house clean is also a paying under- 
taking. There should also be plenty 
of daylight. Passing upon the colors 
or matching the shades of the newly 
dyed sets of yarn to the standards is 
a very particular and interesting 
work, rhe dyer will be provided with 
a set of standard colors. It is prefer- 
able to have each color on a bobbin 
or grill by itself, wound on with a 
filling motion. This enables the dyer 
to pull off a little yarn from time to 
time, to make sure that the original 
shade is followed. The outside layers 
may become faded and lead the match- 
ing astray. Again, the standards have 
to be watched. Some colors may fade 
all the way through the yarn on the 
grill. iSo these standard sets have to 
be freshened with new types occasion- 
ally. 

Another standard set will be given 
to the receiver of the yam who is to 
put it through the mill. Ihis serves 
as a double check and is very helpful 
to the dyer and all concerned. Type 
sets are also stationed in the office, in 
the designing room, and other parts of 
the plant. This lines up everybody 
who has to do with the colors to stick 
to the shades wanted all the way- 
through the mill. 



Constituents of Sulphur Color Dyeing 



Probably in no other branch of the 
cotton dyeing industry is the same 
difficulty experienced and the varia- 
tion of results obtained as in the dye- 
ing of sulphur or sulphide colors, the 
different methods of dyeing, that is, 
in the skein, piece, long and short 
chains, and raw stock, exacting in 
each instance a thorough knowledge 
of the ingredients necessary for the 



matter upon the fibre, perhaps it 
would ibe well to enumerate them in 
the order of their importance: Sul- 
phide of sodium, sodium carbonate, 
common salt or Glauber's salt, with a 
reference to caustic soda and turkey 
red oil. 

The economical dyeing of sulphur 
colors depends first upon the degree 
of purity contained in the salts em- 







£.l'or /,A-< 



S'loor Li>ie 



To Tu-bi 



Sketch iUustrating the principle of softening water where a filtering plant is not installed. 
(A) Agitators — Can be revolved in either direction. 
1 B) Screened receptacle for adding soda ash to water. 

(C) Float to automatically cut off supply from settling chamber. Chambers are 12X12X12 
feet. 

Fig. 1. 



procedure to acquire uniform results. 
A-3 this article is to deal principally 
with the constituents required for the 
proper precipitation of the coloring 



ployed; second, the proper addition of 
same, and third, the maintaining of a 
clean-working, standing bath. It might 
be well at this point to emphasize 



710 



bleajching, dyeing and finishing 



the importance of having pure or 
nearly pure water for all branches of 
dyeing, since it is the most im- 
portant requirement and the results 
obtainable are so often entirely de- 
pendent on its condition. By pure 
water, of course, we mean water that 
contains the least amount of foreign 
matter, which, from a textile viewpoint, 
indicates sulphates and bicarbonates 
of lime and magnesia or magnesium 
chloride, together with the presence 
of iron. 

xhe above, even when contained in 
moderate quantities, causes a 

DISASTROUS LOSS Ot' SOAPS, 

dyestuffs, and other chemicals by pre- 
cipitating them in the form of insolu- 
ble matter. The subject of water 
analysis covers too large a sphere to 
be classed under this article, but for 
ordinary purposes and cases where the 
water (iH20) is not too hard, an addi- 
tion of soda ash is very desirable, say 
3 pounds of soda ash to 1,000 gallons 
of water of 20 degrees hardness, boil- 
ing well to allow for a thorough mix- 
ture. Allow precipitate to settle for 
8 to 9 hours, or over night, when the 
clear water (H20) may be used. 

The only method to determine the 
hardness of water is by chemical 
analysis, the hardness being expressed 
by degrees, of which several countries 
have adopted their own standard, but 
from a specific viewpoint the English 
degree comprises 1 grain of calcium 
carbonate per gallon of water. Gen- 
erally speaking, no water exceeding 

20 TO 25 DEGREES HARDNBSIS 

should be used for dyeing in ma- 
chines. 

In the case of sulphur dyeing, a 
slight excess of soda ash added to the 
water is of no consequence. Where 
a filtering plant can be installed, it 
is advantageous not only to the dyer 
and bleacher but to the mill at large. 

The water being satisfactory, the 
ingredients now command bur atten- 
tion, and, as previously listed, we -first 
come to sulphide of sodium (Na2S), 
this product being put upon the mar- 
ket in two qualities, that is, crystal- 
lized and solid (or concentrated) so- 
dium sulphide, the crystallized brand 



having 9 molecules of water (Na2S 
plus 9H20), which contains in the 
vicinity of 32 to 33 per cent of pure 
sodium sulphide. 

The concentrated brand is 

UNDOUBTEDLY AS FAMILIAR, 

being of a greyish black color in ir- 
regular lumps. The principal trouble 
experienced in the use of Na2S is due 
to the fact that the salt has 'been ex- 
posed to the air, and being deliques- 
cent in nature, it absorbs carbon di- 
oxide, moisture, and oxygen from the 
air, partially converting it into a car- 
bonate of soda and sulphate (whitish 
powder), thus weakening it. This 
may be averted by keeping the salt 
in a dry place and well covered, also 
by not keeping a stock on hand for a 
considerable length of time. 

In dyeing light shades, the dyeing 
may be very often cloudy or of a dirty 
tone. This is probably caused by dis- 
solving the sodium sulphide solid and 
dyestuff together, as in the case 
of medium and dark shades. Where 
light shades are to be dyed, it is ad- 
visable to dissolve the dye powder in 
a clear solution of the salt, made by 
dissolving the solid sulphide in twice 
its weight of water, and, after allowing 
sediment to settle, drain off the clear 
solution to ibe used, jainough solution 
can be prepared in this manner for 
two or three days' work, and the re- 
sulting shades are worth the extra 
labor. 

Soda ash (iNa2003), or ammonia 
soda, the name being derived from its 
method of manufacture, contains 
about 

98% OF SODIUM CARBONATE. 

and is, therefore, approximately pure, 
aside from traces of common salt, 
which has no injurious effect. Gener- 
ally speaking, soda ash, prepared by 
the Solvay process, or by electrolysis, 
is sufficiently pure for all branches of 
dyeing. 

Finally, we have sodium chloride, or 
common salt, as it is familiarly 
called, obtainable through several 
sources, — ^from the rock, sea watei* 
and salt water. While it is used in 
the majority of cases in place of 
Glauber's salt in sulphur dyeing, ow- 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



711 



ing tx) the marked difference in cost, 
and is satisfactory to the average 
need, yet in cases where the salt con- 
tains some calcium and sodium sul- 
phate or magnesium chloride, which 
may unwittingly be used in connec- 
tion with water of no average degree 
of hardness, ib.e best results are not 
obtained. In such cases Glauber's salt 
in crystal form is preferable, chiefly 

)ecause it contains in the vicinity of 
45 per cent of pure anhydrous salt, 

the balance being water. The desic- 
cated salt may contain impurities, 
chiefly sulphuric acid (.H2S04). 

It is a good plan to test all salts 
for the presence of free acid. When 
we understand that salts act as level- 
ing agents, it can he readily seen that 
they should come in for a proper 
amount of attention. 

Aside from the ingredients generally 
used, a word on sodium hydroxide 



under treatment, and should be used 
beneficially on raw cotton and piece 
goods, in the former about 2 per cent, 
and in the latter 3 per cent on the 
weight of goods, adding the oil after 
the sodium carbonate has been 
added and the scum removed 
from the surface of the dye- 
liquor. Extreme care must be 
exercised in the use of oil so that 
the first wash water shall be soft, or 
the formation of a lime soap will re- 
sult, whicli will have a bad effect on 
the spinning of loose cotton and cause 
cloudy streaks, which will prove very 
diflacult to remove on piece goods. 

Regarding the actual dyeing process 
for sulphur colors, practice and an 
application of the foregoing state- 
ments will 

GIVE THE DESIRED RESULTS, 
various dyes having a procedure 




(I) Dyebath. 

(II) Rinsing bath. 

(A) Barrel containing dissolved dye elevated above dyebath. 

(B) Perforated trough across tub allowing for a uniform distribution of concentrated dye. 

(C) Feed pipe containing shut-off. 

Fig. 2. 



(NaOH), or caustic soda, and the use 
of turkey red oil in sulphur dyeing is 

ENTITLED TO A PLACE HERE. 
In the case of sulphur dyes, which 
decompose readily, the writer has 
found that an addition of NaOH is 
beneficial, and prevents undue subse- 
quent bleeding. Use about one-tenth 
as much caustic soda as color, and de- 
crease the amount of soda ash ac- 
cordingly. 

The use of Turkey red oil, as would 
be inferred, is to soften the material 



adapted solely to their own use, but 

below are listed a few general hints 

that have proved practicable and 

which may be of some assistance in 

specific cases: 

1. Sulphide. Use 1 to 4 per cent, 
according to oxidizing property of dye- 
bath and grade of material used. 

2. Use caustic soda with dyestuffs 
which decompose readily — about one- 
tenth the weight of color used. 

3. Boil up dyebath first with soda 
ash, 5 to 10 per cent. Remove skum 



?12 



BLEACHING, DYEING ANT) FINISHING 



and add dyestuff dissolved with neces- 
sary amount of sulphide; then add 
salt. 

4. Keep the temperature of dye- 
bath just ibelow the boil for best re- 
sults. 

5. If color comes up too heavy, it 
may be partially stripped by working 
in a hot bath with sulphide of sodium. 

6. It is economical to use the first 
rinsing water to boil up succeeding 
batches of dyestuff or to add to the 
standing bath, as it contains much 
coloring matter. 

7. In general, keep the specific 
gravity of standing baths for blacks 

and heavy shades above 10 degrees 
Twaddell. 

8. Before operating an old standing 
bath, boil up and test a drop of dye- 
liquor on filter paper. If color is uni- 
form on both sides of paper, the bath 



is in igood working condition; if not, 
determine what is lacking, and add 
necessary amount before proceeding 
with dyeing. 

9. On standing baths a reduction of 
materials as follows is possible: 

I. II. III. 

Dyestuff 10% 7 1/0% 5-6% 

Soda ash 10% 4-5 % 2-3% 

Sulphide 30% 15 % 10-12% 

Salt 50% 10-15 % 3-5% 

The diagram in i^'igure 2 illus- 
trates a method of using this type of 
dyestuff which has proven very suc- 
cessful where uniform results are re- 
quired, and is especially applicable for 
light shades. 

In Figure 2 no provision is made for 
saving the rinsing water, for, as in the 
case of light shades, the rinsing water 
does not contain enough dye matter 
to pay for its removal. 



Finishing Prints 



Machinery for printing upon silk, 
cotton, or any kind of cloth must be 
driven by variable speed apparatus. 
Electric motors of the 
Print direct current type 

Cloth lend themselves ad- 

vantageously for this 
work, but there are several different 
methods of regulating motor speeds. 
Each method has its own advantages, 
and local conditions often determine 
which type of motor control is best 
suited for any particular installation. 
In another issue of the American 
Wool and Cotton Reporter the differ- 
ent ways of utilizing electric motors 
for operating printing machines will 
be explained in detail. 

A printing machine stamps the pat- 
tern upon the cloth, but there are 
many other machines needed to pre- 
pare cloth for the printing and for 
finishing the fabric after it leaves the 
printing machine. Each process intro- 
duces certain power requirements. 
The amount of power needed is not 



large, but the choice of a proper ar- 
rangement is important. Drying ma- 




Fig. 50. Foot-power Sewing Machine. 

chinery, like the printing machinery, 
must be driven at different rates of 
speed, according to the grade of the 



BLEACHING, DYEING ANtO FINISHING 



713 



fabric printed and the character of 
the pattern. 



Some large cotton mills own their 
own print works and do their own 
printing and finishing, while others 
send their cloth to es- 
Converters and tablishments which do 
Owners the printing accord- 

ing to the cloth mill's 
instructions. In the latter case, a 
cloth mill will send a certain quantity 
of cloth in its unbleached, or grey, 
condition to the print works with sam- 




Fig. 52. A Set of Shear Blades. 



chines are upon the market which are 
fast coming into more general use. 
Figure 50 illustrates a type of foot 
power rotary sewing machine, which 
is used successfully in many printer- 
ies. As indicated, it is a small ma- 
chine, taking up little room, and can 
quickly be moved from place to place. 
The cloth is stretched onto the feed 
wheel, and is carried through by the 
machine so as to make an even seam 
free from wrinkles or puckers. The 
feed wheel is driven directly from the 
looper shaft by gearing, so that the 
relative speed of the feed wheel and 
the looper shaft always remains the 
same. It is evident why this relative 
speed should remain constant. If it 
did not, stitches would be uneven, and 
needles would become broken. Belted 



pies of the pattern they wish used. 
The print works will prepare copper 
rolls from the various samples and 
then print the cloth for so much a 
yard or according to any contract 
which may have been decided upon. 



Grey 
Room 

the cloth 



Cloth is received from the cotton 
mill, and samples and data concerning 
the amounts desired of each style are 
submitted to the print 
works. Work can be 
started at once upon 
the copper rolls but 
must be prepared and 
bleached before it is ready for the 
printing machine. As the cloth is re- 
ceived in its grey condition, the room 
where it is opened, examined and 
sewed together, is known as the grey 
room. If the print works is owned by 
the cotton mill, the cloth inspection 
is sometimes carried on in this de- 
partment. Where the finishing and 
printing is done by another concern, 
the cloth is generally inspected at the 
cloth mill. 



Grey cloth will be received at the 
grey room in lengths varying from 25 
to 80 yards. These pieces must first 
of all be opened up 
Sewing and sewed together. 

Machinery Often no power ma- 
chinery is used in 
this process, but power sewing ma- 




Shearing IVIachine. 



connections would allow some slip- 
page, but the gearing insures even 
work. 



PYom the grey room, the cloth gen- 
erally passes to the singeing ma- 
chines. Before the* pattern can be 

printed upon the cloth 

Removing the face must be 

Nap made as smooth as 

possible. If loose 
threads, nap, fuzz, etc., are not re- 
moved before the fabric is fed to the 
printing machines, the colors will run 
and blot. iShearing machines are 
often used for cutting off the heavy 
fuzz and loose threads, while the fine 
nap is burned off by the singer. When 
shearing machines are used, it is 
common to arrange them in direct 
connection with the singeing appara- 
tus, so that both operations are per- 
formed by practically one machine, 



714 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



which is made up of a shearer an-d 
singer. The machines may he inde- 
pendently arranged so that the cloth 
enters one directly from the delivery 
end of the other. 



Figure 51 represents a shearing ma- 
chine designed especially for shearing 
one side of the cotton cloth in print- 

eries. Little power is 
Shearing required to operate 
Machine these machines, and 

as the number of 
shear blades in use with any praticu- 
lar machine may be altered to suit 
the kind of cloth running through, 
this power varies. One set of shear 
blades is illustrated by Figure 52. 
The revolver turns close to a fixed 
steel blade, as indicated by the illus- 
tration, and thus cuts off any loose 
threads or rough places in the fabric. 
As stated, several sets of shear blades 
are used at one time, their number 
depending upon the kind of cloth 



mains a fine nap which would prevent 
good work in the 
Singeing printing machine. 
IVlachine The singeing ma- 
chines burn off this 
and give the fabric a clean smooth 
surface which will receive the color 
from the copper rolls. Singeing ma- 
chines of various makes differ in de- 
tails of construction, but there are 
two general styles of apparatus. 

With one type, the cloth is passed 
rapidly over red hot copper plates or 
rollers. Contact with the hot metallic 
surfaces causes the fine nap to take 
fire, but the cloth moves too quickly 
for the cloth itself to bum. The other 
type of singeing machine draws the 
cloth over two or more rows 
of gas burners which ignite the nap 
and smooth the surface sufiiciently 
for printing. Figure 53 illustrates one 
of the gas singeing machines with 
four burners. 



The burners on this particular ma- 




Fig. 53. Singeing IVlachine. 



which is being sheared. Threads, lint, 
nap, etc., are brushed off by special 
brushes placed between each set of 
shear blades. This foreign matter is 
removed from the machine by a fan 
and conveyed outside or into a dust 
room. 



The shearing machine removes all 
of the coarse fuzz, but there still re- 



chine have continuous slots their en- 
tire length, and thus give a solid and 
uniform sheet of 
flame from one edge 
Gas Burners ^j ^^^ ^j^th to the 
other. When the cloth 
that is being singed is narrower than 
the machine, the parts of the burn- 
ers which are not in use may be cov- 
ered up to prevent any waste of gas. 
The cloth passes through the flame in 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



715 



both directions. In passing one way 
some of the fibres may become pressed 
into the fabric sufficiently to prevent 
their removal. When the flame is en- 
countered with the goods traveling in 
the opposite direction, fibres previous- 
ly missed will generally be burned off. 



Brass or bronze rolls are used for 
passing the goods through the flame. 
These are cooled by circulating water 
through them, so that 
Wetting the back of the cloth 
Out is constantly against 

a cool surface. If this 
was not done the rolls would soon be- 
come hot and the goods would be 
burned. After the last burner has 
been passed, the fabric must be put 
through a steam bath, wet with water, 
or run between cold rollers to make 
sure that all fire is extinguished. If 
the goods in leaving a singeing ma- 
chine are rolled, this "wetting out" 
process becomes of vital importance. 
One or more fibres may continue to 
smoulder after leaving the last burner, 
and if this group of smouldering fibres 
be wound into the roll a hole may 
easily be burned through several lay- 
ers. When this takes place, it is not 
one yard of cloth that is spoiled, but 
many. The larger the roll is the great- 
er the circumference, and each layer 
which is burned represents a waste 
piece of cloth the length of the cir- 
cumference. Supposing the cloth is be- 
ing wound into a roll and a spark 
hums through five thicknesses of the 
goods On the roll, if the diameter of 
the roll is, say, two feet at that par- 
ticular portion, then the circumfer- 
ence or length of each layer will be 
approximately six feet. Now, if a 
hole is burned through five thickness- 
es, the piece of goods spoiled will be 
30 feet long. 

A steaming apparatus may be ap- 
plied to the singeing machines so that 
the goods will, upon leaving the last 
burner, pass through a steam batb 
which will extinguish all fire. If pre- 
ferred, the fabric may be passed 
through water, and in some instances, 
smouldering fibres are put out by 
passing the cloth between cold steel 
rolls. 



Like the shearing machines, and in 
fact nearly all of the machinery used 
in printeries, the singers must be 
driven at different 
Different speeds, according to 
Speeds the kind of work they 

are singeing. The 
speed of the mechanism for moving 
the cloth can be changed considerably 
without altering the speed of the main 
driving belt. This is accomplished in 
various ways, consistent with the make 
of the machine. In some cases, a dif- 
ferential friction plate is used, while 
with other machines two sets of step 
pulleys are employed. 

Gas and air are fed to the gas burn- 
ers in the proper proportions for ob- 
taining maximum heat with a mini- 
mum quantity of gas. As a rule, a 
small blower is attached to each ma- 
chine. This by means of an air reser- 
voir insures a steady and constant air 
supply for mixing with the gas. Burn- 
ers are designed for city gas or for 
gasoline gas. The machine illustrated 
by Figure 53 is equipped with a smoke 
hood, through which all smoke and 
odors are conveyed from the room. 

The gas flames must be put out be- 
fore stopping the machine, and with 
the singeing apparatus, illustrated by 
Figure 53, it is impossible to shut down 
the machine without first turning off 
the gas. The burners are lighted by 
means of pilot lights, and with the 
machine shown, the gas cannot be 
turned on until the machine is started. 



Shearing and singeing are done to 
smooth the cloth for the printing ma- 
chines, but it must not be forgotten 
that the goods are 

Bi«.,^u!«^ still unbleached. The 
oleacning ,,„ , . .,, 

*" bleachmg process will 

be considered later by 
itself, and will, therefore, at this time 
be omitted. Cloth is sometimes shear- 
ed after its has been bleached, as well 
as in the grey, and with some fabrics 
all the loose fibres can be removed by 
the singeing machines without using 
the shearers. 

As a rule, cloth which has been 
bleached would be crocked if run 
through a singeing machine. It has, 
however, been found possible to singe 



716 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



fine finished fabrics without injury. 
Not long ago, a certain concern had 
some exceedingly delicate fabrics in 
the white condition, and wished to re- 
move the nap or fuzz which was on 
them. A modern singeing machine was 
tried, and the fabrics were singed in 
a most satisfactory manner. In or- 
dinary practice, however, singeing is 
done while the goods are in the grey 
state. Goods from the singeing room 
pass through a porcelain or hard rub- 
ber ring known as a "pot-eye." This 
gathers the cloth into a rope form, 
and in this condition it is bleached. 



Printing has been sometimes termed 
"localized dyeing." This is an appro- 
priate name for many reasons, but 
colors for printing 
_ . .. have to be mixed dif- 

Knnting ferently from dyeing 

baths. When fabrics 
are being dyed, the liquor has an op- 
portunity to soak into the cloth, while 
print coloring must take place almost 
instantly. For this reason, to produce 
similar shades a print color will of 
necessity be much more concentrated 
than a dye mixture. Color for print 
work must be thickened, and a color 
mixer must have a thorough practical 
knowledge of the various thickening 
agents. For this work, gums, blood, 
starches, flour, glue and casein are 
used. 

Attention has already been called 
to the variance in production 
obtainable with printing machines. 



The character of the pattern 

limits the speed of production in many 
cases. The length of time that print- 
ing machines can be kept upon one 
style of goods is an important factor 
governing the production. Consider- 
able time is required to set up a new 
pattern, and while this is being done, 
the machine is not turning out goods. 
Here, again, the nature of the pattern 
plays a vital part, for with some styles 
much more care must be used in ad- 
justing the rolls than with others. 



Cotton mills operating their own 
print works plan to run off as much 
of one style of print as they can pos- 
sibly use, and in this 

Production 7^^' ^^^^ ^^^ ^<^^^^- 
tage over the con- 
verter who has to 
print only the quantity ordered by 
customers. For example, a converter 
in printing 1,000 pieces of 50 yards 
each may receive the order in two 
lots of 500 pieces each, which means 
an extra set-up of the printing ma- 
chine. The party ordering the work 
may have felt that he could use 1,000 
pieces when he placed his first order, 
but did not wish to take the chance. 
A mill doing its own printing would 
generally run the risk of getting rid of 
the entire 1,000 pieces and would run 
the whole amount with one setting. 
For this reason, a converter who is 
printing goods belonging to someone 
else is often unable to turn out as 
many yards per day as the mill operat- 
ing its own printing plant. 



Color Making 



In mixing colors, a great many 
things must be taken into considera- 
tion, such as the nature of the dye- 
stuffs to be used, the temperature at 
which they are dissolved, and the 
mixing of different colors with one 
another, as, although, according to 
theory, two colors may be identically 
the same so far as class or group is 
considered, still on mixing together. 



in practice, under wrong conditions, 
they may prove that almost every in- 
dividual color or dyestuff requires han- 
dling in a different manner. 

TO ILLUSTRATE, 

we will take the well-known acid dye- 
stuffs, which are used principally in 
printing silk or woolen goods. It is 
very important that each individual 



BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



717 



color should be reduced as much as 
possible before being mixed together, 
being particular that one should be 
added to the other slowly, stirring 
well during the mixing; if these 
precautions are not taken, it will re- 
sult in precipitation, and, consequent- 
ly, "specky" colors. We will take the 
well-known group of basic colors, 
which are all "fixed" more or less by 
tannic acid. Even here we find great 
care should be taken in dissolving at 
the right temperature, as some re- 
quire a "good" heat to dissolve, oth- 
ers require very little, and, in fact, 
are injured by excessive heat in the 
solvent used, and the writer believes 
much bad work which is not generally 
attributed to this cause is the result 
of injudicious dissolving. 

In large places it is manifestly im- 
possible for the foreman to see every 
"batch" of color made up, as thou- 
sands of gallons a day are made, so 
this particular part of the color mix- 
ing business is allotted to a certain 
man who has charge of the kettles, 
and who very often has not got a thor- 
ough knowledge or understanding of 
the importance of the foregoing, his 
chief concern being to keep up with 
the demand as to quantity, very often 
at the expense of quality, bad work in 
the print room as a rule being put up 
to the actual mixer of the colors, and 
not to the kettle man. 

It is obvious that in 

LARGE PRINT WORKS, 

where such an enormous quantity of 
color is used daily, it would be impos- 
sible to make up each particular color 
As wanted, so stock solutions, or, as 
they are commonly called, "stand- 
ards," are made up. Each color is 
dissolved, a certain nu^nber of ounces 
per gallon according to its solubility. 
These standards, so far as possible, 
should be kept in barrels which are 
as nearly air tight as possible, be- 
cause, if exposed to the air, a thick 
crust forms on top, with a correspond- 
ing loss of color. In making these 
standards, great care should be exer- 
cised' that the solution is not made 
too strong, for, although it may be 
possible to dissolve color, say at 12 
ounces per gallon, in a hot solvent, 



the same color probably would not 
stay in solution at over six ounces to 
the gallon on being cooled down, dye- 
stuffs varying very much in this par- 
ticular as in others. This is one of 
the instances where nothing save 
practical experience will tell at what 
strength the various colors will re- 
main in a cold solution, and once 
color falls out of solution it is useless 
to try and put it back again, as at the 
same strength and same conditions it 
will fall out again. When we have 
got a well dissolved and cooked stand- 
ard, we have the foundation of a good 
working color so far as the printing 
is concerned. 

A color is rarely, if ever, printed at 
its standard strength, but is reduced, 
and the mordants added to it until the 
required depth of shade is produced. 
In reducing the colors be careful to 
have the reducing agent as near the 
same consistency of the standard as 
possible, as nothing injures the work- 
ing qualities of a color so much as 
adding a thin reducer, and, in fact, a 
thin reducer will not hold the color 
in solution as well as a thicker one, 
although there are times when the 
quality of engraving on the copper 
rollers calls for a thin color. When 
this happens, a larger percentage of 
gum than is usualy used is added, and 
in some cases all gum should be used, 
it being possible to 

USE A THINNER COLOR 
made up from gum than one made up 
from starch, and water can be added 
to gum in any quantity, whereas, if 
added to starch it causes disintegra- 
tion. 

Also, mordants should be added very 
slowly, for if added quickly they are 
apt to precipitate the color which not 
only causes a loss of coloring matter, 
but also causes bad work in the print- 
ing room. 

After being well mixed the colors 
should be strained. This not only re 
moves all dirt, grit, etc., but helps to 
mix the color more thoroughly. There 
are lots of so-called straining ma- 
chines on the market, but nothing has 
been invented to equal the human 
hands, although in case of colors 
which are injurious to the skin, it is 
found necessary to use them. 



PART IV. 

Practical Textile Mill Accounting 



Good judgment and a certain 
amount of experimentation are the 
first requirements in determining just 
how far detailed cost records must be 
carried in order to give the best re- 
sults. To divide the weekly payroll 
according to departments and to con- 
sider this the expense of each depart- 
ment is a long way from the most 
satisfactory arrangement. 'ihe actual 
clerical work to he performed by the 
overseer should be kept as small as 
possible, but in most cases the over- 
seer should realize that the records 
he turns in are important and must be 
correct. 

A (boss weaver, employed for many 
years in a well-known New England 
mill, was asked to explain certain 

things concerning his production rec- 
ords which he submitted each week 
to the accounting department. He did 

not seem overanxious to discuss this 
question, but finally acknowledged that 
he and the superintendent generally 
compared the production data with the 
figures for the preceding weeks, and 
then arranged the new figures to 
COMPARE E^VORABLY 

with previous records. 

The overseer was asked if he was 
not obliged to keep much of his ma- 
chinery idle for some weeks on ac- 
count of changes in the styles ordered. 
'Yes," he replied, "only last week 
about one-fifth of our looms were idle 
the entire time, hut if I had sent in 
such a low production record, I wodld 
have expected to lose my job at once." 
It is needless to comment upon such 
inexcusable conditions further than to 
say that similar practice is still be- 
ing allowed in many establishments, 
and cost ifigures are being based upon 
data of this kind which is much 
worse than none at all. 

This particular overseer was asked 
if me management would not notice 
from records received from other de- 
partments that his production ligures 



were wrong. His reply was that sim- 
ilar figures had been "fixed up" in the 
same way before, and whether the 
management noticed or not he never 
heard anything from it. This over- 
seer did not seem to realize the seri- 
ousness of doing this sort of thing, 
and said that the superintendent 
knew all about it and would find fault 
if he sent in his figures in any differ- 
ent way. 

A LARGE SAVING. 

A man who is in charge of the cost 
accounting system in a Massachusetts 
cotton mill told us the other day that 
he would guarantee to go into any mill 
capitalized for $100,000 or more, where 
no cost system was in use, and hring 
about a saving of at least $10,000 a, 
year over and above his own salary. 
To do this, he claims that he would 
tell the mill agent nothing which he 
did not already know, and yet at the 
same time the mill agent would not 
really know any of the things which 
he would tell him. This rather con- 
tradictory statement was further ex- 
plained by this accountant in the fol- 
lowing way: "To illustrate my point, 
I will explain to you the way in which 
a large saving was recently accom- 
plished in our own slasher room. 1, 
was talking with the overseer of this 
department, and asked him casually 
whether he knew how much the partic- 
ular kind of yarn that he was using 
cost per pound. He replied that he 
did not, but supposed it would prob- 
ably be worth in the neighborhood of 
30 or 35 cents. The yam in question 
had been made from a certain special 
stock which was high in price. It 
had also been treated in special ways, 
that it might be suitable for a par- 
ticular line of fabrics, and by calcu- 
lating the cost of these different 
processes roughly in my head, I show- 
ed the overseer that the yarn which 
he was throwing aibout with none too 
great care had really cost us. some- 



COTTON MILL COST-PINDING 



719 



■* (ft ■ "N 

"I ^1 '^l 

o -o -t 

O CO I CO 



5 


o 


£ 


S 

-j 


i 


2{ 

O 


1 o 

i 

_^J l__ 

o 


o 

21 


OS 



" 


-a 
c 

s 

Q 

"a 

X 






1 




^ 


o 


"■ 









y. 1. Daily OversJer's Record Sheet Used in a New England Cotton Mill. 



720 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



thing like 60 cents a pound. 'I had 
no idea of this,' exclaimed the over- 
seer, 'hut I don't see how it is pos- 
sible for me to make a bit less waste.' 
OOSi OF YARN. 

"I told the overseer frankly that it 
was none of my business whether he 
could or could not reduce this waste, 
an-d explained to him that I had sim- 
ply called his attention to the price 
of the yarn, ibecause I thought that 
he did not know it. I watched the 
waste and production records of this 
department with special care during 
the next few weeks, and found that 
the overseer did reduce greatly the 
amount of waste on all the yarn which 
he handled. This, then, was a case of 
showing the mill agent that it was 
possible to cut down production costs 
in the slasher room. It is true that I 
did tell the overseer something that he 
did not know, but the mill agent was 
as well informed concerning the cost 
of yam as I was myself." 

As this cost man put it, there are 
many points which the mill agent is 
well informed upon, but which he does 
not give consideration. Not that the 
agent is a poor one, but rather that 
he must of necessity give so much 
time to other lines of the manufactur- 
ing work that these details become 
neglected. 

PRICES BASED ON FACTS. 
Without endeavoring to explain the 
detailed operation of the cost system 
which is in use at this cotton mill just 
mentioned, it is interesting to note 
certain features of it. No price is 
given to the mill's selling house until 
their cost man has passed upon it. 
Again, no new rate of wage is decided 
upon for any of the mill help without 
being considered by this same cost 
man. The records which are kept of 
all operations make it possible for this 
mill to determine just how much profit 
is being made upon any of their many 
styles. Costs are summarized at the 
end of each month, and totals entered 
upon sheets which show at a glance 
whether lines which are more or less 
standard are costing the same for each 
period. 

A wide variety of fabrics are man- 
ufactured at this mill, and in fact 



there is one spinning room where it is 
common for some of the machines to 
be spinning number 8s yarn and others 
to be at work on numher 80s. This 
concern manufactures a coarse duck 
weighing 0.391 pounds per yard, while 
it also manufactures a silk mull 
made of a combed warp and silk fill- 
ing, averaging 26 8-10 yards to the 
pound. In between these two ex- 
tremes there are many different 
weights and varieties which compli- 
cate the problems of accounting. 

There must be some simple method 
enabling the overseer of each depart- 
ment to make daily reports, dealing 
with the class of stock used, the num- 
ber of machines in operation, the pro- 
duction per day, etc. Unless the re- 
turns received from each of the ov- 
erseers are correct all subsequent cal- 
culations hased upon these will be 
valueless, and the time used in mak- 
ing them will be thrown away. Worse 
than this, any estimates based upon 
this inaccurate data will lead to er- 
roneous results, and may readily indi- 
cate that a fabric is being manufactur- 
ed at a profit, while in reality the 
line is being sold at cost or sometimes 
below cost. 

OVERSEERS' REPORTS. 
Figures 1 and 2 show two forms 
used in this mill by the overseers of 
the card room. Figure 1 is really a 
diagram showing the approximate lo- 
cation of every machine in one of the 
carding departments. These machines 
are all numbered, and the overseer 
marks, in the space representing each 
machine, the kind of stock that is being 
worked. The forms shown by Figure 
2 are upon the other side of the same 
sheet that contains the machinery 
diagram. In the form headed cards 
the overseer marks the number of ma- 
chines that are in operation, the class 
of stock which is used and the produc- 
tion in pounds per card per day. Un- 
der the heading comhers the overseer 
records the numbers of combers run- 
ning, the class of stock used, the to- 
tal number of heads and the pounds 
per set each week. In the drawing 
frame form there is a column for the 
number of deliveries in operation, an- 
other for the class of stook used and 



COTTON MILL COiST-PINDING 



721 



still another for the pounds per de- 
livery per day. Under the heading 
slulbbers, the overseer states the stand- 
ard number of hank roving, the ac- 
tual number of hank roving, the num- 
ber of spindles running, the class of 



sheets the cost department knows just 
what each machine is at work upon, 
and yet the operation of filling out 
these forms is so simple that it re- 
quires little of the overseer's time. 
In contrast to the production rec- 



No. 8 Mill — 1st Floor 

CARDS 



Cards 
Running 


Class of 
Stock 


Pounds per 
Card per Day 












































































1 






































































c 


DMBERS 










Combers 
Running 


Class 

Stock 


Total 
Hends- 


Pounds per 
Sell, per Week 
















































































































































draW 


[NG FRAI 


lES 








Deliveries 
Running 


Class 

Stock 


Pounds per 
Del. p^-r Day 


















































































































































s 


-UBBERS 










Standard 
No- Hank 
Roving 


Actual 
No. Hank 
Roving 


Spindles 
Running 


Class of 
Slock 


Reg. Twist 


^ Lbs. per 
- SpI.perWk 


Combed 
or Carded 


For 
Slyle 



































































































































Fig. 2. Tabulation on Reverse Side of Sheet Shown by Figure 1. 



stock used, whether the twist is regu- 
lar or not, the pounds per spindle per 
week, whether the stock is combed or 
carded and the style numbsr for which 
the sliver is made. From these 



ords referred to above where 
overseer of weaving "fixed up" 
production in accordance with 
data it is interesting to note the loom 
record sheet used in the other mill 



the 

his 

past 



722 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



we have described. Tlie blank con- 
tains a space for tlie style number, 
on© for the class of goods being made, 
one for the number of looms running, 
a column for the number of looms 
which are waiting for yam, another 
for the number of looms waiting for 
repairs, one for the number of looms 
waiting for help and still another for 
the number of machines waiting to be 
changed. 

In order to properly consider the 
amount of power taken for each •de- 
partment a tabular form is attached 
to each of the daily record sheets 
and contains spaces for the following 
information: The number of hours 
run, the kind of power used, that is, 
whether the power is furnished elec- 
trically from the steam turbine, elec- 
trically iby the water wheels, mechan- 
ically by the water wheels, etc. 
There is also a space for the friction 
load, the machine load and the total 
load. In rooms where the same 
amount of shafting is driven regard- 
less of whether all or part of the ma- 
chinery is in use, the friction factor 
is practically constant. The machine 
load is determined at fairly frequent 
intervals by measuring the power 
electrically. A description of this 
power record makes the matter ap- 
pear somewhat complicated, but after 
a few constants have once been ob- 
tained. It is easy for the overseer to 
fill in the two or three spaces giving 
this power information. 

'The man in charge of the cost de- 
partment at this mill was asked 
whether overseers and other help 
were opposed to 

ADOPTING NEW METHODS 
which were made necessary by the in- 
stallation of his system. He replied 
that there had been some trouble of 
this kind, but that he had found it 
possible to be perfectly frank with all 
overseers, and had many times urged 
them to go over various methods of 
figuring used in determining a fair 
rate of pay. He stated that in some 
instances it had been necessary to 
make changes in the help, but that most 
of the men had given little trouble of 
this kind. "To illustrate my method," 
he qontijiued, "pur Boston office re- 



cently sent me specifications for a 
kind of yam we had never made. I 
had sample bobbins of this spun, and 
timed each operation carefully. I then 
weighed the yarn and obtained a theo- 
recical figure, representing the cost 
per pound and the amount which could 
be spun per hour. After allowing cer- 
tain percentages to take care of the 
doffing, etc., I sent out a rate of pay 
for the help on this particular line. 
The overseer in charge of one of the 
departments immediately came to me, 
stating emphatically that to put out 
this rate in the mill would undoubtedly 
cause labor trouble. I made the over- 
seer go over most of my calculations 
with me, and after he had done so he 
agreed that the price we were willing 
to pay was not only fair but even 
more than he would judge was war- 
ranted." 
It is 

NOT ALWAYS POSiSIBLE 

to explain a thing of this kind to an 
overseer in a satisfactory way, and 
the following is an example of how 
the cost system at this mill detected 
inaccurate production sheets and in 
the end made it necessary to discharge 
one of the overseers. The production 
sheet from this man's department 
showed more finished product than he 
had received from the department 
preparatory to his process. This was 
watched for a few days, and it was 
found that a department receiving the 
stock from the overseer in question 
was not getting anywhere near as 
much as the first overseer claimed to 
produce. Investigation showed that 
this partially manufactured stock was 
not being held up, and it was clearly 
evident that one of the overseers was 
reporting an incorrect production, and 
consequently introducing incorrect 
data intentionally. 

The agent of this mill, and the 
treasurer as well, admit frankly that 
their system is still far from perfect. 
There are still many details which 
they have not as yet seen fit to con- 
sider, but the records w^hich they now 
have are of great value, and have not 
introduced unwarranted expenditures 
of money. On all the different styles 
it is possible to determine fairly ac- 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



723 



curately the cost of certain fabrics at complete, and at the end of five or 
any time. From tlie monthly sum- six months exact summaries can read- 
maries this information is still more ily be made. 



Efficiency Applied to Weave Room 



One of the igreatest problems be- 
fore the textile industry to-day is the 
economical utilization of its labor 
forces. Our intention is to point out, 
through a variety of simple examples, 
the great loss which the whole indus- 
try is suffering through inefficiency 
of conditions arising in every-day life 
in its various departments. The rem- 
edy for this inefficiency lies in the 
fact that scientific management is 
far more essential than to hunt up 
some extraordinary man. Science is 
proving that there is no limit to the 
amount of knowledge which the in- 
dustry can utilize for the benefit of 
everybody concerned. The search 
for the more competent men was 
never more energetic than it is to- 
day, and the demand for these men 
is far in excess of the supply. 

The mill to-day is divided into de- 
partments, each department directed 
or managed by an overseer, who, in 
a great many cases, has had no train- 
ing in executive management. A great- 
er part of ' the time he is crowded 
so much that it is next to impossible 
for him to do his duty, and the mill 
managers, instead of trying to solve 
the difficulties and pointing them out 
to him, often make matters worse by 
appointing a new overseer. 

The principal object of efficient 
management is 

TO BETTER THE CONDITIONS 

in the installation of labor in its vari- 
ous classes, not only as a whole but 
in the development of each man, so 
that he may be able to do the high- 
est grade of work that his abilities 
permit. In order to obtain the best 
possible results, it becomes quite 
necessary for the employer and the 



employe to co-operate to such an ex- 
tent that their mutual relations and 
interests become practically the same. 

Production, as we are now aware, is 
the most important factor in the in- 
dustry, as it governs the prices of the 
finished goods. To obtain this pro- 
duction it is quite essential to main- 
tain a high standard of efficiency, 
which can only exist when the em- 
ploye has reached the highest, point 
of attainment, that is, when he is 
producing his greatest output. To 
bring this point out more clearly, it 
would Le well to compare two opera- 
tives, one having maintained a skill- 
fulness which enables him to produce 
twice as much as the other, when, con- 
sequently, you can pay this workman 
who has maintained this skillfulness 
more wages and still increase your 
profits. 

Although this article is intended to 
deal largely with the efficiency of the 
various devices used in weaving, we 
feel that it will greatly benefit our 
readers by our dealing from time to 
time with the efficiency of the numer- 
ous machines used in the different de- 
partments of the mill. We have to- 
day wonderfully improved machines, 
directly or indirectly connected with 
tlie weaving department, such as the 
warp-tying, warp-drawing, and the 
various makes of automatic looms. 
Therefore, there is no reason why the 
weave room and, in fact, any depart- 
ment of the mill should not obtain the 
highest possible standard of efficiency. 

A great many of the overseers still 
believe that if they were to work for 
their employes at their best possible 
speed they would be 

DOING A GREAT INJURY 
to the trade by putting a lot of men 



724 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



out of work. Yet the development of 
the textile industry, whether it be 
the invention of a new machine or the 
introduction of better methods, which 
would mean greater proauction by the 
workmen and the cheapening of costs, 
would also mean that instead of do- 
ing away with these men, it would ac- 
tually give them more work. It 
is readily understood that by reducing 
the cost, any article which is used in 
common immediately becomes in 
greai,er demand. It is understood that 
there i& great sympathy for men who 
are overworked, but there is still 
greater sympathy for the men who 
are underpaid, and, therefore, in order 
to deal in efficiency we must ascer- 
tain the compensation required to in- 
duce these workmen to reach this 
standard. This may seem a difficult 
problem, as we must arrange his 
work so that he can labor most effi- 
ciently, no matter how hard the work 
may appear, and consequently this 
will mean quite an expense to the 
mill, but when the results are ob- 
tained, it is only a matter of a very 
short time before you will notice a 
decided increase of production and an 
improvement of both men and quality 
of goods manufactured. This will 
tend to show that when this standard 
has been reached, the common ten- 
dency to "take things easy" will be 
eliminated to such an extent that each 
workman will have great pride not 
only in his work but in the welfare 
of the concern. 

To make a real and permanent prog- 
ress, it must be 

MUTUALLY UNDERSTOOD 

between the employer and the work- 
man that when the latter's standard 
is being set it does not mean that 
the price is likely to be cut oown as 
a result of his working harder and 
increasing the production, as is the 
case in a great many mills. This 
only results in the grim determination 
of the workman to produce as little 
as possible and prevent further re- 
ductions in wages. The writer will 
point out a number of these cases 
which have actually come under his 
observation in some mills in a later 
installment of this article. 



As we stated before that this 
article was to deal largely with the 
efficiency in the weaving department, 
we feel that our next step must be 
in the arrangement of the looms, so 
that the weavers may, with the least 
possible exertion, save time and ener- 
gy so as to start their looms as soon 
as possible and ably fulfill as many 
duties as they can while the looms 
are in operation. This problem can be 
easily figured out by taking the aver- 
age distance a weaver would have to 
walk and adding the distance of each 
loom to every other one and dividing 
the result by the number of looms and 
multiplying by the number of looms 
minus one. "Wliere tbe weaver is 
obliged to run quite a number of looms 
it is well for the arrange^ment to be 
made 
UNDER THE TWO-ALLEY SYSTEM, 

and should it be advisable to increase 
the number of looms 25 per cent, the 
distance would only be increased 17.5 
per cent, showing how much easier 
it is for a weaver to run the 25 per 
cent of additional looms than it would 
be to run an equal number of looms 
under the single-alley isystem. An- 
other good point which the two-alley 
system has over the single-alley sys- 
tem is that it allows the weaver to 
move in a circular path while perform- 
ing his numerous operations, whereas, 
in the latter system, when the weaver 
has finished a certain nuniber of oper- 
ations the chances are that the loom 
needing attention will be at the other 
en-d of the set. 

A great many mills have enlarged 
their plants from small beginnings, 
and have added to them without any 
definite plan or system to be used in 
operating them. In. some cases, the 
grade of the work has changed, and 
a mill which was well equipped for 
one class of work may be so arranged 
as to make u almost impossible to 
efficiently produce a different class. 
There are also some plants in which 
the machinery has been so arranged 
that no consideration of 

EFFICIENT MANAGEMENT 

was ever thought of. In one plant 
where the writer has had occasion 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



725 



to study, the conditions exist to such, 
an extent that the greater part of the 
machinery in the mill must he re- 
arranged to make any great headway. 
For instance, in this particular mill 
they made some goods which weighed 
J.6 to 22 ounces per yard, and others 
weighing approximately 5 to 8 yards 
per pound. The yarns used for the 
finer grade of goods were spun in one 
of the mills, which necessitated the 
carrying of them about 200 yards, and 
they were handled hy about eight men 
who were inexperienced as to the 
qualities of the yarn. This made the 
handling quite rough, which in time 
caused considerable waste. In the 
case of the coarser goods, the con- 
ditions which existed were exactly 
opposite. 

There are some mill managers who 
have no idea of doing anything syste- 
matically. They may be people of an 
artistic temperament and have a fac- 
ulty for continually wanting to change 
things. Such men are not any great 
asset to any mill and would probably 
be more successful as farmers, and 
therefore, so far as trying to make 
headway is concerned, it is practically 
an impossibility. Before introducing 
the help to the machines we must first 
study the arrangement, £.,nd when we 
find that the machinery is so placed 
that the work can be done economi- 
cally, we will also find that we have 
solved at least one of the great prob- 
lems in the. industry, as the planning 
of the machinery has as much effect 
on the proper operation of a mill as 
anything the workman can do. 

The increased 
BFPICIBNCY FOR WARP-DRAWING, 
or warp-tying, over the old, or hand 
method, is due largely to the intro- 
duction of new machinery. The old 
method of drawing-in required a con- 
siderable length of time, according to 
the numlber of ends in the warp and 
cormplication of the draw, while to- 
day, under the improved tying and 
warp-drawing, these machines have 
effectively reduced the costs, increas- 
ed the production and improved the 
wortk. It has reduced the cost inas- 
much as it requires less lahor and 
supervision, and, consequently, does 



away with much clerical labor, which 
had to be maintained under the older 
and less used method. The produc- 
tion is much larger, owing to the fact 
that the machines are -designed to do 
the work mucli more rapidly, partic- 
ularly in the case of white work. 
These machines which are used in 
warp-drawing and warp-tying, at first 
sight, seem to be quite complicated, 
but a.fter a little study and closer ob- 
servation, they become simplified, and 
can be handled to great advantage by 
an operative who has a little tact and 
progressiveness. 

When mills purchase new machin- 
ery of a somewhat complicated na- 
ture, the writer is of the opinion that 
the mill should try to each, at least 
two men, the operation of it, and in 
this way ascertain which one is most 
capable for the position. By doing this 
the mill 

SETS A STANDARD 
upon which it can base the produc- 
tion and the consequent cost of the 
operation. It is very often the case, 
where mills install new machinery of 
this kind, that they have < nly one man 
taught the numerous operations of 
the machine, thinking they can see 
no material benefit in paying the small 
necessary charges, but the chances 
are even whether or not this man can 
become as skillful as some other work- 
man. If he does not, it means an 
extra expense of hiring an expert op- 
erative from the machine company to 
teach another man, who may prove as 
unsuccessful as his predecessor, and 
in the meanwhile, the poor operative 
may have been the means of damaging 
he work of the machine, and costing 
the mill a considerable sum before the 
expert operative is called upon to 
remedy the defects. Therefore, it can 
readily be seen that the costs will be 
lower, and a higher standard reached 
if two or more men are taught the op- 
eration while the expert operative 
from the installation department of 
the machinery company is installing 
the machinery. Again, it is 

A VERY GOOD POINT 
while putting in the machine to have 
the men who are intended to be given 
a trial help as much in the erection 



726 



COTTON MILL COST-FINt>lNa 



as possible, and iby so doing they will 
become familiar with the different 
parts of it, whereas if the men are 
not given an opportunity to see the 
erection it will take a great deal of 
extra time before they can acquire the 
speed that they would otherwise have 
gained by helping in setting up the 
machine. 

It is generally known that the most 
essential thing in a weave room is 
to have igood warps, in fact, it is im- 
possible to get them too good. It is 
very often a common sight to see bad 
warps cut out of a loom. This may 
be due largely to one or more rea- 
sons, such as warps having too much 
or too little size, crossed threads, and 
uneven, nubbed or soft yarns. It is 
generally understood that all ma- 
chines, sometime or other, will get 
out of order, and this very often of- 
fers or provides an excuse by which 
an overseer or second hand can crawl 
out of a difficulty which rightfully be- 
longs to his department. In the case 



of the knotting ma'^hines we often 
find that the ends will become crossed, 
consequently making flat places in the 
warp. This will necessitate either 
the crossing of the ends from the sel- 
vage, or the use of a number of small 
spools. Now, 

ON THE OTHER HAiND, 

we know it to be an absolute surety 
that the machine is capable of turning 
out perfect work, and all the unneces- 
sary work which comes in connection 
with the cutting of a warp could be 
eliminated, such as the extra cost of 
drawing-in, the fixer's time putting in 
and taking ;out, the handling of it 
from one place to another, and the 
Icom girl's time in trying to start it 
up. Consequently, if we know that 
this machine will produce perfect work 
it can be very readily seen that all 
these faults are due largely to care- 
lessness, and, therefore, should be en- 
tirely put up to the overseer or sec- 
ond hand in charge of the department. 



Textile Mill Administration 



Cost^keeping that counts is not a 
system which simply shows the cost 
of operating each department for past 
periods. It should be 
Cost possible to tell in ad- 

Data vance the manufac- 

turing costs for each 
yarn or fabric produced. To obtain 
data suitable for accomplishing this, 
small details must be considered. 
Many lines of fabrics must have their 
cost figured with accuracy. A differ- 
ence of four or five cents per yard in 
the selling price may turn a profit- 
able business into an actual loss. 
There are certain general records 
which are almost always kept by mills, 
and which give an approximation of 
the fabric cose. To estimate accurately 
the expense of manufacturing a new 
fabric, this general data is not sufii- 
cient. For a mill manufacturing yarn 



for its own use, cost figures should 
be obtained whereby the expense of 
producing each different kind of yarn 
and the cost of weaving each different 
grade may be accurately estimated. 

If looms must be used which are 
designed for wider goods than those 
being made, this point should receive 
attention, because the loom is capable 
of making a wide fabric without re- 
ceiving more attention from the oper- 
atives. If the mill has a few looms 
which are equipped with all modern 
automatic devices, the labor expense 
with these will not be the same as if 
plain looms were used. With certain 
lines of goods, it is essential that even 
slight imperfections be avoided. This 
means more attention from the oper- 
atives and a greater loss of time, due 
to frequent stoppages. The amount 
of second quality cloth from an order 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



727 



Of this kind will be much larger in 
amount than where the requirements 
for the first quality fabric are not so 
binding. In ^manufacturing any fabric, 
the probable amount of second quality 
goods must be estimated, and the sell- 
ing price of the product also carefully 
.figured. In fijguring a, certain order for 
cloth, the mill is liable to allow too 
little for seconds, and find that to fill 
tha whole order it is necessary to 
scart right back at the beginning and 
mal:e up an additional small Jot to 
meet the requirements. The handling 
of this extra lot is expensive, and may 
cut down largely the profit upon the 
\v..ole order. On the other hand, if too 
large an estimate is made for seconds, 
theij will be more cloth of the par- 
ticular grade than the purchaser 
wishes. ivlistakes of this kind will 
soon cause an accumulation of job-lot 
gcc-ds which must be sold at a 
sacrifice. 



The electrically driven mill lends it- 
self to a more accurate determination 
of power costs for -each falbric, and 

while the cost of 
Power power is small, corn- 

Data pared with the cost of 

materials, it is large 
enough to cause serious mistakes 
when not included. The agent of a 
large New England mill has given 
much attention to cost keeping and 
cost estimating for all fabrics ever 
manufactured in his plant. Tbe mill 
is now largely driven by electric mo- 
tors, and among other things, he keeps 
a set of records, showing the location 
of each motor, its size, the machinery 
it drives and the location of this ma- 
chinery. Table No. 1 is a copy of one 
sheet of this data. In the first column 
appears the number of the motor 
which corresponds with a number 
plate fastened upon the motor itself. 
In the second column is given the 
horse power at which the machine is 
rated by the manufacturer. The third 
column shows the location of the mo- 
tor, the fi^rst figure representing the 
mill number, and the second the floor 
of this mill. In the fourth column, the 
machinery is located in a similar man- 
ner. The fifth, sixth and seventh col- 



umns give further information about 
the motor, and in the next two col- 
umns are shown the kind of machin- 
ery operated, and the machine num- 
bers corresponding to the number of 
plates on the machinery. 

With data of tbis kind, it is pos- 
sible for this agent to determine im- 
mediately the number of machines op- 
erated by any given motor, the speed 
of the motor and the kind of machin- 
ery which is driven. It is his intention 
to supplement this information with 
data, giving the speeds of the counter 
shafts, size of pulleys, and revolutions 
per minute of each machine. 

Table No. 2 is one page of an- 



TABLE 2. CLASSIFICATION 
TO OPERATIONS. 


OF MOTORS 


No. 
Operation. Motors. 
Slash., beam., etc.l 
1 
1 
1 


No. of 
Motor. 
16 B 
16 A 
33 C 
15 A 


Rated Total 
H.P. H.P. 
15 
35 
35 
50 


4 




135 


Wind. D. spool.... 1 


74 F 


15 15 



Weaving 1 32 B 15 

1 73 B 22 

1 61 B 40 

1 32 A 50 

1 51 A 50 

1 62 A 50 

1 73 A 50 

1 61 A 75 

1 23 A 100 

9 452 

Elevators 1 35 A 20 

1 83 B . 20 

1 storehouse 20 

1 76 A 36 

4 96 

Misc. — 

Blacksmith 1 71 C 15 

Machine shop . ..1 41 A 15 

Hydraulic press. . 1 92 C 5 

Pump 1 71 A 1V2 

Economizer 1 71 B 7% 

Lighting gen....l 51 B 35 

Air compressor. ..1 11 A 50 

7 135 

other classification of motors used by 
this same concern. This data is ar- 
ranged by departments, so that by 
looking up any given department the 
number of motors, the number of each 
motor and the rated horse power of 
each motor can be quickly learned. 
Our table shows simply the slashing, 
beaming, winding, spooling, weaving 



128 



COTTON MILL 00ST-PIND1N(^ 






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COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



729 



and miscellaneous departments, but 
the data used in the mill includes ev- 
ery department in the plant. Table 
No. 3 is a summary of table No. 2, 



TABLE 3. CLASSIFICATION OF MOTORS 

TO OPERATIONS. SUMMARY. 

% of 

No. Rated Total 

Operations Motors. H.P. H.P. 

Picking 4 325 7.35 

Card rooms 12 595 13.47 

Ring spinning 27 1,600 36.22 

Mule spinning 7 375 8.49 

Spooling 1 15 .34 

Twisting 11 675 15.28 

Slashing, etc 4 135 3.05 

Winding, etc 1 15 .34 

Weaving 9 452 10.23 

Elevators 4 96 2.17 

Miscellaneous 7 135 3.06 

4,418 100.00 

shoiwing the number of motors in each 
department, the combined motor rat- 
ings and the per cent of the total 
horse power represented by each of 
these ratings. 



No one in this mill is allowed to 
change a motor or the size of any pul- 
ley without receiving permission from 
the office. This rule 

A Necessary Is to make sure that 
Rule records similar to 

those illustrated are 
always kept up-to-date and accu- 
rate. Unless this was done, changes 
would be made in the mill so that 
machinery would be running at entire- 
ly different speeds from those record- 
ed in the cost-keeping records. The 
inaccuracy of this detail has caused 
imany to go astray. It has not been un- 
common for mills to figure production 
upon certain speeds of machinery, and 
then after having made several er- 
rors find that slight alterations had 
changed the speed of the machines in 
question, so that the production fig- 
ures used were not correct. By abso- 
lute accuracy and attention to the 
small details, much can be accom- 
pllshed in determining the cost of a 
fabric in advance, and in determining 
this correctly. 



Mista)kes, and serious ones, are made 
by employing poor overseers, second 



hands, master mechanics, etc. The of- 
fice of superintendent 

OvPrc^^PPQ ^^ likewise frequently 
uverseers ^^^^^ ^^ ^ ^^^ ^^_ 

familiar with the 
manufacturing details peculiar to mak- 
ing cotton, woolen or worsted goods, 
as the case may be. 

Overseers and some superintendents 
will exaggerate the importance of the 
practical mill education, crying down 
the theoretical man at every turn. If 
the manager of a mill is a self-made 
man who has grown to his position 
from a bobbin boy, he is dangerously 
apt to disregard the advantages of 
general training, taking the stand that 
the man who has been in the mill 
since the age of fourteen or fifteen 
years is the one best suited for the 
position. The conditions are different 
than they were when this manager 
started on his own career,, and he 
should give this fact its due considera- 
tion. If the manager's position has 
passed from father to son, and from son 
to nephew or cousin, the relative in 
charge after two or three hand-downs 
may lack both theoretical and practical 
knowledge of the business. When this 
is true, important mill positions are 
generally held either by personal 
friends or by so-called practical men 
who have spent much time in the mill, 
but who have gained so little practical 
information that they are obliged to 
work cheap. The low salary demand- 
ed may appeal to the employer, but 
does it pay in the end? 

It has been said recently that cler- 
ical work of all kinds should be taken 
away from the mill overseer and per- 
formed in the main office by a cler- ' 
ical force employed especially for this 
class of work. It is further argued 
that the overseer is familiar with the 
various operations of his department, 
and that all his time should be used in 
watching the operatives and in keep- 
ing his machinery in proper adjust- 
ment and condition. The office force, 
it is claimed, are in a better position 
to handle all records, and should from 
past data be able to notify the over- 
seer in advance just what production 
is required, and then hold him to it. 
This same idea is carried still further 



730 



COTTON MILL, COST-FINDING 



to the superintendent, and lie is said 
to be of more value if lie is contin- 
ually in the mill checking up the work 
of his overseers. 



duction will be cut down and the qual- 
ity of goods improved. 



There is much tnie logic to this, but 

there is danger of carrying the matter 

to extremes and doing more harm 

than good. The idea 

Insufficient is, along the line of 
Data scientific management 

which under proper 
guidance has shown wonderful results. 
But the one trouble is that scientific 
management ideas of this kind are 
tried by men who have insufficient 
data upon which to make estimates, 
and men are put in charge of the cler- 
ical end who cannot handle the prop- 
osition satisfactorily. The uproar for 
scientific management is all right in 
itself, but concerns which are endeav- 
oring to institute radical changes un- 
der the supervision of comparatively 
untrained men are making a mistake. 

If a good overseer feels that he is 
being handled simply as a machine 
his resignation will be received within 
a short time. He should always be on 
his guard to prevent operatives from 
slighting their work, but unless he is 
consulted and given a chance to make 
suggestions, much of the man's value 
is lost. He should keep certain rec- 
ords, although some overseers have 
too much of this work to do. The man 
who is always on the- spot and who 
is familiar with the kinks of the bus- 
iness can frequently introduce valuable 
changes. 

In commenting upon certain cost 
finding data, an overseer recently re- 
marked that the scheme was good 
enough, but had too much red tape and 
w^ould use up too much time. Here, 
then, is one excuse for the belief that 
all clerical work should be done in 
the office. Is the overseer who made 
the above remark the type of man who 
is in line for a superintendent's posi- 
tion? "We think not. If the mill man- 
agement handles overseers properly 
the right kind of man will be capable 
of grasping the importance of record- 
ing valuable data which they are in 
a position to obtain every day, and 
by their co-operation the cost of pro- 



The superintendent should make it 
a part of his work to visit every over- 
seer as early as possible in the morn- 
ing. At this time, he 
Co-operation should give overseers 
Essential the opportunity to 
make suggestions and 
should consult with them in a manner 
which will make them feel their own 
importance and responsibility. At this 
time he should also notice the way in 
which the work is running, and should 
call for explanations concerning any- 
thing which does not seem up to 
scratch. In his personal interviews 
with the overseers, he must become 
familiar with various changes which 
are deemed advisable by his men. 
These matters should receive his own 
personal attention and after being 
studied into should be taken up with 
the management for their considera- 
tion. 

In certain mills, overseers have the 
idea that they do not receive credit 
for suggestions they may make, and 
for this reason, good points are 
neglected. It is true that something 
is radically wrong where this kind of 
feeling exists, but the class of men 
who hold these positions 'are quite 
ready to accept this attitude, and many 
times, it is forced upon them, due to 
the lack of tact which could be readily 
employed by the management. 



One well-known cotton mill which is 
to employ a new superintendent has 
divided the work between two men 

with the explicit un- 

A Weli-IVIan- derstanding that the 

aged Plant position of general 

superintendent is to 
fall to whichever one of them shows 
best results. They have both been 
advised that this does not mean that 
they are to work independently in an 
endeavor to outdo each other, but that 
they are to pull together with the un- 
derstanding that one of them will be 
advanced to superintendent of the 
whole mill. This plant is a rather 
large one, so that two good men will 
probably be required, but the way the 
whole proposition has been outlined to 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



731 



them shows that the management 
wish co-operation along every line and 
are willing to aid the help in this res- 
pect as much as possible. The treas- 
urer of this mill is a practical man, hut 
also one well informed along the 
theoretical side, and is treasurer of 
one or two other lange concerns. The 
agent of the particular mill in ques- 
tion has had valuable experience in 
the selling end as well as manufactur- 
ing, and the concern bids fair to be 
one of the most successful in this 
part of the country. 



A certain woolen mill which was 
using considerajble carbonized wool 
changed superintendents. The new 
man found that the 
Came to wool had been passed 
Grief through an extra 

scouring process. 
This scouring seemed unnecessary to 
the new superintendent, and orders 
were given to discontinue it. The 
carder immediately came to grief by 
finding it almost impossible to handle 
tne stock in his machines. It clung 
to the cards, became ^matted and gave 
all kinds of trouble. The former super- 
intendent was consulted, and it was 
learned that the extra washing had 
been carried on to remove a certain 
amount of white powdery suhstance 
which was present in the carbonized 
stock which they used. The manage- 
ment of this mill had been well aware 
of the reason for removing this for- 
eign matter, and had the proper co- 
operation existed between the new 
man and the manager, the necessity 
of calling upon the former superin- 
tendent would have been eliminated. 

To ohtain a thorough knowledge of 
the manufacturing processes, it is nec- 
essary to spend considerable time in 
a mill under actual operating condi- 
tions, but the man who has had a 
training along certain general lines 
will pick up much more from his mill 
work than the man who has been un- 
able to obtain this. In a paper en- 
titled "Textile Education From a Man- 



ufacturer's Standpoint," read by Ed- 
win H. Marble at the last meeting of 
the National Association of Cotton 
Manufacturers, the following state- 
ments were made: 

"An official of one of the larger 
woolen companies operating seven dif- 
ferent mills told the writer that the 
best returns they had received for 
money expended resulted from taking 
a. good carder away from his mill po- 
sition and sending him from mill to 
mill, spending such time as was neces- 
sary with each overseer, and endeav- 
oring to instruct them in the handling 
of their respective rooms and also aid 
them in solving the problems that 
from day to day are brought to their 
attention. Not a correspondence 
course, not a regular apprenticeship, 
but a personal instruction in card 
room methods. 



"The student imust himself master 
the situation, and can only do this 
by a long enough imanipulation of the 
'fibre, or working of 
The Practical the machine in order 
Side to ibecome familiar 

with its particular op- 
eration. While it is possible to obtain 
many textile machines very nearly hu- 
man in their automatic action, yet 
each one has some peculiarity that 
must be mastered by the operator, and 
such mastery is a necessity before the 
master workman is allowed such title. 
Again, many processes through which 
the fibre or fabric must pass demand 
skill that can only be acquired by 
failing to do rather than by doing 
the right thing. It is through making 
mistakes and then learning how not 
to imake them that one gains the great- 
est confidence in himself. 

"While we would lay a good deal 
of emphasis upon the manipulative ele- 
ment in the training of the master 
worker, this should be secondary to 
the thorough understanding of the 
principles involved and the application 
of the theories controlling the indus- 
try." 



A Cost-Finding Symposium 



ABOUT OMITTING THE OVERSEER. 

In his recent address upon "Mill 
Accounting," before the American As- 
sociation of Woolen and Worsted 
Manufacturers, Mr. P. Gordon Patter- 
son argued that accounting should all 
be done in the office and not in the 
mill. He said among other things: 
"I have known overseers to devote 
more than a quarter of their time to 
this work. 

"This is all wrong and expensive. 
Oftentimes a bright boy or girl in the 
office can do the work in a fraction of 
the time it takes for the overseer to 
do it, with his wealth of knowledge re- 
garding his manufacturing processes, 
but who lacks 
THE ADVANTAGES OP SiCHOOL. 

"One object in drawing attention to 
the lact that overseers are doing this 
work, for which they often are not 
equipped, and that is expensive, is 
to recommend that it be done in the 
office. Clerks in the mills are some- 
times necessary, but it is not to be rec- 
ommended if the work can be done in 
the office. One clerk in the office is 
worth two or more in the mill, for he 
is available for a greater variety of 
work, he is generally of a better type, 
he has the incentive of seeing 
how other clerks do their work, and 
if there is the proper discipline and 
incentive in the office, he will endeav- 
or to improve his work. 

"All this naturally raises the ques- 
tion of what you are going to do with 
the clerical work in the mill. 

"Arrange the information as it is 
collected, or as the original entry is 
made, in such a manner that it can go 
direct to the office and then be analyz- 
ed for the pay roll, reports, etc. 
ELIMINATE THE PAY ROLL. 
"To illustrate this, I would elimi- 
nate entirely the time-honored pay 
roll kept in the several rooms, and 
substitute service cards. These ser- 



vice cards show the iman's name and 
numher, the kind of work he was do- 
ing, and the order number or class of 
product on which he was working, the 
time he worked on each job, and the 
quantity of work he accomplished. 
These cards should be collected by 
the overseer and be approved before 
being forwarded to the pay clerk. The 
pay clerk, when posting the time to 
the pay roll enters the rate on the 
service tickets and those are then 
analyzed for costing purposes. 

"Por piece work, premium work, 
etc., a card somewhat similar to the 
other may be used, although it is 
quite usual to use coupon tickets simi- 
lar to the weaver's cut coupons many 
of you use, but containing a little more 
information. These make a conven- 
ient form for general office use, as they 
may be rapidly sorted to men's num- 
bers, and after being posted to the 
pay roll, they may be again sorted, as 
desired, and the totals rapidly drawn 
off on adding machines. 
HORRIBLE PUNCH SUGGESTION. 

"It is also of common occurrence to 
use some form in connection with a 
conductor's punch. 

'The information on these service 
cards can also be used for supplying 
data as to the progress of work 
through the mills, and as to the quan- 
tity of work performed for posting to 
the order register. 

"An order register may be made of 
very great assistance, if arranged to 
provide information as to the condi- 
tion of each order, the date required, 
finished, shipped, etc. The entries may 
be made by checking from the service 
cards of men performing particular op- 
erations. By this method^ it is possible 
to keep watch of each order, and when 
time of delivery of sample pieces is 
specified, this is a matter of much 
importance. 

"I believe it is hetter policy to com- 
pile this information regarding pro- 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



733 



duction and costs in the office, and to 
tell the overseers what they have done 
during the past week or month, rath- 
er than to depend on the information 
they can provide." 



WHAT AN OVERSEER REPLIES. 

To the above suggestions, an over- 
seer of broad experience replies as 
follows : 

Although agreeing with the speaker 
as to the needs of a system of mill 
accounting in textile corporations, we 
do not think he has suggested a meth- 
od that will meet all conditions, in 
fact, he seems to have completely 
overlooked the value of statistics to 
the overseers in their several depart- 
ments. 

We have passed that period when 
labor was extracted froni workers by 
the application of the whip or any 
kind of coercion. To-day, workers 
must be treated as intelligent beings, 
and the overseer must have an under- 
standing of the production value of 
labor, the production value of each 
macihine in his department, in addi- 
tion to a familiar knowledge of the 
process of which he has charge to en- 
able him to govern his help; in other 
words, scientific methods must be used 
in the department detail as in general 
mill administration. 
OVERSEER MUST BE RESPECTED. 

With department statistics before 
him, the overseer is in the position to 
note those who lag behind in their 
work, and to urge tliem to a better ef- 
fort, and when the operators protest 
that they are doing as well as their 
neighbor, the overseer has the figures 
to show, and these are sufficient. The 
overseer who is in a position to meet 
conditions in this manner stands 
strong with his help, and controversies 
of this kind are few, and an appeal to 
their personal pride will almost al- 
ways produce the desired results, and 
at no time need there be any hard 
words, but the kindliest feeling preva- 
lent throughout the department. 

Without data, the dominating idea 
with the overseer is to keep after the 
help, and the demeaning practice of 
standing over help and watching their 
every movement not only develops re- 



sentfulness and a loss of self-respect 
on the part of the latter, but also on 
the part of the overseer. This feature 
has done more to drive the native-born 
Americans out of the mills than any 
other. Our whole system of educa- 
tion inculcates individual independ- 
ence, and immediately we put the 
people to work we proceed to strip 
them of all self-respect, destroying in- 
dividual initiative — a, quality which is 
peculiarly American — ^making out of 
the young person a cowardly little 
snuffling brat who has no joy in his 
work, but continual fear that he will 
have the boss nagging him. 

SOME COUNTER QUESTIONS. 

The assumption of the speaker that 
the average overseer lacks schooling 
and the statement that the statistics 
of his room could be better handled by 
a bright boy can only be understood 
in the light of the speaker's need of 
an excuse to introduce such a compli- 
cated method of securing statistics, 
but we would point out to him a seem- 
ingly slight inconsistency, namely, if 
the overseer who invariably has been 
a common workman and promoted for 
merit lacks schooling, how is the av- 
erage worker who also lacks schooling 
going to make an accurate record on 
service cards even if they are in the 
simplest form as he suggests. 

We are afraid that the speaker lacks 
experience among the overseers. The 
making up of his production sheet is 
a much desired opportunity which the 
overseer wants to make comparisons 
and see where he stands relative to 
the production of the preceding weeks, 
cost and pounds cost. In surveying his 
pay roll, he notes the earning of each 
individual piece-worker, and also real- 
izes the cost of day help. It is on 
those occasions that the overseer gets 
a jolt when he sees that, comparative- 
ly speaking, his waste percentage and 
his pounds cost have gone up and the 
earnings of the help have gone down, 
and he immediately proceeds to look 
over the detail of reports and quickly 
locates the trouble. How would this 
be done without statistics? 
BETTER AOCOUNTING METHODS. 

The relief he offers to the overseer 



734 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



is of no value, because all service 
cards will have to be passed by him 
anyway, and will entail a good deal 
of labor to verify. In addition to 
this, the discipline of his department 
will be considerably impaired, as in 
the making of records each worker 
will have an excuse to refer to each 
other any features in making records 
that they think they do not under- 
stand. This feature in dealing with 
help is well understood by overseers, 
and every excuse that help have to 
get together is promptly eliminated 
when found by the overseer. 



By making a survey of the activi- 
ties in mills the reader will find far 
better methods in mill accounting than 
the speaker has to offer, and it is the 
intention of the American Wool and 
Cotton Reporter to continue its cru- 
sade in this direction, and it expects 
to see the day when standards of 
value in the mills will be so accurate 
that efficiency in the administration of 
mills will receive corresponding re- 
turns in prolflts and the parasite of 
inaccuracy will be banished from the 
textile industry. MILLMAN. 



Cost-Finding Suggestions 



During the past year there has 
been a constant thrashing out of tbe 
tariff as it is now administered. Tbe 
various schedules have been called 
the root of all that is bad in manufac- 
turing and com'mercial relations in 
the United States, and that they have 
permitted enormous profits to a few, 
by many who are advocating either 
lower duties or no duties at all de- 
pending on the stand which they as- 
sume on the question. Manufacturers 
are just as emphatic in their protest 
against any revision to a lower fig- 
ure, claiming that if changes are 
made it will compel them to retire 
from business operations. Some man- 
ufacturers even go so far as to claim 
that certain duties should be made 
higher than they are at present, for 
the duties are not fair in some cases. 
IT SHOULD BE ADMITTED 

by any person intimate with condi- 
tions that affairs as they exist to-day 
are no fair basis on which to make 
any estimate of profit or sales, be- 
cause mills have been compelled to 
curtail production for the lack of or- 
ders, and costs of operations have 
been much higher than usual, as 
mills have had to operate with much 
machinery standing idle; and not only 
this, but prices have been forced tq 



low levels by the competition for or- 
ders. Added to these conditions is the 
fact that cotton has gone from high 
to low levels, and the resulting uncer- 
tainty in stable prices has made an 
unusual situation, and one from which 
no fair comparisons can be drawn. 

It is a fact that many manufactur- 
ing plants in the textile line are un- 
dercapitalized, but do many admit that 
this extra valuation is brought about 
from the large earnings which were 
previously possible? 

The dividends which have been paid 
out in the past, whether large or 
small, as the case may be, do not rep- 
resent the earnings of most corpora- 
tions. This is a fact, and can be seen 
from investigation. Many mill men, 
however, admit there is a large varia- 
tion in the tariff duties, as now as- 
sessed, and it is certain that some 
grades of cloths are more highly pro- 
tected than others through the inser- 
tion of jokers, as they are called, or 
through the variableness in the man^ 
ner of assessing duties. There are 
some mill men, although few in num- 
ber, who think the present duties are 
wrongly or highly assessed, and 
among these, perhaps, Walter Lang- 
shaw is the one who is the best 
known. In the operation of his mills 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



735 



and in the profits secured he has 
been notably successful of late, and 
because of his stand on the tariff he 
has been criticized by many manu- 
facturers. 

While manufacturers in general 
have had numerous opportunities to 
give information regarding the cost 
of manufacturing various fabrics, and 
also other details in connection with 
manufacturing, they have always been 

MORE OR LESS AVERSE 
to supplying this information. This is 
one reason why people in general 
doubt many of their statements re- 
garding manufacturing conditions, Mr. 
Langshaw with others, while not be- 
lieving in the present tariff, and ad- 
mitting it is not fair, even if duties 
are added to their present percent- 
age, has not offered a solution of the 
difficulty. We do not blame him or the 
other tnill men, excepting that in so 
far as their business in the future is 
concerned, it would be better to have 
the situation settled right, so that a 
fair degree of certainty could be as- 
sured to a manufacturer, and he could 
adapt himself to future settled con- 
ditions. Successful mill men are 
busy men, for they have their imme- 
diate duties to transact, and, contrary 
to the belief of many, these duties in 
many cases require keen judgment, 
and because they have not offered a 
solution we are going to suggest a 
possible remedy. 

LABOR CHARGES IDENTICAL. 

The reason why we say there can 
be no fair tariff under present meth- 
ods is because, for one reason, the 
duty is placed not only on the labor 
item, which is included in the mak- 
ing of a piece of cloth, but also on 
the material of which it is composed. 
Just consider what the American peo- 
ple are paying for, and it can be 
seen that they are paying duties on 
material, which, in cotton goods at 
least, in many cases, they have ex- 
ported in the raw state. Another fact 
in this connection is that the mate- 
rial cost may vary in two pieces of 
cloth but the labor charges be identi- 
cal; that is, one cloth may cost nine 
cents to produce, and another ten 
cents to manufacture, while the labor 



to produce both samples was identical. 
How is this difference to be recogniz- 
ed under present methods? It mani- 
festly can not, and the cheaper cloth 
will not be as highly protected as the 
more expensive fabric. This above 
statement holds true in most cloths, 
for even if the construction of the 
fabric is identical, manufacturers 
vary the staple to a degree, and al- 
though cloth prices vary, the labor 
cost of manufacture may be the 
same, and this creates a wrong pro- 
tective duty. 

ANOTHER ILLUSTRATION 

of the variation can be given as the 
duties are assessed at present. Two 
cloths may have the same price, one 
may be a high count in the filling, 
with the yarns of rather fine size, 
and the other may have a coarser 
count in the filling, with a heavier size 
yarn, say one cloth is made with a 
soiesette construction and the other 
with a poplin construction. One cloth 
will have the value made up of a much 
larger percentage of material than 
the other, and the larger charges will 
be widely variable. In some cases, the 
labor may be twice as much in one 
cloth as in the other. It is absurd 
to believe that a fair duty can be 
assessed on cloth when these con- 
ditions exist to a greater or less de- 
gree in every piece of cloth manufac- 
tured. There are also other variations 
in duty, due to the excessive addi- 
tions on some grades, which are not 
enjoyed on other varieties, but we 
have not considered these, for they 
are in some cases deliberate plans to 
protect some special interests. 

We have considered the question in 
its best aspect, and we firmly believe 
that no satisfactory arrangetnent can 
ever be made when such a system is 
employed. Any planning of duties by 
the present tariff commission will de- 
velop the same faults which are 
shown at present, and if duties are 
lowered, the same variation will be 
evident, for it is absolutely impos- 
sible to eliminate them. To settle a 
question which means so much to the 
industry, it should be considered by 
men who are intimate with mills 
and mill conditions, and who are not 



736 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



interested enough financially to bias 
their opinion. As we have previous- 
ly stated that the present naethod is 
fundamentally wrong, it is necessary 
for us in maintaining our position to 
give at least a general idea of what 
we should consider the correct course. 
A method could not be correct in ev- 
ery detail at first, but In handling the 
subject, it appears from our observa- 
tions that a better method would be 
one that was based on the labor cost, 
which is included in the making of a 
piece of cloth. Many will claim that 
this cannot be done; but we ask in se- 
riousness whether it cannot be done. 
It would require a small force of ex- 
perts, but it would be far more accu- 
rate than at present; in fact, we be- 
lieve it would, in some cases, be ex- 
act, so far as all practical purposes 
go. The labor cost of making various 
sizes and qualities of yarn could be 
obtained quite easily, the labor which 
is employed in the various operations 
of manufacturing, in fact, the total 
labor cost could be obtained. 

THROUGH MANY COMPARISONS 

it has been found out that the extra 
labor charges in America may be in 
the vicinity of 50 per cent higher 
than abroad, and although this may 
not be correct, we have assumed that 
it is. If this duty be added to the 
labor cost alone, and a sufficient per- 
centage be added, because of the 



higher cost of building materials and 
supplies in this country, will not this 
represent far more accurately than 
at present the correct duty? Of 
course there are some other items 
which may vary this amount, but 
these could be easily obtained, and 
it seems sure that the widest varia- 
tion in this method would not be 
one-tenth the variation at present 
under ideal conditions of operation, 
which we never expect to see. 

By this method of figuring, it will 
be seen that one of the largest vari- 
able items of cost has been eliminated, 
namely, the material; and as this item 
will vary so widely and will affect the 
price of cloth so largely, it should 
help a great deal in solving the dif- 
ficulties. 

ANOTHER VARIABLE ITEM 

of the present method is shown by 
the conditions existing during the 
past year. A cloth may have been 
made of a certain construction one 
year ago; and this cloth would, of 
course, have been made of high-priced 
material. Duty was assessed on the 
price of the cloth with high mater- 
ial charges entering into the cost of 
making. Consider the same cloth as 
made to-day with material which cost 
very much less, and by the present 
method of assessing duty, the cost to 
an importer would be much less than 
the cost one year ago, and the real 



Threads per inch = 64. 

Warp weight = .0805. 



COST PLAN. 

Filling weight = .0624. 



Warp. 



Beam 
Beam 
Beam 
Beam 



Box 1 
Box 2 
Box 3 
Box 4 



Filling. 



Size of yarn. 
28/1 



Size of yarn. 
36/1 



Yarn labor. 
2.40 



Yarn labor. 
3.10 



Dyeing labor. 



Dyeing labor. 



Weaving 

General expenses .. . 



Finishing 

Selling 2% on cloth 
price. 



Yards per week. 
242 



Yards per week. 
242 



Bleaching. 
.40 



Wages. 
$9.50. 



Expenses per week 
17 %c. 



Dyeing. 



Looms per weaver. 
16 



Printing. 
.46 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



737 



Ficks per inch = 64. 

"Width = 27" 



COST PLAN. 

Yards per lb. = 7.00 



Price per yard = 5c. 



Beam & slash labor. 


Mercerizing labor. 


Total labor. 

2.40 


Labor per yard. 
= .193 






















Quilling labor. 


Mercerizing labor. 


Total labor. 

3.10 


= .793 






















Mercerizing. 


Napping. 


Shearing. 


= '.240 

= .073 

= .850 
= .100 



"Duty 50%. 



1.649 
50% 

Duty per yd. .8245 

*This duty is an assumed one and is used mainly to show the method employed. The 



percentage of protection necessary could be determined from careful investigation. 



facts in the case are that the labor 
charges may have been identical in 
both in importations of the cloth. How 
can an importer be protected for 
cloths which he may or may not have 
sold when the price has lessened? 
Does not the statement of these facts 
prove the fallacy of the present meth- 
od of assessment? We cannot see how 
anyone can believe otherwise, as the 
facts in the case are clear, and what 
is more, we do not believe many mill 
men tnink the conditions are right, ex- 
cepting that in nearly all cases the 
duties are high enough so that for- 
eign competition is easily excluded 
The main point is that they are not 
as fair to some as they are to other 
manufacturers, and all should be on 
the same basis. 

A PROPOSED NEW METHOD. 
Regarding the suggestion we have 
made concerning a new method, many 
may say that men cannot be obtained, 
but we feel certain that they can and 
at a fair price, too, considering the 
ability required. For illustration, we 
ask how fine and fancy goods are sold 
in this country. Are they sold from 
actual costs, or are they sold through 
some other standpoint? It is needless 
to designate, for most people know 



that most patterns of constructions 
in these lines are rather new, or at 
least the combinations of construc- 
tions and patterns are new, and in 
many, if not most cases, samples even 
are not made ibefore contracts are ac- 
cepted. It can thus be seen that goods 
are sold from cost estimates, which 
are made up from a sample of cloth, 
which is to be duplicated, or from 
details of construction which are 
asked for. The selling of cloth in 
these lines proves conclusively that 
mills must know their material 
charges, and also their labor charges 
to a very small fraction of a cent, or 
correct prices cannot be made, and 
as profits in many lines are made in 
small amounts per yard, it can be 
seen that known facts are used in 
connection with these figures. The 

ABOVE STATEMENTS PROVE 
that an average labor charge could 
be obtained for the various grades of 
yarn and cloth based on scientific 
data, and from such information a 
system could be worked up which, in 
a short time, would be far more val- 
uable than the present method. By 
this we mean that all mills would 
enjoy the same percentage of labor 
protection. Of course, some mills 



738 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



would still make more profit than oth- 
ers, because of more economical con- 
ditions and operations. It might be 
found necessary even to raise the per- 
centage of duty from the present, but 
the result would be accurate, and 
there would be no such variation as 
at present. We believe a number of 
men like Mr. Lajagshaw could, if they 
would, in a few days' time, frame a 
far more accurate system, which 
would be based on scientific facts 
than the present board with its large 
expenditure can or will make tlarough 
a year's experimentation, unless they 
produce something more valuable than 
the present methods when their report 
is submitted. 

PERFEOrlON OP COST SYSTBiMS. 
Because manufacturers framed the 
present tariff and left vagaries in it 
may have been policy, but cost sys- 
tems are just beginning to be perfect- 
ed so as to be accurate, and they may 
have done the best possible with the 
knowledge at hand, making duties 
high enough to protect all- Each piece 
of cloth under this new system would 
have to be treated differently, and va- 
rious details of information in regard 
to manufacturing would have to be 
known by the expert, but this would 
not require a large force, because it 
is possible to give cost estimates 
which are accurate on as many as 
1,500 or more samples a year. A sys- 
tem of filing could be arranged where- 
'by in time it would be only necessary 
in most cases to look up previous con- 
structions which have been treated. 
In this discussion we have treated not 
merely cotton cloths, hut mixtures of 
cotton and silk, cotton and linen and 
other combinations, and it seems pos- 
sible that it could be equally as well 
applied to silk and woolen goods, and 
the results be as accurate as would be 
necessary to protect American indus- 
try, and not only this but to eliminate 
for all time the large variation in 
duties, which are not necessary or 
advisahle. In explanation of the proc- 
ess, we will 

SUBMIT A PLAN OF COSTS 
based on the method we have sug- 
gested. Different plans could be used 
for various grades of cloth, but, to 



make the idea as clear as possible, we 
will use a simple cloth, and will give 
detail as necessary. The figures used 
will be approximately correct, and al- 
though changes might be necessary, 
the fundamental idea could be used. 
We firmly believe some ra-dical change 
will be necessary before mill men, im- 
porters or the general public will be 
satisfied that politics has not played 
a larger part in the tariff than any 
scientific data, however carefully com- 
piled. The fundamental principles 
are wrong at present, and will stay 
"wrong as long as the method is used. 

In explanation of the plan, as laid 
out, it can readily be seen that we 
have given the total labor cost on the 
yarn per pound, and this cost includes 
the labor of making the yarn, spool- 
ing, warping, slashing, and drawing- 
in, and brings the labor cost up to the 
weaving operation. This makes a di- 
viding line 

BETWEEN YARN AND CLOTH. 
If more detail is needed on the yarn 
cost, it can be subdivided into the 
various processes. This might be ad- 
visable if a plan such as this were 
used. We have also made divisions 
wherein, when cloth is dyed or 
bleached or processed in various meth- 
ods, the cost of the various op- 
erations can be given. The whole cost 
can be subdivided much more than 
we have done. There should be suf- 
ficient spaces left in any plan, so that 
the number of warps and fillings could 
be given, and we have left spaces 
for four different warps and fillings. 
The weaving operation is usually done 
as piece work, and to a man familiar 
with fine and fancy weaving a loom 
speed and percentage production can 
be assumed which will be practically 
accurate. It is also possible to assume 
the number of looms which a weaver 
can run in ordinary cases, and also 
the wages which would be made. 
From these items, the weaving cost 
per yard can be determined accurate- 
ly. The general expenses give us the 
labor cost, after the yam has been 
made, and includes the labor up to the 
finishing process. It is apportioned on 
the loom basis, and the production 
per loom determines the cost per yard. 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



739 



The finishing charges are sub- 
divided into various processes, 
but they can be extended on any plan 
into as much detail as is required, 
and more than we have attempted to 
do. The labor cost alone is used in 
these figures, and no allowance has 
been made for material or supplies 
which we have assumed every one 
should use in practically the same 
amounts. In the selling costs, it would 
seem good policy to give a certain 
percentage of the cost selling price. 
We have used 2 per cent, which would 
b« correct in some cases, and too low 
in others, but it possibly covers the 
cost of selling on many of the cloths 
which are made of grey yarn. 

From the above details, it can be 
seen that the total labor cost is given, 
and if the difference in the labor cost 
is 50 per cent in favor of Europe, then 
50 per cent added will place both 
countries on the same manufacturing 
basis, leaving out the extra cost which 
it is claimed a mill will cost here. A 
certain percentage can be added for 
this difference, and then, if a certain 
amount of protection is desired, the 
percentage can be raised to cover the 
difference in cost of labor plus the de- 
sired protection. It would appear that 
a system which is 

BAjSBD on SCIENTIFIC FACTS 

would be much more accurate than 
any other, and that it would eliminate 
the injustice' of the present method. 
It is certain that sooner or later known 
facts will have to be used more than 
they have in the past. A sample of 
cloth could be kept with every cost 
plan, and with any accurate system 
of filing on very many qualities of fab- 
rics, it would not be necessary to 
make a labor cost, for reference could 
be made to previous samples, and the 
cost plan duplicated. The plan given 
would need adjustment to suit condi- 
tions as they develop, but the funda- 
mental facts could be used in evolv- 
ing a satisfactory system, and it is a 
fact that sooner or later it will be ab- 
solutely necessary to use a system in 
which these principles form the basis 
of operation. Whether the present 
tariff board considers such a system 



or not, it will he necessary to incor- 
porate fundamental facts if real prog- 
ress is made on the present situation. 
DESIGNER. 



COTTON CLOTH COST FINDING. 

L*Copyright 1913 by Frank P. Bennett, Jr.] 

A Key for Cloth Buyers and Cloth 
Makers. 
The American cotton cloth indus- 
try has developed rapidly during the 

past few years, but just how fast few 
really realize unless they have been 
in close touch with selling conditions. 
Formerly, most of the fabrics pro- 
duced were made from coarse yarns, 
and the patterns were made largely 
by the introduction of icolors, while 
to-day the styling and weaves are of 
great variety, with yarns of much 
finer sizes and very much better 
quality. Naturally, such a develop- 
ment has been brought about through 
the demand of consumers, but along 
v/ith this increased demand there 
h.ive arisen many problems of sell- 
iniT, and making which at one time 
we/e not of great importance. 

In the first place many or the new 
lines of cloth are handled by conver- 
ters or converting jobbers who place 
ordeis for fabrics and who designate 
what the cloth constructions and pat- 
terns are to be, and in this way the 
manufacturer is more a cloth maker 
than he is a cloth or style developer. 
In a large number of cases, this con 
verter asks a mill treasurer to quote 
a price on the fabrics or combinations 
which he desires and which the mill 
has not previously made, and, there- 
fore, a manufacturer must have some 
means of knowing fairly accurately. 
the cost of making any cloth his mill 
is able to produce. This necessity 
has resulted in the keeping of care- 
ful records and from such records 
economical cloth making has partly 
been due. 



*This little Key is the most valuable book 
ever offered to the Textile Industry of the 
world, and the copyright will be protected 
to the extent of every line contained herein. 

This cotton goods cost key is for grey 
cloths and is the net mill cost with no 
profits at all added. 



740 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



Tlie building of large mills, to- 
gether with the great increase in 
competition, has also been responsi- 
ble for the lowering of costs of pro- 
duction, as has the greater general 
knowledge regarding the fine points 
in fabric making. Under such con- 
ditions as have developed, even the 
older mills, which make fabrics of 
bleached and colored yarns, have 
found that a better knowledge than 
formerly is necessary regarding the 
costs of cloth making, that is if they 
continue in the race with others, and 
if the fabrics they produce be the 
ones which show the best margins of 
profit. 

The cost systems which have been 
developed are, many of them, fairly 
satisfactory in the plant where they 
are used but are of comparatively 
little value to others, and it can oe 
said that there is about as great va- 
riety in the methods which are em- 
ployed as could well be imagined, 
Admitting that these methods of find- 
ing costs are satisfactory to the mills 
using them, it will be seen that they 
give more or less protection to the 
cloth maker in that he can auote a 
price to a buyer which may or may 
not be exhorbitant. The buyer has 
no protection at all excepting that, 
obtained through asking quotations 
from different sellers for the same 
cloth, and through his own judgment 
regarding the price at which the 
cloth will sell. 

Because certain trained cloth mak- 
ers have information of the above na- 
ture they are of value to cloth buy- 
ers, making money for them by sav- 
ing it. Recognizing that a cloth buy- 
er is just as important in distribut- 
ing as a manufacturer is in produc- 
ing, and knowing that absolutely no 
reliable information is obtainable on 
the subject, we are presenting a few 
general rules which will be of great 
value to buyers, and which will give 
a certain amount of aid to manufac- 
turers 

FABRIC ANALYSIS. 

It should be readily seen by anyone 
who understands anything about 
cloth that any reliable cost system 



must be based first on certain funda- 
mental facts of cloth construction. In 
this it is no different than any other 
problem of construction, for the items 
material, labor, insurance, supplies 
and all the other details must be con- 
sidered carefully. To many the prob- 
lem appears very complicated. De- 
cause the items for cotton cloth are 
so small per yard. 

COST ESTIMATE. 

A cost estimate is either made 
from a stated construction or from a 
sample submitted, and as making a 
cloth analysis consists in obtaining 
the cloth construction, the problems 
are identical when this has been ac- 
complished. There are two facta 
upon which cotton icloth construction 
depends, first, that No. 1 yam con- 
tains 840 yards per pound, No. 2 yarn 
contains 1,680 yards per pound, and 
so on, or, in other words, that No. 50 
yarn contains 50 times 840 yards, or 
i2,000 yards per pound, and second, 
that a pound, as used for yarn, con- 
tains itj ounces or 7,000 grains. 

In giving all of our estimates we 
have attempted to make the problem 
as simple as possible, not only re- 
garding the yarns and their cost but 
also regarding the cloth and its cost 
of making. We have, therefore, laid 
out the cost on an average number 
basis, and while this has its defects, 
it gives results which are fairly ac- 
curate, and which are much more re- 
liable than some mills have been in 
the habit of obtaining. The results 
are ones which might be noted in any 
medium-sized, economical plant, and 
while some operate at a lower cost, 
there are others which have a higher 
cost, and, in this connection, the fig 
ures given will be of value. Undei 
certain conditions, some 'Cloth buyers 
or cloth makers may desire to under- 
stand the method of analyzing a 
piece of cloth, and we, therefore 
present such a process. 

ANALYZING CLOTH. 

The first step in making a cloth 
analysis is to obtain the number of 
threads and picks per inch, and this 
is accomplished either by cutting out 
a certain amount of cloth with a die 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



?41 



and then pulling out the threads anc 
counting them, or else by counting 
the threads with a magnifying glass 
as they stand in the cloth. Tlie 
threads per inch in the cloth multi- 
plied by the cloth width will give the 
number of threads in the warp un- 
less there be a special pattern wherg 
extra threads are used. This is, of 
course, not considering the selvages, 
for they are usually about a quarter 
of an inch wide on each edge of the 
cloth, and contain about twice as 
many threads as the ground work ol 
the fabric. 

The next step is to obtain the yarn 
sizes in the cloth being considered 
This is done by pulling out threads 
and then weighing on accurate bal 
ances. The amount of yarn to b*. 
weighed will depend somewhat on 
circumstances, but any amount over 
100 inches will give satisfactory re- 
sults if the balances be accurate, al- 
though, of course, it is often possible 
to obtain only a few inches of cloth, 
and estimates must be made under 
such conditions. To illustrate tihe 
method used in finding the size of 
yarn an example may be of service. 
AN EXAMPLE. 

If 124 inches of yarn be pulled out 
and then weighed and the weight is 
1 1-10 grains, what is the yarn size? 
The formula is: 

124 inches X 7,000 grains 

— ■ ■ — = 26/1 

1.1 grains X 36 inches X 840 standard 

The result as obtained will be clear 
enough to anyone having any expe- 
rience, but an explanation may be of 
value- If the 124 inches which were 
weighed be divided by the weight, or 
1 1-10 grains, the result will be the 
inches per grain, or 112 7-10. As 
there are 7,000 grains per pound, the 
inches per grain times 7,000 
will give inches per pound. If this 
result be divided by 36 inches, it will 



give the number of yards per pound, 
and when any given number of yards 
of cotton yarn weighs a pound, the 
size can easily be obtained by divid- 
ing by 840 yards which is the stand- 
ard for No. 1 yarn. 

Of course, in making any accurate 
analysis there are also other facts 
which should be obtained, such as 
the take-up on the yarn, or yarns 
used, both warp and filling, and the 
warp pattern or weave, if the cloth 
is to be duplicated. The take-up can 
be obtained approximately by pulling 
out yarn and measuring the length 
obtained and comparing it with the 
length of the cloth woven from It. 

As an illustration, the following 
may make the process cleat: A 
thread is 61 inches long when it is 
woven in the cloth, but stretches to 
7 inches when pulled out. What is 
the take-up? 

7 inches — 6% inches = .5 Inches. 
.5 inches ~- 7 inches = 7% take-up. 

With a little experience, the resuU 
obtained in this manner will be en 
tirely satisfactory. 

THE PATTERN. 
When the fabric has a pattern in 
it, some kind of a plan must be 
made if an accurate analysis be de- 
sired, but this is only necessary in 
certain instances in the plan such as 
we have used in our system of costs. 
Following we give a plan which may 
be of service. The first step is to 
obtain the width of the pattern, and 
by dividing the width of the cloth by 
that of the pattern the number of 
repeats of the pattern may be ob- 
tained, and from this result the num- 
ber of ends or threads of the differ- 
ent yarns in the warp. 

Cloth width. 35%". Selvages, %" total. 
Pattern width, .51 inch. 

35%" — %" = 35%" -7- .51 = 69 3-5 repeats. 
Note that the selvages are narrower than le 
usually the case. 



742 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



PATTERN BL'JE SAMPLE 



W'l American combed |12| 

30/1 American combed blue | I 

30/3 American carded | 1 



I I I I 

I I I I 



32| 



I 21 
l-l 

121 



= 2,564 
= 276 
= 276 



To make the process as simple as 
possible, the system as we have 
planned makes it unnecessary to an- 
alyze a piece of cloth so as to be able 
to find the cost of making. A few 
items are, however, necessary, and 
they should be readily understood. 
One fact which it is necessary to 
know is the width of ths cloth. An- 
other is the threads and picks per 
inch. On these two facts, together 
with the take-up and the fundamental 
facts regarding yarn weights and 
sizes, the following system is found- 
ed. In a general way, the yarn take- 
ups in ordinary cloths may be about 
10 per cent, and we have used this 
figure in our explanation. 

The take-up will probably be more 
than the amount given on heavy and 
less on light fabrics, rnd if more ac- 
curacy be desired than that obtained 
through the use of 10 per cent take- 
up the threads and picks can be pull- 
ed out, and the actual take-up of the 
cloth noted and avera.>.\ed, and in this 
manner a better result be obtained. 
It is admitted that yarn sizes are 
much different when finished cloth is 
being considered, tut, due to han- 
dling and processing, the yarns are 
generally finer in finished cloth than 
they are in grey cloth. Usually, a 
yarn which is 50-1 in grey cloth will 
become about 55-1 in finished cloth 
or. in other words, it will be about. 1' 
Tipr cent finer. This fact should bf 
considered when a finished cloth ia 



being analyzed, or when the cost of 
making is being obtained. 

THE AVERAGE NUMBER. 

To make the .method clear, we will 
follow out the process of obtaining 
the average number from an ordi- 
nary fabric. A wide standard print 
cloth contains 64 threads and 64 
picks per inch. It is 381 inches wide 
in the grey state and weighs 5.15 
yards per pound. If the threads and 
picks be added together (64 threads 
plus 64 picks equals 128 total 
threads per inch), and then multi- 
plied by the cloth width, it will give 
the number of yards of yarn in a 
yard of cloth without the take-un nn 
the yarn. This gives as a result 4.- 
928 yards of yarn. As we have pre- 
viously stated, there is a 10 per cent 
take-up, and if this be added, the re- 
sult will be 5,476 yards of yarn (to- 
tal) in a yard of cloth. As there are 
5.15 yards per pound in this cloth, if 
the yards of yarn per yard be multi- 
plied by the yards of cloth per pound, 
the result will be the number of 
vards of yarn per pound (5,476 
times 5.15 equals 28,201 yards). 
If this number of yards of yarn be 
'•'■^nc'ed by the standard number of 
S40. it will give the average size of 
varn in the cloth as woven, or 34 
''98.201 dividpd by 840 equals 34). 
'T'hls result forms the basis of es- 
HmaMng the cost of the material 
\Vhi>h enters into each yard of cloth. 

If there be a pattern in the cloth 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDma 



743 



which contains cords or extra 
threads, all that it is necessary to 
do is to obtain the number of threads 
m the pattern and the width of 
the pattern, and then the totaJi 
number of ends in the warp can be 
obtained as previously explained. 
When there is a check in the filling, 
the same process can be employed, 
and by adding the average number 
of threads and picks per inch to- 
gether the average size can be 
obtained, just the same as if only one 
size of yarn had been used in warp 
and filling. Following are presented 
the figures previously obtained so 
that the process may be clear: 

64 threads + fi4 nicks .= 128, total threads per 

128 X 38% ", cloth width = 4,928 yards of yarn 
per yard of cloth Vv^ithout take-ups. 

10% take-up in weaving. 

4,928 -^ .9 = 6,476, total yards of yarn per 
yard of cloth. 

5,476 X 5.15 yards per lb. = 28,201 yards of 
yarn per lb. of cloth. 

28,201 -=- 840 standard = 34, average yarn size. 

ITEMS OF UM COST. 

The method we have adopted 
shows in a simple manner how to ob- 
tain the average size of the yarns 
which compose a fabric, and the 
next problem is to obtain the costs 
of these yarns. In obtaining the cost 
of yarn the first item which is of im- 
portance is the cost of the material 
or cotton. This cost will vary in 
different .years and in different parts 
of the same year, so that no figures 
are absolutely reliable except for a 
comparatively short time after being 
presentea, but a simple rule will 
serve to make the results very accu- 
rate. In the costs, as we have laid 
them out, the yarn costs are based 
on cotton which costs 14 cents a 
pound for Middling Uplands grade 
at the mill, or on to-day's basis of 
costs. This makes the cost of cotton 
about 134 cents, as quoted in the cot- 
ton exchange. If cotton should de- 
cline 2 cents a pound, this amount 
subtracted from the price of yarn as 
eiven will be accurate enough for all 
ordinary purposes, and if the price 
of cotton should advance, any extra 
charges over the 13i cents, as quoted 



on the exchange, should be added to 
the price of the yarn as given. The 
finer yarns are, of course, made from 
longer staple cotton, but it has been 
touna that the advances for the dif- 
ferent lengths of staples are quite reg 
ular, and that if the advances or de- 
creases noted on Middling Uplands 
grade be added to or subtracted from 
the yarn costs as given and made 
from longer staple cotton, the results 
will be entirely satisfactory. The 
price of Middling Uplands can always 
be obtained from any good textile pa- 
per. 

LOSSES IN PROCESSING. 
When the price of cotton has been 
obtained there are, of course, certain 
losses in processing at the mill which 
make the net cost of cotton in the 
yarn somewhat higher than it was 
when purchased. We have consider- 
, ed normal conditions in the amounts 
of waste made and in the extra price 
made necessary through this loss, 
and, of course, the loss on combed 
yarn is much higher than that for 
carded yarn. 

In addition to the price of material 
in the yarn is the cost of the labor 
of spinning it and getting it In a 
condition ready to weave, and also 
the various expenses such as sup- 
plies, insurance, depreciation and the 
other costs necessary in the processes 
of making yarn. Yarns are not all 
made with the same amount of twist, 
and because the twist will vary, the 
production per spindle will vary. and. 
naturally, when the production va- 
ries, the cost of making will vary, 
but for normal yarns the cost of the 
cotton forms such a large proportion 
that a small variation in production 
does not greatly affect the total cost 
of the finished material. 

COMBED YARNS. 
Not only do combed yarns have a 
greater loss in cotton but they also 
have a somewhat larger expense In 
making, and this has been considered 
in calculating the costs. Then it is also 
true that warp yarn made from a 
certain cotton is likely to be of a 
foarser size than filling made from 
the same length of staple. Thus, 



744 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



30S-1 warp might be made from 1 1-16- 
inch staple, while the same staple 
would be used in filling as fine as 
40s-l. As we have only given one 
cost, which is the average for both 
warp and filling, the change in length 
of staple comes at a higher number 
than it would if warp and filling had 
been considered separately, that is, 
by obtaining an average price tlie 
cost of, say, 44s-l yarn would be 
rather low for warp and high for fill- 
ing, but is a fair average. 

Admitting that there are certain 
faults in treating the subject as we 
have, but which are due to the fact 
that it is a short system and one 
which can be used by those not ac- 
quainted with a great amount of tech- 
nical detail used in cloth making, we 
give the following table of yarn cost^ 
for both combed and carded yarns: 

YARN COSTS FOR COMBED AND 
CARDED YARNS. 

Including All Costs up to the Weave 
Room. 

Carded. Combed. 

(Cents (Cents 
Size. per pound.) per pound.) 

10 14.68 22.14 

12 14.92 22.50 

14 15.18 22.69 

16 15.46 22.99 

18 15.74 23.2!< 

20 16.02 23.61 

22 16.34 23.95 

24 16.66 24.31 

26 19.22 24.63 

28 19.56 25.01 

30 19.92 25.40 

82 20.30 25.82 

34 20.67 26.23 

Sfi 23.27 26.60 

38 23.68 27.04 

40 24.05 27.44 

42 24.47 27.91 

44 24.95 28.42 

46 27.63 31.51 

48 28.12 32.05 

50 28.60 32.56 

55 29.77 33.86 

60 33.08 37.62 

65 34.58 .'?9.23 

70 43.39 

75 45.09 

80 49.49 

85 51.52 

90 56.21 

95 58.44 

lOO 63.11 

METHOD OF USING YARN KEY. 

We have previously explained how 
to obtain the average number in an? 



piece of cloth, and it is a simple 
process, for all that is needed is the 
total average threads and picks per 
inch, and by actually weighing the 
cloth, the average size of the yarn 
can be obtained. Buyers can obtain 
the weight of the cloth and the count 
because it is usually given in the 
contracts made, but when it is not 
available, it can be very easily ob- 
tained. We have found that the av- 
erage size of yarn in the standard 
print cloth is about 34s-l. By refer- 
ring to the table we find that for 
carded yarn the cost of making, in- 
cluding the cotton, is 20.67 cents per 
pound. This cloth weighs 5.15 yards 
per pound, or .194 pounds per yard. 
Tf this cost be multiplied by the ac 
t.ua.l weight per yard of the cloth, the 
cost of the material can easily be 
obtained, which enters into each yard 
of the cloth, (20.67 cents per pound 
times .194 equals 4.01 cents, cost of 
material). 

COMBED AND CARDED YARNS. 

Some buyers may not be able to 
distinguish which fabrics are made of 
carded yarn and which of combed 
yarn. When a buyer makes a con- 
tract this is usually stated, but for 
those who are not in position to ob- 
tain this information, it can be said 
that the cldth appearance in a large 
number of cases will make this fact 
plain. 

When yarns are finer than 6'Os-l ^ 
they are almost always made from ^ 
combed stock, while there are also 
all the mercerized fabrics and most 
of the piece-dyed fabrics which are 
made from combed stock. When a 
piece of grey cloth is obtainaJble, or 
when it is being analyzed and if it is 
made of carded stock there is likely 
to be a good many small specks 
which are not often present when 
the combed yarn has been used. 
Cloth made from carded yarn is also 
likely to have a certain amount of 
roughness which is not present in 
combed work. A little experience 
will enable one to estimate pretty ac 
.'•-urately whether a fabric has beer 
made from carded or combed yarn 
If combed yarn has been used, the 



COTTON MILL COS'T-FINIDING 



745 



prices should be used as given under 
the combed heading in the table. 

CLOTH COSTS. 

We have already shown a method 
by which the average size of yarn in 
any piece of cloth might be obtained, 
and have also given a table in which 
there are included the price of ma- 
terial, labor, expenses and other de- 
tails necessary in the making of 
yarn. With the average number and 
the average price, the cost of the 
material in the yard of cloth is eas- 
ily found, but there are other costs 
which are necessary before the total 
cloth cost is obtained. These are the 
costs of weaving and the expenses 
which naturally go with it, together 
with the expenses incurred in iselling 
the cloth. 

WEAVING COSTS. 

It must be admitted that thei^ are 
a very great number of costs possible 
for weaving any certain kind of 
cloth. In the first place, there are 
certain fabrics which are being wov- 
en on ordinary looms, and at the same 
time, being produced in other mills 
on automatic looms, and, naturally, 
the cost of production will vary. 
Then it is also true that one mill will 
use a somewhat shorter staple of cot- 
ton in its yarn and then run its> 
looms somewhat slower and Avith a 
consequent loss in percentage of pro- 
duction. Other mills will use a bet- 
ter quality of cotton which costs 
more, and, therefore, be able to run 
the loom somewhat faster and obtain 
a greater percentage of production. 

Each mill has certain problems 
which are individual and which must 
be worked out to their own satisfac- 
tion, but the variation taken all to- 
gether for yarn and cloth is not so 
great as many suppose to be the 
case. There are so many automatic 
looms in operation in the domestic 
market that they should be consider- 
ed when the price is being obtained 
on any ordinary fabric which can be 
produced on them. Under such cir- 
cumstances, practically all kinds of 
plain 'cloth, sateens, twills, plain 
shirtings, duck, denims, sheet- 



ings, towels, drills, lawns, cambrics, 
pillow tubing, ginghams, flannels, 
etc., should be considered as woven 
on automatic looms, for they do make 
the price lower. It is often a fact 
that a certain cloth is being made on 
automatic looms and is returning a 
fair dividend at a certain price, while 
it is also true that the same fabric 
is being made on ordinary looms, and 
is returning the manufacturer prac- 
tically no dividends. 

PRICE AND COST RELATIONS. 

A fact which is of importance in 
any cost is the relation of prices to 
costs. The price of cloth to-day 
shows a high profit when automatic 
looms are used, and a medium one 
where non-automatic looms are used, 
but the price of cotton to-day is high, 
and many manufacturers are using 
cotton in the cloth which they are 
selling which actually costs them 2 
cents a pound less than the present 
price, and which on an ordinary wide 
print cloth would return them about 
two-fifths of a cent per yard more 
than if they found it necessary to 
buy their cotton at to-day's price. 
This two-fifths of a cent per yard 
will make a difference in profit ob- 
tained of from 7 to 8 per cent and 
explains why profits do not appear 
any higher in our estimates. In ob- 
taining any cost of yarn the cotton 
cost must be first checked up and 
then the process is simple. 

We have given one table which 
contains the cost of weaving, includ- 
ing the expenses per loom and the 
selling costs per yard for cloths con- 
taining from 20 to 124 picks. Our 
yarn cost contains everything up to 
the weaving operation, while the 
cloth or weaving cost embraces ev- 
erything which is not included in the 
yarn costs. Recognizing that looit 
speeds will vary and that percent- 
ages of production will vary also, we 
present the following table, which, 
tog-ether with the yarn costs, will 
give the cost on all ordinary fabrics. 
We have given the cost which should 
be noted with a moderate loom speed 
with a rather low percentage of pro- 
duction and a comparatively small 



746 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDINa 



number of looms per operative. Many 
mills are able to do much better than 
the figures given in the table, but for 
average conditions, the table will be 
found to be very accurate. 

PLAIN CLOTH COST. 

Including Ail Costs Beginning With 
Weave Room. 





Costs 




Costs 


Picks. 


per yard. 


Picks. 


per yard. 


20 


$0.0025 


70 


?0.0096 


22 


0.0028 


72 


0.0099 


2i 


0.0031 


74 


0.0102 


26 


O.0O34 


76 


0.0105 


28 


0.0037 


78 


0.0108 


30 


0.0040 


80 


0.0110 


32 


0.0042 


82 


0.0113 


34 


0.0045 


84 


0.0116 


36 


O.O048 


86 


0.0119 


38 


O.0051 


88 


0.0122 


40 


0.0054 


90 


0.0125 


42 


0.0057 


92 


0.O128 


44 


0.0060 


94 


0.0130 


46 


0.0062 


96 


0.0133 


48 


0.0065 


98 


0.0136 


50 


0.0068 


100 


0.0139 


52 


0.0071 


102 


0.0141 


54 


0.0074 


104 


0.0144 


56 


0.0076 


1C6 


0.0147 


58 


0.0079 


108 


0.0150 


60 


0.0082 


110 


0.0153 


62 


0.0085 


112 


0.0156 


64 


0.00S8 


114 


0.0159 


66 


0.0091 


116 


0.0162 


68 


0.0093 


118 


0:0164 






120 


0.Q167 






122 


0.0170 






124 


0.0173 



EXPLANATION OF TABLE. 

A3 we have already explained the 
method of obtaining the yarn size ir 
any piece of cloth and through the 
table of yarn 'COsts we have been 
able to find out how much the cost 
■yf material is for each yard of cloth 
the foregoing table will enable us to 
ascertain all the other ^costs which 
we have not included in the cost of 
the yarn. As we figured previously, 
the cost of material or yarn in a yard 
of ordinary print cloth, 38i inches 
wide, was 4.01 cent. By referring to 
the table of costs given above, it will 
be noted that for a plain cloth with 
64 piclts the cost of weaving and ex- 
penses is $0.0088, or a total cost (4.01 
cents plus .88 cents equals 4.89 cents). 
This cloth is to-day selling for about 
5i cents, thus giving a profit of .61 
cents a yard. With a normal produc- 
tion per loom this will give a net 
profit of at least $70 per loom per 
year, although many mills, through 
their longer hours and greater 



percentage of production, wouTu 
obtain more than this amount. 
Seventy dollars a loom per 
year will give a profit on a fair loom 
valuation of 11 or 12 per cent. Thus 
it will be seen that any manufacturer 
who purchased his cotton the present 
season at 12 cents per pound at the 
mill is obtaining, with prices of cloth 
at the present levels, a profit of at 
least 20 per cent. 

In many cases, the profit obtained 
is more than this amount, for we 
have not given in our estimates any 
low figures for any single item, but 
have confined ourselves to norma] 
conditions which should be noted in 
every representative mill. With the 
foregoing explanations, it should be 
an easy matter to obtain the approx- 
imate cost of any cotton fabric which 
is made on an automatic loom. 

FANCY CLOTH COSTS. 

As we have already stated, there is 
quite a variation in loom speeds and 
percentages of production on plain 
cloths, but there is an even wider va- 
riation in the above items on fancy 
cloths. The cloth constructions made 
and various other items are likely to 
affect the results, and even to the 
mill which makes the cloth the re- 
sults obtained are often not ascer- 
tainable. The analysis of a fancy 
cloth or the finding of the average 
number of yarn used is no different 
than for a coarser fabric. It is, how- 
ever, a good policy to find out the 
take-ups and use the ones found when 
making an estimate for the yam size. 
There are so many varied conditions 
that only normal cloths can be con- 
sidered. Such fabrics as all-over 
lenos or ones on which there is a 
higher weaving expense, or where 
less looms than usual per weaver are 
run, of course cannot be considered 
on any average basis, because the 
weaving cost is so high. 

The weaving of fancy cloth has. 
however, become more systematized 
during the past ten years, and where 
there is a style which does not run 
especially well, it is usually placed 
in a set of looms in such a manner 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



747 



that it is operated on a basis not 
much, if any, different than other 
normal fancy fabrics. Jacquard 
looms a few years ago were fewer in 
number to a weaver than they are 
to-day, and in a great many instances, 
for ordinary straight tie-up machines 
the number of looms per weaver is 
as many as it is for ordinary fancy 
cloths. For this reason, fancy dobby 
cloth and ordinary jacquard cloth can 
be considered on the same basis. 

FABRIC WIDTHS. 

It would be well to remember that 
all of our costs as given apply to or- 
dinary fabrics, that is, ones up to 41 
or 42 inches wide in the grey. Fancy 
fabrics are not often made in the do- 
mestic market much over 36 inches 
wide in the grey state, but there are 
many imported fabrics in these lines 
which are up to 46 or 47 inches wide 
in the finished state. 

There are many plain fabrics, how- 
ever, which are made wider than 40 
inches in the domestic market, but 
we have not attempted to present 
costs on such fabrics, although they 
will not vary greatly from those giv- 
en in our table, inasmuch as the ma- 
terial forms such a large proportion 
of the total cost. Fancy mills usual- 
ly have quite a variety of looms in 
their organization, and all these 
looms cost different amounts, but it 
is almost impossible to separate the 
various items and place them on a 
different basis, and for this reason, 
ordinary jacquard cloths such as 
shirtings, waistings and silk and cot- 
ton mixtures are sold on practically 
the same basis of cost as ordinary 
dobby fabrics. The difference in 
costs is so slight that for all practical 
Durposes they may be considered on 
the same basis. 

MILL PROFITS. 

So far as the profits of a mill 
or the selling price of cloth is (Con- 
cerned, it can be said that these are 
largely the result of conditions affect- 
ing the sale of goods. Fancy cloth 
mills, or at least many of them, at- 



tempt 10 obtain a net profit of about 
$2 per loom per week, or about $100 
per loom per year, which gives at 
least a net profit of 10 per cent if the 
mill be arranged for expensive cloths, 
while it gives more than 10 per cent 
profit if an ordinary fancy mill be 
considered. 

The profit per yard will vary de- 
pending upon the number of picks per 
inch, for it would not be a correct 
policy to expect a 30-pick cloth to 
return as high a profit per yard as 
one containing 100 picks. A cloth 
which was being produced at the rate 
of 200 yards per loom per week and 
which was showing a net profit of 1 
cent per yard would return about $2 
per week, or about $100 per year. A 
plain cloth does not need to carry the 
same amount of profit, because the 
total cost per loom of the mill is lese 
for plain cloth than it is for fancj 
cloth making. Understanding all the 
above conditions and realizing thai 
there are radical cloths which cannot 
be considered under any but an In- 
dividual basis, we present the follow 
ing table which includes all the costs 
of fancy cloth weaving. 

FANCY CLOTH COSTS. '^^ 

Including All Costs Beginning With 
the Weave Room. 



\ 





Costs 




Costs 


Picks. 


per yard. 


Picks. 


per yard. 


20 


$0.0072 


70 


?0.0274 


22 


O.OOSO 


72 


0.0282 


24 


0.0088 


74 


0.0290 


26 


0.0096 


76 


0.0298 


28 


0.0104 


78 


0.0306 


30 


0.0112 


80 


0.0314 


32 


0.0120 


82 


0.0323 


34 


0.0128 


84 


0.0331 


36 


0.0137 


86 


0.0339 


38 


0.0145 


88 


0.0347 


40 


0.0153 


90 


0.0355 


42 


0.0161 


92 


0.0363 


44 


0.0169 


94 


0.0371 


46 


0.0177 


96 


0.0379 


48 


0.0185 


98 


0.0387 


50 


0.0193 


lOO 


0.0395 


52 


0.0201 


102 


0.0403 


54 


0.0209 


104 


0.0411 


56 


0.0217 


106 


0.0419 


58 


0.0225 


108 


0.0427 


60 


0.0233 


110 


0.0435 


62 


0.0241 


112 


0.0443 


64 


0.0250 


114 


0.0451 


Aft 


n nass 


lift 


n.fl4R» 


68 


0.0266 


IIS 


0.04S7 






120 


0.0475 






122 


0.0483 






124 


0.0491 



748 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



METHOD OF FINDING COST 
ILLUSTRATED. 

Possibly an illustration of the meth- 
od as used on a fancy fabric may 
make the process of finding the cost 
more evident. An oidinary fancy 
cloth which is sold in large quanti- 
ties is the one which contains 64 
threads and 72 picks per inch. It is 
34 inches wide in the grey state and 
weighs about 6.30 yards per pound. 
This cloth is made from combed yarn 
and is used extensively in piece mer- 
cerization. As previously explained 
64 threads plus 72 picks equals 136, 
the total threads per inch. Then we 
have 136 times 34 inches cloth width 
equals 4,624 yards of yarn per yard 
of cloth, not including the take-up in 
weaving. As previously noted, 10 per 
cent is a fair average for this take-up, 

4.624 divided by .9 equals 5,138 total 
yards of yarn per yard of cloth. 5,138 
times 6.30 yards per pound equals 
32,369 yards of yarn per pound. To 

. find the size, this number of yardb 
' should be divided by 840, the stand- 
ard for number 1 yarn. Then we have 
32,369 yards divided by 840 standard 
equals 38.1, the average size of yam 
in the cloth. . 

lARN COST TABLE. 

By referring to the table for yarn 
costs we find that the average price 
of combed 38s-l yarn is 27.04 cents 
per pound. As this fabric contains 
6.30 yards per pound the weight per 
yard is 1.0000 divided by 6.30 or .159, 
the weight of the cloth per yard. 
Then we have 27.04 cents times .159 
equals 4.30 cents, the cost of the ma- 
terial per yard of cloth. Again, re- 
ferring to the table of weaving cost, 
we will find that the total expense 
and labor for a 72-pick fancy cloth 
2.82 cents, so 4.30 cents plus 2.82 
cents equals 7.12 cents, the total cost 
of producing this fancy fabric. To- 
day's quoted price for the above cloth 
is 81 cents, so the difference between 
the cost of making and the selling 
price represents the net mill profit. 

8.625 cents minus 7.12 cents equals 1.- 
505 cents profit per yard. This is 



practically 11 cents per yard, and. 
assuming a normal percentage ol 
production for the fabric being con- 
sidered, the profit per loom per week 
would be about $2.25, or per year 
about |117. This should give a net 
profit to a mill of anywhere from 12i 
CO 15 per cent. 

Prices are somewhat higher to-day 
than they have been for all kinds of 
lancy cloths, but most of these fab- 
rics are now showing very good mar- 
gins of profit. In assuming a loom 
production care must be taken to 
make the estimates low enough to 
cover all conditions, that is, a fabrio 
might average 85 per cent production 
after the loom was started, but, due 
to certain circumstances, much time 
might be lost in getting the warps 
into the looms, so that for six 
months' or a year's time the actual 
average percentage of production 
might be nearer 75 per cent, and as 
a loom does not earn profits when 
standing idle, only actual percent- 
ages are of value. This policy has 
been observed in the various costs 
which we have presented in the ta- 
bles. 

COST OF CLOTH CONTAINING 
FAST COLORS. 

Probably the greatest increase in 
any one line of fabrics has been that 
which applies to grey cloths in which 
yarns fast to the bleaching process 
are being used, and, inasmuch as a 
still greater use is imminent, it may 
be well to give a method of obtain- 
ing this cost. For such fabrics the 
average size of yarn can be obtained 
just as in the other samples we have 
considered. When the threads are 
being counted the number of colored 
threads per pattern can also be ob- 
tained, and by measuring the width 
of the pattern and finding the repeats 
of the pattern in the cloth the total 
colored threads in the warp or filling 
can be obtained. 

When the total number of colored 
threads are known, it is easy enough 
to find the percentage of the total 
cloth weights, at least approximately, 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



749 



which they form. By adding 18 
cents as an average cost for dyeing 
fast colors per pound to the cost of 
the regular yarn and then multiply- 
ing by the two weights (that of the 
grey warp and that of the colored) 
the cost can be determined. An il- 
iuitration will, without doubt, make 
the process clear enough so that it 
can be generally understood. The 
cloth illustrated is made on a fancy 
loom. It is 33 inches wide in the 
grey state, or as it comes from the 
loom, and the stripes are 1 8-10 inches 
wide. Then 33 inches, the cloth 
width, divided by 1 8-10 inches, the 
width of the stripe, equals 18 colored 
stripes in the cloth width. The fab- 
ric weighs when woven about 6.00 
yards per pound. The following fig- 



ures should make the results readily 
understood: 

Warp count, 95 (over all). 

Filling count. SO. 

95 -f 80 = 175, total cloth count per Inch. 

175 X 33" cloth width = 5.775 yards of yam 

per yard of cloth without take-up. 
18 stripes X 14 colored ends — 252 colored 

ends in fabric. 
252 -r- 5,775 = 4.36% of color in fabric. 
10% take-up in weaving. 
5,775 -=- .9 = 6,417, total yards of yarn per 

yard of cloth. 
6,417 X 6.00 yards per lb. = 38,502 yards of 

yarn per lb. 
38,502 -;- 840 standard = 46/1, average 

yarn size. 
1.0000 -T- 6.00 yards per lb. = .167, weight per 

jard. 
.167 X .0436 = .007, weight of colored yarn. 
.167 — .007 = .160, weight of grey yarn. 
31.51c. per lb. X .160 = 5.04c., cost of gre> 

yam. 
31.51c. + 18c. = 49.51c., cost or colored yarn 

per lb. 
49.51c. X .007 — .35c., cost of colored yarn. 
Weaving cost = 3.14c. (from table). 
5.04c. -1- .35c. -f 3.141c. = 8.53c., total cost of 

cloth as Illustrated. 



Sample of Cloth for Which the Cost Is Given. 



Scientific Management in the Cotton Mi 



Whenever a new machine is put 
on the market which is claimed to 
perform any one of the operations by 
which cotton is manufactured into 
yarn or cloth or whenever any new 
process is introduced which is claim- 
ed to be superior to the one already 



in existence, it is but natural that 
the interest of all thinking and pro- 
gressive mill managers is centred on 
this machine or operation to see 
whether it could be applied succesis- 
fully to their particular line of man- 
ufacture. In doing this they first ob- 



750 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



tain all the written or imparted in- 
formation that they can in order to 
siee just what is claimed for the new 
machine or process, in Avhat manner 
the operations are carried out, and 
in what way said operations are an 
improvement over existing conditions. 
If, after careful consideration, they 
judge that the matter is worth look- 
ing into further, they usually arrange 
to go to some plant and see the ma- 
chine or operation under practical 
v^orking conditions. 

If still further impressed, the result 
is most frequently a trial order for 
one or two machines, which they set 
up in their own plant and conduct 
various tests of theiir own devising. 
If they are then fully convinced, after 
a fair and impartial trial, that the 
machine or process is all that is claim- 
ed for it, they usually advocate to the 
mill treasurer or other officials that, 
so far as capital admits, they would 
like to see some of these new ma- 
chines or the new process introduced 
into the plant which they are manag- 
ing. If it were not for this fair- 
mindedness on the part of the mill 
managers and their willingness to 
prove a machine or process right or 
wrong, what good would it do for 
men to use the best years of their lives 
devising means for bringing up the 
textile machinery to continually 

HIGHER POINTS OP EFFICIENCY. 

That is the reason why we have 
t|o^day the Draper and Stafford 
automatic looms, the warp-drawing 
and tying-in machines, the new 
process of double carding for 
waste on revolving flat cards, and 
numerous other smaller devices for 
improving the different machines 
used in the processes of manufactur- 
ing cotton into finished goods. That 
is why we find to-day that lOur textile 
magazines are reaching a higher 
standard of excellence, in that they 
are obtaining and printing articles by 
men well versed in the knowledge of 
manufacturing, and able in a practical 
and technical way to analyze the dif- 
ferent processes and show to what 
extent the process is a detriment or 
aid to good work, and In addition, give 



their best ideas as to the remedying 
of the defects pointed out. 

But it seems to be during these 
years in which the mill managers 
were studj'ing their machines and 
processes that they failed to study tbe 
human element; that is, the large masis 
of .operatives vvorking for them. 
It seems to the writer that that is one 
of the big reasons why it is that to- 
day we have almost all our mills op- 
erated by foreign labor, and good su- 
perintendents, overseers, second 
hands, etc., are becoming harder to 
obtain as time goes by. Of course it 
can be argued, and rightly, that the 
introduction of a great deal of the im- 
proved machinery called for less skill- 
ed help for its operation, but it cer- 
tainly called for more intelligent men 
to take charge of such machinery 
and obtain good results from same 
with operatives who can, as a rule, 
speak but little of the English lan- 
guage and who attain their quickest 
comprehension when they find a mis- 
take in their pay envelope. When the 
mill managers saw that 

THEIR BEST HELP 
were leaving them why did they not 
pick out some of the most intelligent 
and make them good inducements to 
stay in the m.ill, and offer them op- 
portunities to learn if not all at 
least siome of the processes, so that 
they would eventually become valu- 
able to the mill as superintendents, 
overseers, second hands, etc.? Is this 
not one of the best reasons Avhy there 
is a scarcity of the number of actually 
first-class men in the cotton mills 
to-day? Is it not also a fact that the 
mills are more than realizing it to- 
day? For what other reason is it that 
besides the large textile schools in 
■existence, som.e mills are running 
textile schools lof their own, allowing 
iboys to work half a day and go to 
school the other half? Why is it that 
the sanitary cooiditions of the mills are 
being put into first-class condition, 
the ceilings painted, and all the work- 
ing conditions made as agreeable as 
possiible? Why is it they are trying 
to improve the social conditions out- 
slide the mill by building clean, sani- 
tary tenements for the help to live 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



751 



in and, as a rule, a large recreation 
building offering various forms of 
amusement? For the very reason that 
the mill managers are realizing that 
the textile workers are becoming 
scarce, and those they have they wish 
to keep with them, and knowing 
that it is a hard proposition to pick 
overseers or second hands from the 
older workers, they are enabling the 
younger ones to obtain information 
which will fit them to hold positions 
of responsibility in later years. 

At the present time in the industrial 
world there is a great deal of agita- 
tion over a new creed called "Scien- 
tific Management or EfSciiency Engi- 
neering." Scientific management is 
not a new machine or improved proc- 
ess. To describe it exactly is rather 
difficult but it is that which takes into 
consiideration the process of manufac- 
turing, the 

MACHINERY UTILIZED, 
and most especially the human ele- 
ment or operatives at the machines. 
To state it briefly, when scientific 
management is introduced into a 
plant, the priocessies of manufacturing 
are first observed. Then notice is 
taken of the machinery layout to see 
that each machine is placed right for 
each sequence of operatioms and 
through other obsiervaitions until mo- 
tion and time studies are arrived at. 

When working on motion and time 
studies, that point is reached where 
moat particular attention is paid to 
the operative. The number of mo- 
tions and time required by the opera- 
tive in his or her functional work is 
observed to the fraction of a second, 
and it is then determined if any of 
these motions are waste or lost mo- 
tions, that is, those which are not 
reallj' necessarj'' for the performing 
of the operation. After determining 
the shortest possible way of perform- 
ing the operation, the next problem is 
that of instructing the employe in the 
right method. 

This is really as hard a problem as 
any which the efficiency engineer has 
to solve, and in order to accomplish 
his purpose he appeals to the side 
of human nature which has that 
Qharacterisitic which is almost univer- 



sal, and that is the desire of gain. 
In other words, the employe is offered 
a bonus if he performs his tasks ac- 
cording to the methods prescribed by 
the efficiency engineer and attains a 
certain output. The efficiency engi- 
neer has also to guarantee to the 
employe that the rate which was set 
upon his piece of work will not be re- 
duced in the future so that there will 
be no chance of the employe doing 
twice as much work as formerly and 
at no higher rate of wages. In re- 
gard to the successes which have 
been met with by the scientific man- 
agers, it must be agreed that the ma- 
jority have been made in such plants 
as machine shops, where almost 
everything can be put on a 

PIECE RATE BASIS. 

Now what has the attitude of mill 
managers been toward scientific man- 
agement? After the scientific man- 
agers had made some successes in 
the other industries thiey looked around 
and turned their attention to the tex- 
itlile mills and made the statement 
that the textile mills were not man- 
aged right and were making more 
waste than any other of the indus- 
tries. Then the mill managers sat up, 
and it may be tt"uly said the majority, 
with antagonistic attitude, and took 
note of these efficiency engineers who 
presumed to state tlaat an industry 
dating way back to the early Egyp- 
tians was not properly conducted. 
And what was more astonishing the 
men who made these statements had, 
with hardly an exception, been in a 
cotton mill before. Here was some- 
thing that it was a little bit difficult 
to comprehend. They could under- 
stand how a man in the cotton busi- 
ness could invent an improvement in 
the machinery lino or get up a new 
process, but for a man to come into 
a cotton mill who had never been in 
one before and make thousands of 
dollars in savings was a totally dif- 
ferent proposition. 

Some mill managers passed the idea 
by with scant ceremony and still 
others gave it some consideration. 
They looked up the records of the 
scientifc managers and saw that a 
great many had had trouble with tJie 



752 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



operatives in installing their manage- 
ment. Then the mill manager thought 
if these efficiency engineers have 
trouble with men who are more in- 
telligent than our employes, such as 
machinists, etc., what kind of a time 
would we have with our help if wo 
tried to install scientific management? 
How could we 

ESTIMATE A BONUS 

that would be satisfactory to both the 
day and piece rate workers? And 
then again, won't we have to teach 
Che efficiency engineer all a'bout the 
cotton industry before he can make 
any improA^ements? If he doesn't 
make any improvements in our plant 
will he not be enabled to go to a less 
better managed plant and impart somie 
ideas carried from us to the better- 
ment of the poorer plant? In these 
days of competition we cannot afford 
to give our rivals any more advan- 
tage lOver us than we can help. 

These are only a few of the ques- 
tions which the mill managers asked 
themselves, but in the end 'it geiaer- 
ally led to their giving the matter 
less and less thought. A few, how- 
ever, still centered their interest on 
the question and found that the effi- 
ciency engineer did not pretend to 
know anything about the cotton mill. 
In fact, he will admit that while he 
can make a good showing he will be 
able to make a still greater one if he 
has the hearty co-operation of the 
mill management and employes 
with him. What he does claim, how- 
ever, is that he has methods Avhich 
will enable him to make very accurate 
motion and time studies, and employs 
only experts in this line who deter- 
mine what the waste moitions are, and, 
by eliminating them, achieve great 
savings in time and 

INCREASE PRODUCTION. 

Now some mill managers have come 
to the conclusion that there is,, after 
all, something to this scientific man- 
agement but do not yet feel that they 
care to bring an outsider into their 
plant. Some people claim that if a 
mill is running along and holding its 
own with its conipetitiors it is better 
to let well enough alone, but some day 



it might wake up and find that some 
one of its competitors was way ahead 
of the game, due to the fact that it 
was begin niing to pay attention to the 
elimination of its wastes. Then it is 
surely time to take notice and see 
what can be done in one's own plant. 

A mill inanager, in order tO' majke a 
saving in his plant, does not neces- 
sarily have to call in the assistance 
of an efficiency engineer. If, as the 
case wovJd most likely be. he finds 
himself loo busy to go into all the de- 
tails of investigations himself, he 
should establish Avhat miight be called 
an 

EFFICIKNC^y DEPARTMENT 

in his own plant. Perhaps at the 
start this department need consist of 
only two men, that is, one good man 
and an assistant, who will make the 
desired investigations and make re- 
ports with suggestions for improve- 
ment to the mill manager, who in this 
way keeps in touch Avith all that is 
going on and makes ail important de- 
cisions. All the work done .by this effi- 
ciency department should be careful- 
ly tabulated and all reports, blue 
prints, data, etc., should be keipt on 
file so as to be available on short 
notice. 

To bring a cotton mill up to a 
high standard of efficiency is a differ- 
ent proposition from that of a machine 
shop and Avould, therefore, have to 
be attained by different methods. In 
ihe first place, let us consider the 
power question. The efficiency de- 
partm'ent should begin its investiga- 
tions here and determine if the power 
is so generated and distributed that 
at all times, except in the event of an 
unforeseen break-down, there will be 
plenty of power for all departments. 
As is knoAvn, in order to have a smooth 
running and profitable business, there 
must be no delay in the processes 
supplying stock from one department 
to another. As an illustration, let us 
take, for example', a mill that is run- 
ning to its full capacity. On account 
of a shortage of power the pickers 
have to be shut down for a while. In 
a short time it is found that the cards 
are waiting for laps, and the shortage 
will gradually proceed through the 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



753 



different manufactuning processes 
mitil it is found that the looms are 
waiting for filling. For instance, 
twenty looms running 160 picks per 
minute and making a fabric which 
has 40 picks per inch produce a little 
over two yards per minute. How 
long can a mill afford to let these 
looms wait for filling? 

Being assured that there is plenty 
of power the efficiency department 
Fhould then determine if said power 
is transmitted in the best possible 
manner, and if not should suggest 
methods for remedying same. The 
fact as to whether shafting is proper- 
ly leveled and lined is an important 
one in the 

TRANSMISSION OF POWER. 
The care of belting is another impor- 
tant fact which is being considered 
to-day more than ever before. It might 
be well to take a look at the boiler 
room and see if tilings are handled 
there in an economical manner. For 
instance, is coal shoveled into cars 
and then pushed into the boiler house 
where the installation of a conveyor 
would do a great deal more work with 
half the labor? Are the ashes that 
are shoveled from the pit conveyed 
away in the best possible manner? 

In regard to the actual generation 
of the steam in such ways as the 
firing of the boilers, whether by 
miechanical or hand stoking, the 
methods of heating the fe^ed water 
'before entering the boilers, the meter- 
ing of the feed water, the installation 
of steam flow and pressure meters, 
the testing of coals to find which give 
most steam per pound of coal, and the 
methods for doing these things are 
best determined by an expert in that 
line. 

What the efficiency department can 
do, however, is check up tha engineer 
and see that he quickly repairs steam 
leaks in his mains and keieips accurate 
records of coal used and things of 
that nature. 

Let us now look at the manufac- 
turing end of the business. How is 
the raw stock handled when it comeis 
into the mill yard? Have the best 
methods been obtained of weighing 
the bales, taking the sample from 



each bale, and the storing of the 
bales in the storehouses? Is there any 
instance where conveyors can be used 
instead of trucks' 

The first process in the manufac- 
turing is the opening of the cotton. 
In doing this, do you have your open- 
ing room adjoining your storehouses 
and convey the cotton to the picker 
room either by the blowing system 
or lattice conveyor, or do you truck 
your cotton from the storehouse to 
the opening room or picker room? Is 
there no way by which you can elim- 
inate unnecessary trucking or han- 
dling? Can you not install machines to 
open your bale® where, at present, 
you open them by hand, and by so 
doing, 

SAVE TIME AND LABOR. 
Of course the writer understands that 
the conditions in any twio mills are 
hardly ever similar, but it does not 
always prove that the method in 
vogue is the best. 

Let us consider the picker room. 
In the first place, are there enough 
machines to take care of all the cards 
without overspeeding? In the second 
place, are the machines laid out in 
the best possible manner so that there" 
is plenty of space for the operatives 
to work, amd does the stock pass from 
the bins through to the finisher picker 
without unnecessary handling? Are 
all the m.achines in the best possible 
running condition? It is essential that 
pickers should make good laps, other- 
wisie they cannot be expected to make 
first-class yarn. How are finished laps 
conveyed to the card? Are trucks, 
elevators, or lap elevators used? Can 
any improvement be made in the con- 
veying system? A suggestion is giv- 
en here for a little time study. Sup- 
pose there were twelve finisher pidk- 
ers in a row which were doffed by 
two men, six pickers to each man. 
Now, instead of one man doffing six 
pickers alone, suppose the two men 
doff the twelve together. To do this, 
the first man presses his foot on the 
friction lever, allowing the presser 
arms to rise. The second man then 
takes hold of the handle of the iron 
lap roll on which the lap is wound 
and pulls it from the lap, leaving the 



754 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



lap rod behind. The first man then 
takes the lap and places it on a truck 
and goes to the second picker, during 
which time the second mam has start- 
ed the first picker and another lap is 
in process. By the time the second 
man gets to the second picker the 
lap roll is ready to he drawn out. 
When all the laps have been dof-^^ed, 
both men help in inserting lap rods 
in the lap rolls. This method of dof- 
fing will be found a good time saver. 
The card room is the next proposi- 
tion. 

THE PROPER METHOD 
of arranging the machinery of a card 
room has been discussed quite fre- 
quently in textile papers, and there 
has been found quite a diversity of 
opinion on the subject. However, 
the mill manager must decide if his 
card noom is laid out in the most ef- 
ficiemt manner for his particular case. 
The main idea Is to pass the stock 
from the cards through the fine 
frames with the least amount of han- 
dling and trucking. He should see 
that his carding overseer keeps his 
frame?? in the best poissible running 
condition. Cards should be kept 
ground and well set. A good system 
is to have all the cards numbered and 
every time a grinder has finished 
grinding and setting a card he 
should hand in the number of that 
card to the overseer. The overseer 
should make it a point to look at 
each card when first started, after 
being ground, and he can easily see 
what kind of a job has been done 
by the condition of the web. The 
overseer should also pay 

P.4RTICULAR ATTENTION 
to keeping his room well bal- 
anced; that is, seeing that there 
are no idle spindles on any of the 
frames that are running, that the 
drawings do not have to wait for card 
sliver, the slubbers for drawing sliver 
or the intermediate and fine frames 
for back roving. He should also have 
it so systematized that he has plenty 
of laps in the room ready for the 
cards, that as soon as a can is full of 
card sli\er there is an empty can 
ready to take its place; and the same 
applies to the full cans at the drawing 



frames. When the slubbing, interme- 
diate and fine frames are about ready 
to doff there should be empty bobbins 
on hand in advance, so that the frame 
tender will be able to distribute them 
on the traverse rail before having to 
stop the frame. He should also have 
doffers to help the frame hands doff 
their frames and get them started 
again with the least possible delay. 
It is only by such methods as these 
that an overseer can expect to attain 
a maximum production. 

The spinning room lof a mill is usu- 
ally a hard one in which ito obtain 
the production that should be 
obtained in this department. This is 
due largely to the fact that the dofiing 
lis done by the younger element, and 
they require to be watched most close- 
ly to siee that they doff and start up 
a frame as soon as the bobbins are 
full, [n order to get good production 
the doffers should be at the frame 
with their 

DOFFING TRUCKS 

and boxes of empty bobbins before the 
frame is stopped, and, after doffing, 
should not leave the frame until it 
has been started and all ends pieced 
up. The oveirseer should see that the 
crciels have roving :enough so that 
there will be no spindles stopped on 
account of roving. The band boys 
should be going constantly among the 
frames looking for broken bands. The 
spinneTs should be watched closely to 
see that they keep up broken ends. 
iThe overseer who tries to run a spin- 
ning room to-day should be a man who 
is on the job every minute of his time. 
If he is not, and does not put energy 
into his wor'k, his production will fall 
far short of what it should be. As the 
spinning room is almost all day work 
the help do mot feel that they are los- 
dng anything financially if the frames 
are stopped, and therefore do not tend 
to be as industrious as they would if 
paid for the production obtained from 
their frames. This is a subject which 
it would be well for the efficiency de- 
partment to study closely and figure 
out methods for improvement. The 
writer will not go into the numerous 
other details necessary to keep the 
frames in good condition, but if a mill 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



766 



toahagef finds that his overseer of 
spinning is not quite up to the mark 
he should attempt to get another one 
as soon as possible, as this department 
requires a very eihcient man under 
the running conditions of to-day. 

Spooling is the next operation. The 
efficiency department should see that 
the bobbins of yarn are brought to 
the spooler tenders and that they are 
kiept supplied with empty spools and 
the full ones taken away. A very 
good production can be obtained from 
the spoolers, and the rioom should be 
so run that the spooler tender does 
nothing but tend a certain number of 
spindles, all supplies being brought to 
her and her finished work removed. 

In warping, the idea is to get neM'' 
spools of yarn tied in as quickly as 
possible after the spools in the creel 
have run their linvit. The full spools 
should be at the back of the creels for 
the tying-in girls, and a box for them 
to throw the empty spools into. The 
method of conveying the spools to 
and from 

THE SPOOLING ROOM 
should be observed by the efficiency 
department to see if some shorter 
method or route cannot be /obtained, 
such as having chutes, conveyors, or 
something of that nature. 

The dressing or sizing of the warps 
is a thing that cannot be hurried. 
The speed of the slasher must be de- 
termined by the slasher tender, as it 
is left to his judgment as to whether 
the yarn is drying properly. What 
can be done, however, is to have the 
warper beams in close proximity to 
the slashers and arranged on plat- 
forms, according to the size of yarn 
and number of ends, and some meth- 
od can usually be arranged whereby 
the beams can be picked up with the 
aid of chain falls running on overhead 
track and brought to the slasher, thus 
saving time and labor when putting 
another set into the slasher. There 
should also be as little time lost as 
Piossible in doffing the loom beams 
at the slasher. 

The loom beams should be taken 
to the drawing-in girls, whose effi- 
ciency depends on their aptitude for 
this work, some girls being more pro- 



ficient than others. Drawing-in is try- 
ing work for girls, and the coinditions 
under which they work should be 
made as pleasant as possible. They 
should be placed in a position where 
they will have as even a temperature 
as possible all the year round and 
where they can obtain the best possi- 
ble daylight. The 

WORKING CONDITIONS 

of these girls add to or detract, to 
a great extent, from their efficiency. 

The next process is the weaving. To 
make it possible for the weaver to 
obtain good production, there should 
be a new warp ready to put into a 
loom as soon as the old one runs out. 
The weaver should a^ttend strictly to 
the weaving only and should not be 
allowed to try and fix any of his loomsi 
There should be plenity of loom fixers 
in the room, so that no loom will have 
to wait very long for repairs. ' Filling 
boys should bring the filling to the 
looms and fill up the weavers' filling- 
boxes for them. Loioms should be so 
arranged or apportioned to a weaver 
that he or she can move about 
them with the least possible walking. 
For instance, it has been found more 
profitable where a weaver is running 
twenty looms to have him tend ten 
looms in one alley and ten in the next 
adjoining alley, instead of having him 
tend twenty in the same one. One 
especially good feature is the supervi- 
sion that the weaA^er has over his 
looms. If he tends twenty in the 
same alley it is 

RATHER DIFFICULT 
for him to see down to the lower end 
and notice if all looms are running, 
whereas, if he tends ten looms in one 
alley and ten in another, he can see 
all of the twenty with ease and quick- 
ly get to one which has stopped. There 
is a good opportunity for the effi- 
ciency department to make time stud- 
ies by watching the different m,ethods 
of the weavers. It will be noticed 
that the weavers who get the best 
production are those who strive to 
keep all of their looms going all of the 
time. It will be noticed that while 
they are working on a loom to repair 
broken warp threads, or something of 



tse 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDlNiG 



that nature, they will stop frequently 
long enough to glance around and see 
if any of their other looms are 
stopped for filling, and, if so, will 
stop working on that particular thing 
long enough to replenish the loom 
with filling and start it weaving. In 
this way a weaver gets more produc- 
tion than would be possible if the 
other looms were allowed to wait for 
filling while the break at that par- 
ticular loom was being repaired. 

When the cloth is taken from the 
looms there are 

DIFFERENT METHODS 

by which it is finished and shipped. 
The efl^'oiency department should see 
that the cloth is being passed through 
the different finishing processes as 
economically as possible, and that 
there is no trucking of material where 
conveyors can be used to advantage 
If goods are to be stored they should 
be done so as eccnomically as possi- 
ble. One mill has a conveyor 
whereby goods are taken from 
the finishing room over the tops 
of the storehouses and switched into 
any one of the storehouses as de- 
sired. In shipping goods it is desira- 
ble that the railroad tracks should 
run either into or near the shipping 
room so that goods can be loaded 
easily. 

The writer has briefly given how 
the efficiency department should first 
see that the powier question is all 
right and the machines laid out to 



best advantage for all the process.es of 
manufacturing. When this has been 
done the efficiency department should 
then begin to standardize the ma- 
chines and their production. For in- 
stance, it should be determined at 
what speeds the different machines 
run the best and what production can 
be obtained at that speed. The ma- 
cbines should then be driven at these 
determined speeds. Accurate methods 
should be used for keeping an ac- 
count of the amount of production for 
each department, and these reports 
should go to the efficiency depart- 
ment, which shall determine from the 
sitandards what per cent of prioduotion 
is being obtained. The mill manager 
should receive a report of this in a 
condensed form, so that he can see 
how things are running and get in 
touch with the overseers who are low 
on production. 

The last thing to be considered is 
the bonus, and the writer does not be- 
lieve that this question should be 
raised in the cotton mill, nor should 
one stand over the help with a stop- 
watch and take account of all their 
motions. If, however, the points 
that he has tried to bring out are care- 
fully observed, the help will be able 
to get a bigger production, piece 
workers will receive more wages, and 
it will be found that the cost of pro- 
duction will be lowered without the 
help realizing that home-made scien- 
tific management is beiing practiced 
on them. 



Use and Abuse of Belting 



There being so little said about belt- 
ing, I venture to give some of my ex- 
periences. I think one of the most im- 
portant things connected with power 
is the belts. There seems to be little 
known about their handling, care and 
management. In the first place, we 
give a man a belt to put on and 
ninety-nine times out of a hundred 



he will put it on wrong, that is, the 
wrong side to the pulley. The reason 
for this is quite natural, because the 
finished or smooth side of the belt 
would look better on the outside, 
which is entirely wrong. I have in 
mind one instance, and in fact It is 
running to-day, a belt which was put 
on fifty-one years ago. The same is 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



757 



22 inches wide and is drawing 250- 
horse power. It is in good condition 
to-day. 

Doping the belts now and then with 
almost anything that happens to be 
handy and lacing the belts in any man- 
ner that will cause them to hold to- 
gether and run will not bring the de- 
sired results, and as a natural conse- 
quence, the change from belt to elec- 
trical-driven machinery will appear to 
be the more practicable means of econ- 
omizing. 

During the past three years, some 
interesting data has been obtained rel- 
ative to the possibility of reducing fric- 
tion losses in belt-driven establish- 
ments by a careful and inexpensive 
treatment of the belts. In one factory 
the dead load amounted to 

NEARLY 60 PER CENT 
of the total; that is, only 40 per cent 
of the total load on the engine was 
utilized in producing salable goods. 
Another case showed a dead load of 47 
per cent, another of 39 per cent and 
still another of 26 per cent. The dead 
loads varied all the way from the low- 
est to the highest figures named, and 
were a great surprise to the managers 
as well as to the engineers. 

The dead loads in these cases were 
obtained by taking indicator diagrams 
at regular intervals for several days. 
Then certain departments were alter- 
nately run and cut out, and the re- 
sults averaged practically the same 
in nearly - every instance. A crusade 
against belt evils reduced the figures 
in the first instance to about 42 per 
cent, in the second case it was reduced 
to 30 per cent, in the third case to 20 
per cent and in the fourth case to 18 
per cent. 

Much can be done toward reducing 
the dead load by a judicious distribu- 
tion of the machinery and by the intro- 
duction of clutches and clutch 
pulleys. It is quite possible that the 
losses referred to could have been re- 
duced another 10 or 15 per cent had 
the friction clutches been introduced 
at the proper points. 

It seldom pays to jump at conclu- 
sions in mechanical matters, and belts, 
as well as many other devices, require 
careful study oftentimes and a good 
stock of sound "horse sense" to be 



able to locate difficulties and remove 
them. 

Persons who have given the experi- 
ment a fair trial are of the opinion 
that a considerable 

SAVING OF FUEL 
and other expenses incidental to belt 
drives is obtained by placing all the 
belts and shafting in charge of one 
man. This person may and frequently 
does have other duties assigned to him, 
but no other person has anything to 
do with the maintenance of the belts, 
pulleys and shafting. If the belt man 
understands his business as he should, 
there is no reason why the dead load 
should not be reduced to the minimum 
and a considerable saving be thus ef- 
fected. 

Belts are frequently ordered without 
reference to . the conditions under 
which they are to run, and when re- 
ceived they are unrolled, measured 
and put upon pulleys with no thought 
concerning the condition of the leath- 
er, some person taking it for granted 
that a new belt from the dealer or the 
factory warehouse is in a proper con- 
dition to be put on pulleys and is 
ready for service. The belt is 
DRAWN UP TIGHTLY 
with belt clamps and laced or sewed 
and immediately started under a heavy 
load, and from this time on trouble is 
not lacking and the belt frequently 
proves a source of considerable ex- 
pense before the right thing is done. 
How much better it would be if some 
of the painstaking work put upon old 
belts after the troublesome periods 
were to be put upon the new belts and 
many of the troubles common to this 
form of transmission thus avoided. 

Unless great care is exercised in 
manipulating the clamps, a belt will be 
stretched more on one side than the 
other. Consequently, one side will be 
longer than the other, which generally 
gives rise to 

A VARIETY OF TROUBLES 
and attempting to correct one usually 
produces another. If the belts run off 
or run to one side of the pulleys, the 
countershaft is sometimes adjusted to 
cause it to keep to the centre of the 
pulleys and this oftentimes produces 
hot bearings. These are due to the 



758 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



belt directly, and indirectly to the 
man who puts it on, in not using good 
judgment to start with. 

Tightening belts increases the fric- 
tion of the bearings, and consequently 
the power required to run a mill or 
factory increases very rapidly when 
tightening the belts. Tightening the 
belts not only increases the power 
consumed, from which no adequate re- 
turns can be expected, due to increas- 
ing the dead load, but it shortens the 
life of the belts by bringing about con- 
ditions demanding extraordinary treat- 
ment which is too often far from bene- 
ficial in the long run. Where a belt 
is rendered as soft and pliable when 
new as is desired to have it later on, 
perhaps after the belt has been to a 
great extent ruined, many of the initial 
troubles with belts will be avoided, 
and the subsequent treatment will 
then be less severe and injurious. 

A belt will stretch to some extent 
when first put on. This cannot be 
entirely avoided, but it is not wise to 
attempt to take out all the stretch, as 
it is called, at any one time, as is fre- 
quently done. Considerable time may 
be saved by so doing, it is true, but 
it generally happens that the injury to 
the belt amounts to considerably more 
than the time saved. When a belt man 
is employed, the saving of a few min- 
utes now and then is not as impor- 
tant as when skilled workmen are re- 
quired to leave their work in order to 
keep the belts in order. A new belt 
will require 

FREQUENT RE-LACING 

when properly handled and cared for, 
because the slack will be removed a 
little at a time, as it occurs, so as to 
keep the belt at about the same ten- 
sion, which should never be greater 
than is necessary to carry the load 
without noticeable slipping. 

The treatment of new belts consists 
of an application of warm tallow or 
a mixture of tallow and oil with a 
little beeswax added. This is to be 
rubbed in and the belt permitted to 
dry thoroughly before being put on 
the pulleys. Castor-oil dressing may 
be obtained which is properly prepared 
for use on belts. This may be applied 
with a brush or rag while the belt is 



in motion, if necessary. Belt dressings 
of any kind should not be applied too 
liberally, and the belt man who under- 
stands his business will not try to 
treat a belt in from five to ten min- 
utes. Many persons keep pouring on 
the oil until the desired result is ob- 
tained or until the belt begins to be- 
have worse than at first, evidently be- 
lieving that as soon as the belt has as 
much oil as it needs all trouble will 
cease. A house may be painted by 
pouring the paint over the roof but the 
distribution will be decidedly poor and 
the result far from what is desired. It 
is practically the same with a belt. A 
very poor and uneven distribution is 
obtained by pouring on the dressing, 
which tends to make the belt run 
worse instead of better, if treated 
when in motion. 

THE RUNNING QUALITY 

of the belts depends largely upon the 
size of the pulleys over which they 
run, which consequently influences the 
amount of power it can transmit eco- 
nomically. The speed of the belt also 
affects its ability to transmit power 
and has an important influence upon 
the size of the belt required. It is not 
a difficult matter to figure out the 
speed at which a belt should give the 
best results, but it is when we attempt 
to apply the result of the calculation 
that difficulties are oftentimes encoun- 
tered. When considering the belt only, 
the more economical speed will be ap- 
proximately 3,500 feet per minute; thatis 
to say, the greatest power can be trans- 
mitted with the least cost, all things 
considered, at about this speed. It is, 
however, difficult to obtain this speed 
in practice, because with a few excep- 
tions one pulley will be found to be 
smaller, perhaps very much smaller 
than the other, and as the speed of 
either the driving or the driven shaft, 
sometimes both, must remain un- 
changed, it becomes impossible to get 
the best speed for the belt, that is, 
the speed at which we might trans- 
mit the greatest number of horse 
power with the least expense for belt- 
ing. It is the exception rather than 
the rule when a belt can be run at the 
most economical speed from this view- 
point. 



COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



759 



A belt drive, to be reliable and free 
from excessive loss from slipping, 
should not have too great difference 
between the diameters of the driving 
and driven pulleys. Suppose a shaft 
making 180 revolutions per minute 
drives a spindle making 2,600 revolu- 
tions, and that the driving pulley is 60 
inches in diameter, and the spindle 4 
inches; it is evident the difference will 
be too great because the slippage at 
the small pulley or spindle will be ex- 
cessive unless the belt be of unusual 
length and width and very thin, al- 
though the speed would be 2,875.5 feet 
per minute, which in itself would be 
desirable. 

By introducing two countershafts 
having a 60-inch pulley on the first 
shaft driving a 40-inch pulley on the 
second, then a 36-inch driving a 16- 
inch and a 24-inch driving a SJ-inch 
pulley on the spindle, the speed of the 
belts will be respectively, 2,345, 2,543, 
and 3,815 feet per minute, which more 
nearly approaches the speed consid- 
ered best for 

ALL ROUND ECONOMY. 

When belts are to run close to the 
ceiling in warm rooms and subjected 
to the accumulations of dust and dirt. 



high temperatures and an occasional 
overload, some allowance must be 
made, for the tendency of these condi- 
tions is to lessen the efficiency of a 
belt to a considerable extent. When a 
belt runs in a dry hot place it soon 
becomes hard and stiff, the surface be- 
coming glossy and the tendency to slip 
is no less than the tendency to crack, 
both of which prove highly injurious 
in a remarkably short time. In a case 
of this kind, one or two things must be 
done in order to be able to transmit 
the same power without further injury 
to the belt, viz., either a tightener may 
be employed for the purpose of in- 
creasing the tension, thus increasing 
for a time the degree of adhesion, or 
the belt must be treated with a good 
dressing. The latter method is, of 
course, the best, because in this cas'e 
the proper degree of adhesion may be 
secured without increasing the initial 
stress, which is a desirable thing to 
do whenever practicable, for it is evi- 
dent that the lower the unnecessary 
stresses in a belt can be kept the less 
friction will there be at the bearings, 
and, consequently, a corresponding 
amount of power and fuel will be saved 
while transmitting the same number 
of horse power. 



How to Build, Equip and Manage a 

Woolen Mill 



To our useful and popular library 
we shall add during the coming year 
a very complete work under the above 
title. This will follow the most su- 
perior methods of wool manufacture 
and the improvements in the selection 
of wool and other stock, and in card- 
ing, spinning, weaving, dyeing and all 
other processes. ' Every variety of 
fabric made of wool will be consid- 
ered, and its manufacture carried 
through all departments of the mill. 

This book will fill in the Woolen 
and Worsted field the position that 
our book HOW TO BUILD, EQUIP 
AND OPERATE A COTTON MILL 



holds in the cotton manufacturing in- 
dustry. 

Every overseer is ambitious to be- 
come, some day, a superintendent or 
perhaps proprietor of his own mill. To 
do this, it is absolutely necessary for 
him to become thoroughly familiar 
with the processes that have made 
others successful. 



AMERICAN WOOL, AND COTTON 

REPORTER. 

Frank P. Bennett & Co., Inc., Publishers. 



Boston, 

Philadelphia, 



New York, 
Washington. 



Alphabetical Index 



PART I. 

MILL CONSTRUC TION AND POWER 



Ash cars 35 

Ashes, removal of 12, 16, 17, 27, 29 

Automatic sprinklers 86 

Auxiliary power apparatus 12 

Balanced draft 48 

Belt and Roll Shop 139 

Blowers 47 

Boiler compounds 69 

Boiler repairs 161 

Boiler room expense 45 

Boiler room location 15 

Boiler tube cleaners 79 

Boilers, flre tube 160 

Boilers, horizontal tubular 77 

Boilers, vertical 154 

Boilers, water tube 78, 157 

Brick chimneys 44 

Carbon dioxide gas 41 

Cards, power for 20 

Central station power 10 

Chimney capacity and design 43, 44 

Choice of power 10 

Cleaners for boiler tubes 79 

Closed heaters 52 

Coal burned by textile mills 19 

Coal conveyors ...12, 14, 16, 17, 27, 29, 33 

Coal storage 16, 17, 26, 28, 31, 32 

Combers, power for 20 

Compressed air 22, 137 

Concrete chimneys 45 

Concrete construction 34, 37, 88 

Concrete floor construction 91 

Concrete, mixing and handling 96 

Concrete roof construction 94 

Contracts for mill construction 80 

Cooling ponds 163 

Cost of concrete mills 92 

Cost of mill construction ..8, 37, 92, 100 

Cost of power 12 

Cost of weave shed construction 100 

Cotton mill power load 11 

Cotton mills, size and arrangement 
of .165, 174, 180, 187 



Cotton openers 



.20 



Cotton pickers 20 

Damper regulators 63 

Distribution of power 9 

Draft, mechanical 46 

Dumping trucks 27, 28, 29, 30 

Economizers 52 

Electric hoists 29 

Engineer, the 15 

Engine room arrangement .....15 

Engine room data 41 

Peed-water heaters 49 

Feed water, purification of 71 

Fire protection 84 

Flue gas analysis 41 

Forced draft 48, 64 

Foundations 15, 38 

Future enlargements 8 

Gas engines 134 

Gas producers 136 

General mill design 9 

Gravity oil feed 62 

Gravity oiling systems 72 

Grouping textile mills 13 

Hamilton Mfg. Co 27 

Handling ashes 17 

Handling coal 12, 14, 16, 17, 27, 29, 33 

Heating 103 

Hydro-electric plants 19 

Independent power plants 10 

Indicators 24 

Induced draft 48 

Isolated plants 10 

Kerr Thread Mills 40 

Machinery arrangement 35 

Mean, effective pressure 25 

Measuring power 24 

Mechanical draft 46, 64 

Mill construction, placing contracts. . .80 

Mill construction, various types of 36 

Mill design 9 

Mill equipment 8 

Mill locations 7, 9 

Mill ventilation 101 

Mill walls 38 



ALPHABETICAL INl>EX 



761 



Motor drives 132 

Motor rating " 19 

Motor trucks 27, 28, 29 

Motors, purchase of 137 

Narragansett Mills 16 

Nozzle for compressed air 23 

Oil filters 61, 73 

Oil separators 51 

Oil storage 74 

Oiling systems 59 

Openers and pickers, arrangement of . .35 

Open heaters 51 

Overseers of spinning 23 

Pacific Mills 27 

Pacific Mills Print Works 31 

Pickers and openers, arrangement of.. 35 

Picking machinery 20 

Pneumatic tools 138 

Power, cost of 128 

Power, choice of 10 

Power distribution 9 

Power for card room 129 

Power for cards 20 

Power for comtoers 20 

Power for spooling and warping ....129 

Power house, the 14 

Power, measurement of 24 

Power plants 13 

Power plant, test of 118 

Power problems 7 

Power records 38 

Power required by textile machinery. 116 

Power used by textile mills 19 

Private wharfs 16 

Proper size for cotton mill's.l65, 174, 180, 1^7 



Purchasing power IS 

Recording meters 43 

Reinforced concrete 37 

Repairs 121 

Ring spinning — ^various power losses.. 21 

Roll and belt shop 139 

Roof construction, concrete 94 

Shafting, design and care of 109 

Shipping facilities 9 

Size of cotton mills 165, 174, 180, 187 

Skylights 102 

Soot, removal from boiler 78 

Speeders, power for 20 

Speeder rooms 36 

Spindles 23 

Spinning rooms 36 

Spinning — ^various power losses 21 

Stair towers 87 

Steam boilers, notes on 153 

Steam plants 19 

Steam power 10 

Steam separators 59 

Steam turbines, for low pressure 

steam 65 

Tests made in a Rhode Island mill ..118 

Transportation charges 8 

Twisters, power for 22 

Venturi meters 55 

Waste heat ; ... 11 

Water power 7 

Water privileges 7 

Water softeners 67 

Water supply 11 

Weave shed construction 97 

Weaving and finishing, power for 22 



PART II. 

COTTON MILL MANAGEMENT 



Artificial humidiflcation 323 

Assignment of warps 583 

Automatic feed boxes 196, 200 

Avoiding waste 421 

Bad selvages 623 

Ball bearings on napping machinery. .555 
Ball bearings for textile machinery. .. .554 

Ball warpers 447, 455 

Bailers 510 

Bandings for spinning frames 382,402 

Battery fillers 602 

Beam and ball warpers 533 



Beams for three colors 522 

Beaming for Scotch plaid 521 

Beaters, speed of 197 

Belting 405 

Bobbin and flyer leads 297 

Bobbin troubles 322 

Bobbins 297 

Bobbins (drive of) 380 

Bobbins (slip of) 380 

Bobbins (speed of) 298,317 

Builder (advantage of Anierican) 309 

Builder motions (American). 305 



762 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX 



Builder motions (English) 307 

Calculations (card room) ZDi) 

Calculations (drafting) 272 

Calculations (picker room) 202 

Calculations (spinning) 324 

Calculations (twist) 400 

Calculations (warping) 453 

Card clothing 222, 229 

Card equipment 206 

Card (revolving flat top) 2H 

Card room management 340 

Card setting 214 

Card systems 531 

Cards 192 

Carders' mistakes 342 

Carders' troubles 341 

Carding action 207, 217 

Carding calculations 205 

Carding (cost of) 335 

Care of machinery 338 

Care of rolls 238 

Chain beaming (fancy) 519 

Chain dyeing 459, 581 

Chain warps 446, 580 

Changing rolls 240 

Cloths, defects in 620 

Cloth department dressing report 532 

Cloth, grease in 628 

Cloth (uneven) 610 

Color shades 551 

Colored warps 459 

Comb box 230 

Comber (care of) 260 

Comber (cradle gauge) 261 

Comber (cushion plate) 257 

Comber (nipper knife) 257 

Combers (operation of) 250 

Comber production 258 

Comber (setting of) 256, 261 

Combing effect 259 , 

Cone belts 299, 300, 313 

Cones (speed of) 317 

Costs (filling, roving) 337 

Costs (speeder) 336 

Costs (spinning) 411 

Cotton (mixing of) 199 

Cottons (selection of) 245 

Cotton yarns 467 

Cut alarm motion 512 

Day work versus piece work 414 

Deceptive conditions 546 

Defective systems 573 

Defective yarn (effect on cloth) 425 

Defects in cloth 620 

Defects (spooling) 431 

Defects (winding) 505 

Differential motions 294, 295, 311 

Dobby head motion 604 



Doffer comb 230 

Double combing 247 

Double roving 355, 396 

Doubling ai -d warping 511 

Draft calculations 205 

Draft at fly frame 279 

Drafting 328 

Drafting calculations 272 

Drafts 397 

Drawing 235 

Drawing (common mistakes) 278 

Drawing frame defects 269 

Drawing frame (stop motions) 262 

Drawing-in room 618 

Drawing and twisting. 277 

Drawings 193 

Dressing department (hand) 548 

Dressing (hand) 509 

Dressing (hand frames) 514 

Dry slasher 579 

Dyeing (chain) 459, 581 

Dye'stuff (selection of) 549 

Electric stop motion (drawing frame). 262 

Electric stop motion (troubles of) 268 

Electric trucks 647 

Equipment (cards) 206 

Equipment (increase of) 553 

Examining frames 538 

Expansion raddle 561 

Fancy chain beaming 519 

Fancy mills 595 

Fancy warps (slashing) 523 

Feed plate (setting of) 208 

Filling roving costs 337 

Filling winu rs 565 

Flats (position of) 217 

Flats (setting of) 219 

Fly frames 301 

Flyers 282, 297 

Flyers (care of) 289 

Fly frames (object of) 280 

Friction racks 564 

Fruit of mismanagement 518 

Gearing of twists 590 

Grading cotton 196 

Grease in the cloth 628 

Grid bars 197 

Grinding card clothing 224 

Grinding rules 225 

Humidifiers - 323 

Humidity of the vcave room ...626 

Ill-managed mill 193 

Imperfect yarns 537 

Intermediates 329 

Jack frames 329, 344 

Jacquard looms 528 

Knitting yarn 468 

Labor problems 638 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX 



763 



Labor report for slashing room 541 

Lack of organization 552 

Lap (condition of) 208 

Lap length 198 

Lap machines 243 

Lap rolls 197 

Laps (weight of) 192 

Leases 513 

Leasing in a slasher 524 

Licker-in (condition of) 210 

Licker-in (setting of) 212 

Lifter rods 378 

Lighting 636 

Linen 469 

Loom speeds 527 

Looms (data on) 599 

Machinery (care of) 338, 439 

Measuring devices for slashers 567 

Measuring rolls 443 

Mechanical stop motion (disadvantages 

of) 267 

Mechanical stop motion (drawing 

frame) 264 

Mercerized yarns 472 

Metallic rolls 192, 236 

Mill white 653 

Mill yard transportation 647 

Mismanagement (fruit of) 518 

Mixing 482 

Mixing cotton 191 

Mixing and feeding 199 

Mote knives (setting of) 213 

Motor trucks for mill purposes 647 

Mule alignment 507 

Mule creels 306 

Mule rooms 503 

Mule spinning (overseer of) 502 

Mules .... 345 

Novelty yarns 472 

Object of sizing 615 

Opening and picking 200 

Opening machinery 198 

Organization 642 

Overseers 501 

Painting the mill 653 

Picker room calculations 202 

Picker room equipment 194 

Picker room management 204 

Picker room mixing 198 

Picker room practice 192 

Picker room processes 195 

Picker suggestions 196 

Pickers (beaters for) 197 

Picking machinery 198 

Piece work vs. day work 414 

Poor management 193, 518 

Price-lists, spoolers, quillers, warpers. 536 
Progressive card setting 215 



Production data 327 

Production of roving 333 

Production statistics 535 

Quiller bobbins ■. 463 

Quillers (price-list) 536 

Quilling 463 

Raddles (expansion) 561, 577 

Raddles (warper and slasher) 576 

Railway heads 233 

Re-dressing 560 

Reducing, waste 542 

Reeling 572 

Reorganizing a weave room 526 

Ribbon lap machines 246,247 

Ring holders 365 

Ring spinning 344, 384 

Roll covering 241 

Rolls (action of) 239 

Rolls (care of) 238 

Roving (production of) 333 

Roving (suggestions on) 499 

Roving (winding) 315 

Rules and suggestions 275 

Sanitation '. . . 640 

Saw-tooth expansion raddle 577 

Scotch plaid (beaming for) 521 

Scotch warp mill 557 

Section beams (twisting in) 512 

Selection of cotton 245 

Selection of dyestuff 549 

Selvage spools 562 

Selvages 623 

Separators 376 

Setting a dobby 606 

Setting the picker 200 

Shell rolls 352 

Shuttle marks 610 

Shuttles 630 

Silk yarns 472 

Single action dobby 606 

Size formulae 544 

Size kettles 483 

Sizing, objects of 615 

Sizing the sliver 268 

Sizing the warp 478 

Slasher raddles 576 

Slasher tenders (suggestions for) 488 

Slashers 479 

Slashers (measuring device for) 567 

Slashing fancy warps 523 

Slashing (orders for) 531 

Slashing room labor report 541 

Sliver lap machines 244 

Sliver (weight of) 208 

Slubbers 192, 329, 299 

Speeder costs 336 

Speed of looms 527 

Spindle bolster , 369 



764 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX 



Spindle winders 495 

Spindles 366 

Spindles (power consumption) 370 

Spindles (setting of) 379, 392, 507 

Spindles (speed of) 372 

Spinners' gages 357 

Spinning 194, 384 

Spinning calculations 324 

Spinning (care of rolls) 351 

Spinning costs 411 

Spinning (defects and remedies) 348 

Spinning department (report for) 417 

Spinning frames (banding for) . . . .382, 402 

Spinning frames (repairs on) 389 

Spinning problems 295 

Spinning ring holders 365 

Spinning rings 350, 363 

Spinning reports 500 

Spinning room troubles 290 

Splitting machines 583 

Spooler guides 425 

Spoolers 193 

Spoolers' price li'st 536 

Spooling ,- 420, 423, 429 

Spooling defects 431 

Staple and twist 292 

Stop motion (drawing frame) 262 

Stop motion (operation of) 266 

Stripping 231 

Supplies (handing of) 613 

Temples 631 

Textile machinery (ball bearings for). 554 

Thread guides 564 

Top rolls 318 

Training weavers 643 

Transportation (mill yard and fac- 
tory) 647 

Traveler retardation 359 

Traveler troubles 361 

Travelers 358, 375 

Troubles and remedies (picker room). 201 

Trunking systems 196 

Tube winding 540, 585 

Tumbler shafts 306 

Twist 398 

Twist calculations 293, 400 



Twist constants 328 

Twist gearing .395 

Twist standards _. 592 

Twisting department 589 

Twist's (gearing of) 590 

Twist and staple 292 

Uneven cloth 610 

Uneven work : 320 

Warp assignment 583 

Warp cuts (length of) 534 

Warper raddles 576 

Warper troubles 441 

Warpers 510 

Warpers (beam and ball) 533 

Warpers' price list 537 

Warping 304, 373, 434 

Warping and doubling 511 

Warping and return pulleys 451 

Warping calculations 453 

Warping from cones 489 

Warps (chain) 580 

Warps (colored) 459 

Waste (how to avoid) 421 

Waste (production of) 542 

Weave room humidity 626 

Weave room management 611 

Weave rooms 594 

Weave room stores 632 

Weave room w^aste 609 

Weavers (training of) 643 

Weight of yarn 408 • 

Well-managed mill 191 

Winder price list. 540 

Winders (filling) 563 

Winding chain warps 460 

Winding defects 505 

Winding machines 492 

Winding (roving) 315 

Winding (tube) 540,585 

Yarn breakage 624 

Yarns (mercerized) 472 

Yarns (novelty) 472 

Yarn (quality of) 347 

Yarns (silk) 472 

Yarn (weight of) 408 



PART III. 

BLEACHING, DYEING AND FINISHING 



Appliances for dyeing and bleaching. .671 
Application of science to the dress 

room 669 

Arrangement of dyeing machinery 659 

Belting for dyehouses ..,,.,, , . . . , 666 



Bleaching and dyeing appliances 671 

Brushing 663 

Chemists in the textile mill 667 

Circulatory system of dyeing 683 

Color making 716 



AL-PHABBTICAL INDEX 



765 



Continuous dyeing machines 658 

Copper rolls for printing 703 

Copper rolls (marking of) 704 

Cornstarch 670 

Cotton duck (finishing of) 665 

Cotton manufacturers' dyehouse 654 

Cotton mill dressing room 687 

Departments in dyehouse 705 

Dissolving dyestuff 675 

Dress room (application of science to). 669 

Dressing room for cotton mill 687 

Drives for printing machines 701 

Drying cans 662 

Duck (finishing of) 665 

Dye kettles 675 

Dye vats 677 

Dyehouse location 654 

Dyehouse (equipment for) 657 

Dyehouse management 705 

Dyeing and bleaching appliances 671 

Dyeing loose stock 683 

Dyeing machinery (arrangement of)... 659 

Dyeing raw stock 658 

Eight-color printing machines 702 

Electric drives 666 

Equipment for dyehouse 657 

Finishing cotton duck 665 

Finishing print cloth 712 

Gas singeing 657 

Heating dye vats 677 

Imperfections in fabrics 663 

Indigo mill 672 

Jigger (location of) 659 

Labor questions 666 

Light for dyehouse 656 

Locating the dyehouse 654 

Location of dyeing machinery 659 

Loose stock dyeing 677, 683 

Machinery for dyehouse 657 

Machinery for print works 701 

Measuring and winding 665 

Mercerizing proces's (development of). 695 
North light for dyehouse (need of)... 656 
Pack system of dyeing 683 



Padding machines 658 

Plate singeing 657 

Potato starches 671 

Print works machinery 701 

Printing machines (drives for) 701 

Printing machines (eight-color type). 702 

Printing machines (production of) 702 

Printing machines (starting of) 704 

Printing (marking rolls) 704 

Printing (object of enlargement) 704 

Printing (pantograph machine) 703 

Printing (preparation of rolls) 703 

Printing (removing the nap) 713 

Printing (sewing machinery) 713 

Printing (singeing and shearing) 714 

Printing (the camera room) 703 

Printing (the grey room) 713 

Printing (wetting out) 715 

Printing (wrong spacing) 704 

Printing (zinc plates) 703 

Raw stock dyeing 658 

Rollers (heating of) 665 

Scientific management of dressing 

room 669 

Shearing and singeing 657 

Singeing (gas) 657 

Singeing (plate) 657 

Size (mixing of) 670 

Size tubs (arrangement of) 670 

Sizing 662 

Sizing warps 671 

Skein mercerizing 698 

Slashers' slips 692 

Slashing 666 

Starch (use of) 670 

Stiff eners 662 

Stretching 663 

Sulphur color dyeing 709 

Textile chemists 667 

Uniform colors 686 

"Water for dyeing 656 

Water softeners 65B 

Winding and measuring 665 



PART IV. 

COTTON MILL COST-FINDING 



Belting 756 

Belting (relation to fuel cost) ,...757 



Belting (use and abuse of) 756 

Bonus systern , , 752 



766 



AHPHABETICAL INDEX 



Clerical work 729 

Cloth costs 745 

Combed yarns 743 

Co-operation 730 

Cost accounting 718 

Cost and price relations 745 

Cost data 726 

Cost estimates 740 

Cost finding methods 748 

Cost finding suggestions 734 

Co'st finding symposium 732 

Cost of fast color cloth 748 

Cost of waste 718 

Cost of yarn 720,743 

Cost plan 737 

Cost (plain cloth) 746 

Cost systems (perfection of) 738 

Cost table (yarn) 748 

Costs (cloth) 745 

Costs (fancy cloth) 746 

Costs for carded yarns 744 

Costs for combed yarn 74? 

Costs (weaving) 745 

Cotton cloth cost finding 739 

Count or number 742 

Counter questions 733 

Daily overseer's record sheet 719 

Efficient management 724 

Fabric analysis r . 740 

Fabric widths 747 

Fancy cloth costs 746, 747 

Fast colors 748 

Insufficient data 730 

Labor charges 735 

Labor problems 724 

Losses in processing 743 

Machinery 725 

Method of using yarn key 744 

Mill equipment 72d 

Mill profits 747 

Omitting the overseer 732 

Order registry 732 

Overseers 729 

Overseers' record sheet 719 

Overseers' reply 733 

Overseers' reports 720 

Patterns 741 

Pay roll eliminated 732 

Picker rooms 753 

Piece rates 751 

Plain cloth costs 746 

Power costs ..,..,..,,,...,,.,, , , . . 737 



Practical textile mill accounting 718 

Price and cost relations 745 

Processing (losses in) 743 

Production data 718 

Proper help 750 

Purchasing new machinery 725 

Scientific management in the cotton 

mill 749 

Spooling department 755 

Textile mill accounting 718 

Textile mill administration 720 

Two-alley weaving systems 724 

Use of punch 732 

Warp drawing department 725 

Weave room costs 724 

Well managed cotton mill 730 

Width for fabrics 747 

Yarn costs 743 

Yarn cost table 748 

Yarn sizes 741 

Yarn to cloth 738 

Yarn key (use of) , 744 

Yarns (combed) 743 



BOX SHOOKS 

Let me show you 
how to save money 
on packing cases. 



E. H. TILTON 

OFFICE 

146 SUMMER ST., BOSTON 

MILLS AT 

New Bedford Freeport 

Mass. Maine 



COTTON MILL CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT 

The Macrodi Fibre 
Head Spool 



These spools have several distmct pomts of advantage 
over the ordinary wooden spool. 

First — The fibre heads on this spool are made from a spe- 
cially prepared fibre, which has no grain to it, as has wood. 
These heads will not warp, chip, break, or rough up on the in- 
side edge; all of which are common faults with the ordinary 
wooden head. 

Second — This fibre head spool is a stronger and much 
more durable spool than the wooden head spool, and hence a 
more economical spool to run. It will save you not only in 
actual spool breakage, but, what is far more important, by 
eliminating spool breakage, it saves in the loss of yarn which 
always accompanies such breakage. 

Third — As the fibre heads are thinner than the wooden 
heads, this difference in thickness may be added to the trav- 
erse. For example — the ordinary wooden head spool with 
5-inch traverse is 6 inches over all. The Macrodi Fibre Head 
Spool 6 inches over all would have a 5%-inch traverse. This 
%-inch extra traverse allows 10 per cent more yarn to be 
wound on the spool, or you do not have to bulk the spool so 
big in order to carry the same yardage. 

Fourtli — This spool is preferred by the operatives, as the 
fibre makes a very smooth head and the yarn does not catch 
or break in spooling and warping. 

For Samples and Quotations Address 



MACRODI FIBRE COMPANY 
Woonsocket, R. L 



COTTON MILL CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT 

i^ ^ 

The 

Graton & Knight Manufacturing 
Company 

Oak Leather Tanners and Belt Makers 



LEATHER BELTING, MILL STRAPPING. 

Steamproof, Waterproof PICKERS. 

and standard grades for RUB APRONS. 

all purposes. ROLL COVERS. 

SOLID ROUND BELTING. LEATHER WASHERS. 

TWIST ROUND BELTING. LEATHER SHAFTING RINGS. 

LACE LEATHER. BELT CEMENT. 
BELT DRESSING, ETC. 

All G & K products represent superior quality and honest value 

they are guaranteed as to perfection of material and workmanship. 

Our Engineering Department is thoroughly equipped to render 
expert assistance and advice upon any transmission prqblem. Its 
service is free to all present or prospective customers. 

REMEMBER: That maximum belting efficiency depends, — 

(1) — upon the use of belts exactly adapted to the conditions. 
(2) — upon the correct installation of those belts. 
(3) — upon their proper and systematic care. 
REMEMBER— That there is a G & K quality belt for every con- 
dition. Consult us. 



The Graton & Knight Manufacturing Company 

Worcester, Massachusetts 



COTTON MILL CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT 




Trade Mark Registered 



NEW ENGLAND FELT ROOFING WORKS 

loi MILK STREET, BOSTON tkl. 1496 main 

Established 1852 Incorporated 1891 

"BEEHIVE" BRAND FELT ROOFING AND WATERPROOFING MATERIALS 

^ The Standard Specification in New England for 60 years. 

Quality, Quantity and skilled application has given gravel roofing its present repu- 
tation v^fith architects and property owners. More than 400,000,COO square 
feet now in use. Insured in all leading insurance companies in the United 
States and abroad at same rate as Metal and Slate. Our testimonials cover roofs 
35 years old still in good condition. 

^ Standard Specification: 

1st. One layer "Beehive" Brand Rosin Sized Dry Paper. I 

- p 2d. Three layers "Beehive Brand Roofing Felt. I 

I 3d. Mopping "Beehive" Brand Roofing Composition (of j 

I not less than three gallons per square 10 x 10). I 

I 4th. One layer "Beehive" Brand Roofing Felt. \ 

2 < 5th. Mopping "Beehive" Brand Roofing Composition (of > o 

( not less than three gallons per square 10 x 10). I 

6th. One layer "Beehive" Brand Roofing Felt. 



o J 7th. Pouring "Beehive" Brand Roofing Composition (8 
I gallons to square 10 x 10, into which is to be bed- 

i ded clean, dry gravel or slag). 



1^3 



NOTE. — In writing specification, it is advisable to write in full, "Beehive Brand" Roofing 
Material, Manufactured by the New England Felt Roofing Works. 

^ Three Section Roofing Specification. 

Each Section complete in itself. Open work, eeisy inspection and detection of oversights in application. 

Cambridge Subway all waterproofed with "Beehive" Materiak. 
Boston " " " " " Felt. 

Felt Manufactured by the 

MUNROE FELT & PAPER CO., Lawrence 

JAMES P. MUNROE, '82, Pres. and Treas. 



COTTON MILL CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT 



John E. Kendrick, Pres. Waldo H. Fish, Vice-Prei. Myron Fish, Treas. 

Myron C. Fish, Secy. ■ » 



AMERICAN SUPPLY CO. 

MILL FURNISHERS 

135-137 Washington Street, Providence, R. I. 

Manufacturers of 

Loom Harness^ Weaving Reeds 
Oak Tanned Leather Belling 

Loom Pickers and Strapping for All Makes of Looms 

Sole Owners and Manufacturers of 

PATENT JACQUARD HEDDLES 

We make a specialty of Harness for 
AMERICAN WARP DRAWING IN MACHINE 

Dealers in 

CALF. SHEEP AND LAMB ROLLER SKINS, ROLLER, SLASHER 

AND CLEARER CLOTHS, AND ROLL COVERERS MACHINERY 

Agents in U. S. for J. O. and S. English Stains 

We have unequalled facilities for furnishing Shuttles, Bobbins, Spools, Wire Heddles, 

Heddle Frames, Spinning Rings and Ring Travelers, Belt Hooks 

and Wire Goods of Every Description. 

EQUIPPING NEW MILLS WITH GENERAL SUPPLIES IS A SPECIALTY WITH US 

We invite correspondence and shall be pleiised to submit special estimate 
on your requirements. 



COTTON MILL CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT 



Here's Your Bearing Problem 

Dripping oil makes "seconds." 

Machine Repairs and Lubrication cost time, labor and money. 
Rubbing friction causes loss of power and hot bearings. 
Pick out the machine that you are using and ask us how and 
how much you can save 

Here^s Your Solution 

Machines SKF Ball Bearings Mean 



Rolls, Openers, 
Ivappers, Pickers, 
Cards, Spindles, 
Cotton and Jute 
spinning frames, 
Twisters, Winders, 
IvOoms, Washers, 
Dryers, Calenders, 
Combing, Gilling 
machines, Nappers 
Fulling Machines. 



K 



Increased production with 

higher efficiency. 
Greater cleanliness. 
' ' Seconds ' ' eliminated . 
IvCakage o f Lubricant 

stopped. 
Less Lubrication, just 2 

or 3 times a year. 
Power economy. 
High speed with less power 
Repairs minimized-greater 

durability. 
No hot bearings causing 

"shut downs." 
Think what all this means 

to you. 



SKF Self-Aligning Ball Bearings are simple in construction. 
They reduce the cost of driving power, lubrication and attention 
and will increase the output, the efficiency and life of your 
machines. 

Write for our Bulletin No. 7. You cannot afford to do without 
SKF Ball Bearings. 

Sl^ BALiL BBAUNB CD« 

JF" 50 Church St., NEW YORK 

608 SOUTH DEARBORN ST., CHICAGO 



COTTON MILL CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT 

"The Last Word in Textile 
Mill Construction'' 

This has been said about the Dunean Mills, Greenville, 
S. C, which purchased all power equipment from the Gen- 
eral Electric Company. 

Individual motor driving with G-K textile motors is 
found in practically all departments. The motors are of a 
textile type especially designed so as to take care of the vary- 
ing loads required in textile work. They are dust-proof and 
have waste-packed bearings as well as taper shafts for the 
reception of pinions. The Picker and Spinning Frame 
Motors are equipped with screens and are controlled by oil 
switches. The Picker Motors are provided with pulleys for 
belting to pickers and Spinning Frame Motors are provided 
with steel pinions to mesh G-B cloth gears on the spinning 
frames. 

Twelve hundred 1-3 hp 1800 R. P. M. totally enclosed 
motors are each geared to a loom in the weave shed. Bach 
loom is equipped with a fricdon clutch and the gear, which 
forms the friction element of this clutch, meshes with the 
motor pinion. The loom can be stopped and started as ordi- 
narily, by throwing the lever operating the friction clutch 
just as is done with a belt driven loom. 

The operation of this equipment has been satisfactory 
in every way. 

General Electric Company 

Liarg:e6t Slectrical Manufacturer in the World. 

General Office : Schenectady, N. Y. District Offices in: 

Boston, Mass. New York, N. Y. Philadelphia, Pa. Atlanta, Ga. 
Cincinnati, Ohio. Chicago, HI. Denver, Colo. San Francisco, Cal. 

Sales Offices in all Large Cities 3966 



COTTON MILL CONSTRUC TION AND MANAGEMENT 




COTTON MILL CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT 




It produces strictly high-grade cloth 

practically no seconds or waste 

20-30 looms to a weaver 

50-60 per cent saving in weaving 

costs 

and yet weavers can earn 40-50 

per cent more wages 



The Stafford Company 

R.eadville» Mass. 

Fred H. White, Southern Agent - Charlotte, N. C. 



COTTON MILL CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT 



SACO-LOWELL SHOPS 



TEXTILE MACHINERY 




Shops- 
Lowell, Mass. 
BIddeford, Maine. 
Newton Upper Falls, Mass. 

Executive Offices— 
n Franklin Street, 

Boston, Mass. 

Southern Agent, ROGERS W. DAVIS, 

CHARLOTTE, N. C. 



Complete 

Cotton 

Mill 

Equipment 

Including: 

Pickers 

Cards 

Drawing 

Roving 

Spinning 

Twisters 

Slashers 

Spoolers 

Warpers 

Looms 



Waste 

Reclaiming 

IVIachinery 



Worsted 

IVIachinery 

Including: 

Revolving 

Reels 

Gill Boxes 

Drawing 

Frames 

Reducing 

and Roving 

Frames 

Cap Ring 

and Fly 

Spinning 

and 

Twisting 

Frames 

Jack 

Spoolers 



COTTON MILL CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT 

If Specialists Do Wot Have The 
Latest Improvements, Who Does? 



Potter & Johnston Machine Co., Pawtucket, R. I. 

Pickers and Revolving Flat Cards 

Woonsocket flachine & Press Co., Woonsocket, R. I. 

Drawing and Roving Frames 

Fales & Jenks Vlachine Co., Pawtucket, R. I. 

Spinning and Twisting Frames 

Easton' & Burnham Hachine Co., Pawtucket, R. I. 

Spoolers and Reels 

T. C. Entwistle Co., Lowell, Mass. 

Beamers and Warpers 

John Hetherington & 5ons, flanchester, England 

Naismith Combers 



J. H. MAYES, Southem Agent Independence Bldg., Charlotte, N. C. 

Wm. V. THRELFALL, Northern Agent Marshall Bldg., Boston, Mass. 



COTTON MILL CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT 



DUTCHER 
TEMPLES 



TRADE MARK REG. U. S. PAT. OFF. 



DRAPER COMPANY 

SOLE MANUFACTURERS 

HOPEDALE, MASS. 



COTTON MILL. CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT 

Curtis & Marble Machine Co. 

Worcester, Mass. 

Headquarters for Cloth Room 
Machinery for Cotton Goods 

BRUSHING MACHINES 

SHEARING MACHINES 

SEWING MACHINES 

FOLDING AND MEASURING MACHINES 

INSPECTING OR TRIMMING MACHINES 

CALENDER ROLLING MACHINES 

GAS SINGEING MACHINES 

WINDING AND MEASURING MACHINES 

for putting goods on boards 

DOUBLING AND WINDING MACHINES 

for doubling the selvedges together and winding goods on boards 

Also many auxiliary machines for handling Cotton 

Fabrics 



COTTON MILL CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT 



The Venluri Meter in Textile Mills 

A few representative concerns who are increas- 
ing boiler plant economy by the aid of the 
VENTURI FEED WATER METER: 

United Piece Dye Worlds Lodi, N. J. 

Brig-hton Mills Passaic, N. J. 

Scranton Lace Curtain Co. .Scranton, Pa. 
Cheney Bros. .. .South Manchester, Conn. 

Profile Cotton Mills Jacksonville, Ala. 

Botany "V^^'orsted Mills Passaic, N. J. 

Parr Alpaca Co Holyoke, Mass. 

Pacific Mills Lawrence, Mass. 

S. D. Warren & Co. Cumberland Mills, Me. 
Joseph Benn & Sons, Inc.Greystone, R. I. 

Bulletin No. 68 upon application 
Also see pages 55 to 59 of this book 

BUILDERS IRON FOUNDRY, Providence, R. I. 




FANS *"° BLOWERS 

For every use in 

Cotton Mills 




Forced Draft 
Conveying 



Ventilating 
Heating 



Our Engineers are at Your Service 



MASSACHUSETTS FAN CO. 

WATERTOWN MASSACHUSETTS 



Jim 



COTTON MILL CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT 






6 




Eeg.XJ.S.Pat.Off., 



4^^'" 









0. 



The walls of your mill need a coat of 
Bay State Brick and Cement Coating 

''LIGHTS LIKE THE SUJH' " 

The best equipped textile mills in the country are 
using "Bay State" Brick and Cement Coating on the 
damp walls of dye rooms, slasher rooms, and other 
places where an ordinary oil paint will chip and flake 
BAY STATE off. it actuallj^ becomes a part of the material and 
not only protects against moisture but acts as a fire retarder as well. 

Protect your delicate machinery against the cracking and peeling 
of an ordinary paint, when applied overhead, also acts as a great light 
reflector. 

Consider Maintenance Cost rather than initial cost and then "Bay 
State" Brick and Cement Coating is cheapest. 

WADS WORTH - HOWL AND & CO., Inc. 

BOSTON, MASS. 



■^ 



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/^ALL upon us to construct from your 
^^ specifications and our many years of 
experience, the most efficient shuttle for 
your weaving. Sample shuttles for experi- 
mental work made in shortest possible time. 
We have the Hand Threading Shuttle in 
its highest development, and adaptable to 
any weave. Uniformly accurate shuttles for 
automatic looms. Correspondence solicited. 



SHAMBOW SHUTTLE COMPANY 

Established 1879 

WOONSOCKET. RHODE ISLAND 



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